There’s a lot to cover when you’ve got an icon like Geena Davis on an episode of Collider Ladies Night. As we paved the way to celebrating the Bentonville Film Festival’s eighth year in operation, we revisited as much of her filmography as a 40-minute conversation would allow. Touching on her very first feature film, Tootsie, was an absolute must. She also shared stories from Beetlejuice, Thelma and Louise, and A League of Their Own. But there’s another early title on her resume that made an indelible impression on the industry, especially in the body horror department. It’s David Cronenberg’s The Fly.

A loose adaptation of George Langelaan’s short story and the 1958 film, Cronenberg’s The Fly stars Jeff Goldblum as scientist Seth Brundle. Davis steps in as Veronica Quaife, a journalist who’s wowed by Seth’s “telepods,” a teleportation device that can successfully transport inanimate objects — but not living matter. Eventually, Seth does try to teleport himself, but little does he know, there’s a housefly in the pod with him.

The Fly - Ronnie and Seth facing each other in a conversation
Image via 20th Century Fox

I recently had the opportunity to chat with Cronenberg for his latest release, Crimes of the Future, and during that conversation, Cronenberg admitted, “I’ve heard from many actors, in fact, they confess to me, ‘I really don’t know what I’m doing.’ And I say, ‘That’s great. Just keep doing what you don’t know,’ because they do know what they’re doing.” With that in mind, I opted to ask Davis if she ever felt that way on the set of The Fly.

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She explained how she got involved in the project while also emphasizing how acting opposite her real-life partner at the time further ensured she was fully immersed in the extreme vision Cronenberg was bringing to life.

“I got cast because Jeff Goldblum was already cast and we had recently become an item, and he recommended me for the female part, and they were like, ‘Oh, well what if you guys break up? That would be a bad idea.’ And then I auditioned and they said, ‘Okay.’ So the thing about that, which had never happened before or since, but I was acting with my actual real life partner and so we just lived and breathed that movie ever since we got cast. And so it was a wonderful experience. And David Cronenberg is so collaborative and supportive and everything. It was just a fabulous experience.”

Jeff Goldblum in The Fly
Image via 20th Century Fox

Looking for more from Davis? You can catch her episode of Collider Ladies Night at the top of this article or listen to our 40-minute conversation uncut in podcast form below to hear more about the wrap gift she gave out on Beetlejuice, what it was like winning an Oscar for The Accidental Tourist, how Thelma and Louise changed her life, and so much more!