Melanie Griffith’s Comeback Role in ‘Body Double’ Almost Went to an Adult Film Star

“Body Double” almost had a very different body in the lead role of Holly Body.

Brian De Palma’s cult classic 1984 voyeuristic noir-comedy starred Melanie Griffith as adult film actress Holly Body who assists a wannabe Hollywood actor (Craig Wasson) and his pal (Gregg Henry) on uncovering the truth about a perceived murder. The “Rear Window”-inspired feature is getting a Netflix theatrical re-release as part of its Milestone Movies program in honor of the film’s 40th anniversary.

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Actor Henry told IndieWire that Griffith was in fact one of the handful of actresses considered for the role, which eventually earned her a Golden Globe nomination and re-entered her into the Hollywood elite after a brief acting hiatus.

“I think there were two or three women testing for Melanie’s part,” Henry said, “and it was an old-fashioned screen test, you know, with full crew cameras and everything over there at Warner’s lot.”

One of those actresses was in fact a real porn star, who if cast would add yet another meta layer to De Palma’s “Blow Up”-esque meditation on the apathetic heartlessness of Hollywood filmmaking.

“I remember one [adult film actress] tested for Melanie’s part,” Henry said. “I don’t remember what her name was. I sort of remember her being there the day of the screen test.”

Instead, Griffith was cast as De Palma’s Hitchcockian blonde, following in the footsteps of her own mother Tippi Hedren. But according to Henry, no one on set saw the feature as being a “comeback role” for Griffith.

“I don’t think that that sort of sensibility was in anyway,” Henry said. “I was very excited just to meet her. I was not really unaware of her before. I think I’d seen ‘Night Moves’ but she was really young then.”

He added of working with the actress, “We met briefly on the screen test day but really didn’t share any time together and so really the first meeting was at the first table read on the first day of rehearsal. She’s just a great girl. She’s funny and smart. She’s so good in the movie.”

Griffith herself told Morning Call in 1984 that despite being unfamiliar with the adult film industry, she took on the role of Holly Body to make a feminist statement. Griffith even worked with porn star Annette Haven to get into the character’s head space, and Griffith had no actual body double during production, performing all of the seductive scenes herself.

“I know she’s a controversial figure, but she pertains to women in all areas,” Griffith said of the character. “She’s proud of what she does and she’s not affected by what people think. This is a means to an end for her. She does what she does and she does it the best. She’s a business woman, first of all.”

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