Michael Douglas has cautioned fellow actors against pursuing relationships with their co-stars after admitting to a secret affair with Kathleen Turner.
The 82-year-old actor disclosed in his memoir, One Helluva Ride, that the pair fell for each other while filming the 1984 adventure-comedy Romancing the Stone in Mexico, during a period of separation from his then-wife, Diandra Luker.
Addressing an audience at London's Royal Festival Hall on October 28 to discuss his book, Douglas advised emerging actors against repeating the same "mistake".
According to the Daily Mail, he stated: "A lot of actors make the mistake early in their career of having a relationship with their leading lady.
"What they forget is that you can break up. They're having to perform these love scenes, and they hate each other. We've all made that mistake, and I try to warn people."
In an excerpt from One Helluva Ride published by People magazine, the two-time Oscar winner admitted that he and Turner concealed the truth about their romance for 40 years.
He recalled: "The chemistry I had with Kathleen Turner was so strong, audiences have been certain for years that we were in a relationship together while making the film.
"We both denied it through Romancing the Stone, Jewel of the Nile, War of the Roses and even while doing press a few years ago for The Kominsky Method.
"The official story went as follows: Yes, we confessed, we had amazing chemistry. Yes, we were both, as Kathleen said, 'terrible flirts’, and yes, we were both tempted, but nothing ever happened between us. That was a lie."
The Basic Instinct star explained that the cover-up was "meant to protect my wife and son", Cameron, and was the narrative they "told the world for 40 years".
He elaborated: "Kathleen and I never hit a rough spot. We found each other first as friends, then as co-stars, and finally as lovers.
"Following an exhausting day of shooting in the jungle, we’d go out and have a meal, or head out with the group and afterwards I would sneak into her hotel room after everybody was asleep. There were no cameras in elevators, no assistants using cell phones to take pictures."
The couple hid the relationship from castmates and director Robert Zemeckis but the "magic spell of the set" broke when his wife arrived in Mexico with their son Cameron on a visit and "grew suspicious".
Douglas recounted how Diandra informed Turner that they remained "still married", holding a different view of their separation.
He added: "After that visit, Kathleen and I ended things, and I went back to Diandra. I did it for Cameron, but we shouldn’t have gotten back together. After that first split, it was never the same between us ever again."
As Douglas noted, Turner—who also co-starred with him in films including The Jewel of the Nile and The War of the Roses—maintained their public story despite admitting she once held out "hope for" romance.
She told Closer magazine: "I was yearning, but he was still married to Diandra... although they were separated, and so I thought there was hope for me."
Following the release of the excerpt, Turner, 72, responded to the revelation.
She told People: "Good heavens, what a fuss about something 40 years ago! I love Michael, and I look forward to enjoying the book."
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