Geena Davis claimed she avoided Jack Nicholson’s advances thanks to advice from her former co-star Dustin Hoffman in her new memoir Dying Of Politeness.
Speaking recently to The New Yorker about the book, the 66-year-old Oscar winner claimed Nicholson called her sometime in the 1980s, shortly after she appeared with Hoffman in his comedy classic Tootsie (1982).
She was reportedly able to throw the now 85-year-old acting legend off course by claiming a sexual relationship would ruin any “sexual tension” if they worked together in the future.
has requested comment from Nicholson’s representatives.
Good advice: Geena Davis, 66, claimed she ended Jack Nicholson’s advances in the 1980s with a blow-off line her Tootsie co-star Dustin Hoffman gave her during a recent New Yorker interview; Seen in London on October 19th
In her interview, Davis was asked about working with Hoffman and his advice not to sleep with her co-stars, as well as his suggestions for ending their advances.
One helpful line the Midnight Cowboy star gave her was, “Well, you’re very attractive. I would love to, but it would ruin the sexual tension between us.’
She added, “And I overturned that advice.”
She noted that following the success of Tootsie, her modeling agent arranged dinners with her and several other models — as she was dividing her time between modeling and acting at the time — and his friend Jack Nicholson was a fixture at several of the dinners.
Putting it down: One helpful line the Midnight Cowboy star gave her was, “Well, you’re very attractive. I would love to, but it would ruin the sexual tension between us’; still from Tootsie
In his orbit: After Tootsie’s success, her modeling agent put her on several dinners with model pals – as well as his boyfriend Jack Nicholson, 85; Seen in LA in 2018
“Then one day there was a note under the door that said, ‘Please call Jack Nicholson on this number.’ I was like, I can’t believe it!’ Davis remembered.
After recalling the Shining Star, she claimed he tried to arrange a tryst between the two.
“Hey Geena. When will it happen?” Nicholson reportedly said over the phone.
Davis said she was shocked and didn’t “understand” why Nicholson wanted her to call him.
But she remembered Hoffman’s line and was reportedly able to use it against Nicholson.
“Uh, Jack, I’d like that. You are very attractive. But I have a feeling we’ll work together at some point in the future, and I would hate to have ruined the sexual tension between us,” she recalled saying.
“Hey Geena. When will it happen?” Nicholson reportedly said after asking her to call him. She allegedly used the line at his place and it worked. “He said, ‘Oh man, where did you get that?'”; Nicholson in The Witches Of Eastwick (1987).
Nicholson apparently recognized it as a line to stop his advances.
“He said, ‘Oh man, where did you get that from? “Davis recalled saying, ‘So it worked.’
Geena has previously opened up about her uncomfortable experience working with Bill Murray on her 1990 comedy classic Quick Change.
The acting icon revealed to The Times of London earlier this month how Murray allegedly created an awkward atmosphere during her audition for the film he starred in and which he also co-directed with Howard Franklin.
According to her, Murray, 72, also yelled at her in front of “hundreds” of people on set for allegedly being late, though she says she was only stopped by the wardrobe department.
Bad times: Geena has previously opened up about her uncomfortable experiences with Bill Murray on her 1990 comedy classic Quick Change; seen in 1989
According to a summary of the Times “[Davis is] presented [Murray]she writes, in a hotel suite, where Murray greets her with something called “The Thumper,” a massage device that he insists on using, though she specifically refuses.”
The troubling encounter was followed by an even more humiliating incident when the Royal Tenenbaums actor allegedly lost his temper while filming Quick Change.
“Later, while they are filming on location, Murray tracks Davis down to her trailer and starts yelling at her for being late (she’s waiting for her dressing room), keeps yelling at her as she rushes onto the set and even, as she gets there, in front of hundreds of cast members, crew members and curious bystanders,” the publication added.
“That was bad,” Davis said of her audition with Murray as she reflected on how she could have handled the incident differently.
Hard time: She wrote that Murray – who also co-directed the film – used a massager on her against her will during her audition and that he later yelled at her in front of “hundreds” of people on set for allegedly being late ; nor from Quick Change
Unacceptable: “The way he acted the first time we met… I should have backed away from it or defended myself deeply,” she told the Times of London, before admitting she was a victim accusation; Seen in LA on September 12th
“The way he acted the first time we met… I would have walked away from it or defended myself deeply, in which case I wouldn’t have gotten the part. I could have avoided this treatment if I had known how to react or what to do during the audition. But you know, I was so unconfrontational that I just didn’t…” she said.
However, she acknowledged that her words could be construed as victim accusation if pointed out.
‘Ha. point taken. There’s no point in regretting things, and yet here I regretted. And yeah, right, it wasn’t my fault,” she said.
So far, Murray has not publicly responded to Davis’ comments, either in the interview or in her book.
A pattern: Last year, actress Lucy Liu also detailed the insults Murray allegedly threw at her while they were working together on the action comedy Charlie’s Angels; Seen in Cannes, France in July 2021
Last year, actress Lucy Liu also detailed the insults Murray allegedly threw at her while they were working together on the action comedy Charlie’s Angels.
“As we’re doing the scene, Bill starts hurling insults and I won’t go into the specifics, but it just went on and on,” she described on the Asian Enough podcast.
The film and TV star, who called the insult to the former Saturday Night Live star “unacceptable” and “inexcusable,” added that she “wouldn’t just sit there and take it.”
“So, yes, I stood up for myself and I have no regrets. Because no matter how low you are on the totem pole or where you come from, you don’t have to condescend or put others down. And I wouldn’t and shouldn’t have resigned,” she added defiantly.
Murray’s alleged on-set behavior appears to have jeopardized the fate of his upcoming film, Being Mortal.
On Hold: In April 2021, his film Being Mortal was put on hold due to a complaint about his allegedly inappropriate behavior. He stars with director Aziz Ansar, Seth Rogen and Keke Palmer; Murray, Randy Quaid and Davis in Quick Change
In April 2021, Searchlight Pictures halted production on the Aziz Ansari-directed film due to complaints about Murray’s inappropriate behavior on set, although no details were given as to what he was alleged to have done or who was involved.
The film is reportedly still on hiatus, and it’s unclear if it’ll ever be completed at this point.
The film, which also stars Ansari, Keke Palmer and Seth Rogen, was scouted for a potential new buyer at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, but it doesn’t seem to have found a new studio, according to Rolling Stone.
“I did something that I thought was funny and it wasn’t received that way,” Murray said, speaking to CNBC later in April.
Changes: He added that the experience was “quite a lesson for me,” before noting that “the world is different from when I was a kid”; seen at Pebble Beach in February
“The company, the film studio, wanted to do the right thing, so they wanted to check everything, examine it. and so they stopped production,” he explained. ‘
But for now we’re talking and we’re trying to make peace with each other. I think that’s where the real problem lies, between our peace. We are both professionals. We like each other’s work. We like each other I think and if you can’t really understand and trust each other then there’s no point in continuing to work together or even making a film.’
He added that the experience was “quite a lesson for me,” before noting that “the world is different than when I was a kid.”