Only Murders in the Building star Steve Martin has denied claims that he "hit" Harry Potter actress Miriam Margolyes when they were filming scenes together in the 1986 musical Little Shop of Horrors.
"My memory is that we had good communication as professional actors,” his statement read. “But when it is implied that I harmed her or was in some way careless about doing the stunts, I have to object. I remember taking EXTREME caution regarding the fake punch — the same caution I would use with any similar scene. There was never any physical contact between her and me, accidental or otherwise, in this scene or any other we shot."
The 78-year-old added that he recalled the actress always telling him that she was okay, and that director Frank Oz and others were always on set.
Steve played dentist Orin Scrivello, and Miriam his nurse in the cult classic. During the song 'Dentist,' viewers see Scrivello punch his nurse and slam the door in her face.
“I was hit all day by doors opening in my face; repeatedly punched, slapped and knocked down by an unlovely and unapologetic Steve Martin — perhaps he was method acting — and came home grumpy with a splitting headache,” Miriam, 82, wrote in her new autobiography, Oh Miriam!: Stories From An Extraordinary Life.
"Let it not be said that I have never suffered in the name of art," she added.
The book was released on September 14, 2023.
“I always rehearse physical actions in slow motion,” Frank Oz added in his own statement.
"The scene was supposed to include a fake punch. It’s puzzling what she’s talking about. It’s not the Steve I know or anyone knows. He’s always been professional and respectful of everyone on all of my shoots."
Steve is an American comedian, known for his ironic style of comedy, who has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013.
He was married for eight years between 1986 and 1994 to actress Victoria Tennant, and remarried on July 28 2007 to former journalist Anne Stringfeild.
Saturday Night Live boss Lorne Michaels served as best man but the wedding was a surprise to guests who were told Steve and Anne were hosting a party at their home.
The pair met in person a year after Anne had first called the actor to fact-check the New Yorker's information on him, during which time the pair formed an instant connection.
"We talked on the phone for a year before we even met," Steve told AARP Magazine in 2017.
Anne, now 51, gave birth to their daughter Mary in December 2012.
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