Steve Martin took the objection to his own Little shop of horrors co-star Miriam Margolyes’ recent claim that he actually hit her when they filmed scenes together in the 1986 musical.
In a statement obtained by PEOPLE, Just the murders in the building star said he was “surprised” when he first read Margolyes’ description of their scene.
“I remember we had good communication as professional actors,” Martin’s statement reads. “But when it’s implied that I hurt her or that I was somehow negligent in performing stunts, I have to object. I remember being EXTREMELY cautious about the fake shot — the same caution I would use with any scene like that.”
Martin said Margolyes, 82, told him she was fine after filming, adding that director Frank Oz and others were on set to make sure nothing went wrong.
Steve Martin.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for the Museum of Modern Art
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“There was never any physical contact between her and me, accidental or otherwise, in this scene or any other scene we shot,” Martin continued.
“I always rehearse physical actions in slow motion,” Oz wrote in his own statement. “The scene was supposed to include a fake shot. It is a mystery what she is talking about. That’s not the Steve I know or anyone. He was always professional and respectful of everyone on all my shoots.”
Martin played dentist Orin Scrivell, and Margoyles played his nurse Little shop of horrors. During his song “Dentist!”, Scrivello punched his nurse and slammed the door in her face.
In his new memoir Oh Miriam: Stories from an unusual lifethe Harry Potter the actress claimed that Martin actually hit her while filming their scenes.
‘Harry Potter’ star Miriam Margolyes jokes about her weight, says her health problems are caused by ‘My craving for Fudge’
“The whole day I was hit by doors that opened in my face; repeatedly punched, slapped and knocked down by the unlovable and unrelenting Steve Martin — perhaps he was faking the method — and returned home grumpy with a pounding headache,” Margolyes wrote, according to Huffington Post. “Let it not be said that I have never suffered in the name of art.”
She wrote that Martin was “undoubtedly brilliant, but terrible to me”.
Margolyes compared Martin to Steve Buscemi, with whom she worked Ed and his dead mother 1993. She called The Big Lebowski star, 65, “unmistakably cute,” adding that he “knocked Steve Martin’s spots off.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(803x353:805x355)/steve-martin-miriam-margolyes-little-shop-of-horrors-091523-1-3478374598404ebeb70d81f0c8d20201.jpg)
Steve Martin (left) and Miriam Margolyes (right) in ‘Little Shop of Horrors’.
Warner Bros
Miriam Margolyes Says She Was ‘Never Ashamed Of Being Gay’: ‘It Gives Us An Advantage’
The actress also admitted that she is not a fan of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Last year, she told news.com.au’s I have news for you podcast that the former governor of California (76) “farted in my face” when they made it End of the day together in 1999
“Yes, I fart, of course I do – but I don’t fart in people’s faces. He did it on purpose, right in my face,” Margolyes said, adding that she thinks Schwarzenegger is “a little too full of himself.”
Oh Miriam will be published in January.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education