Miriam Margolyes is known to speak her mind and mince no words, while nevertheless keeping her grandmotherly charm about her. Besides being a veteran actress with an amazing many-decades-long career under her belt, she’s also a talented storyteller in speech and writing.
According to The Guardian, it took her 80 years to write her 2021 memoir This Much is True, and since Margoyles extraordinary life could not be covered in a single book, it was followed 2 years later by Oh Miriam! Stories from an Extraordinary Life. The outlet quoted her as saying:
“I don’t think it’s as rude as my first book, therefore I suspect it won’t do as well. But I think the things I say in it are again absolutely true, and perhaps more serious. And I’m glad of that. I don’t just want to be a foul-mouthed old biddy. A potty-mouth as I’m often called. Because I’m more than that.”
Despite Margoyles’ belief that her second book wouldn’t do as well as the first, it still generated some chatter and controversy. Specifically, in regards to allegations she made against her fellow Little Shop of Horrors co-star, Steve Martin.
What did Miriam Margoyles say about working with Steve Martin?
Nearly four decades ago, Miriam Margoyles and Steve Martin starred together in Frank Oz’s adaptation of the musical Little Shop of Horrors. Martin played Orin Scrivello, a sadistic dentist who gets a kick out of causing people pain, and Margoyles played his dental nurse, who is often within reach of Scrivello’s rampant sadism.
In Stories from an Extraordinary Life, Margoyles called Martin “undeniably brilliant” but accused her fellow actor of taking his sadistic performance too far, and actually hurting her during the musical number above, wherein she had “doors slammed on [her] head […].”
“I was hit all day by doors opening in my face;” the actress wrote, “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.”
She also contrasted Martin’s onset attitude to Steve Buscemi’s, with whom she shared the screen in the 1993 film Ed And His Dead Mother, saying the latter co-star “is a brilliant actor and we had a delightful rapport. For someone who’s being terrorised by me in the form of a murderous living corpse, he was unerringly sweet – knocked spots off Steve Martin.”
According to HuffPost UK, in response to Margoyles’ allegations of poor onset conduct, Martin released a statement:
“When I first read Miriam Margolyes’ pejorative account of our scene in Little Shop of Horrors, I was surprised. My memory is that we had a good communication as professional actors.
“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. She assured me she felt fine, and we did a few successful takes and stopped. There was never any physical contact between her and me, accidental or otherwise, in this scene or any other we shot.
“Also on the set, keeping their eyes on the action, was the highly skilled and sensitive director, Frank Oz, a stunt coordinator, a camera crew, a script supervisor, as well as extras who witnessed the entire, very-well rehearsed scene.”
Oz himself weighing in on the situation:
“I always rehearse physical actions in slow motion. 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.”
This is not the first time Margoyles has had criticism to impart on a fellow actor. She had previously accused Monty Python comedian John Cleese of being “poisonous,” saying that “Like milk, he’s gone sour,” and her End of Days co-star Arnold Schwarzenegger of farting on her face and being a “groper.”
Published: Sep 16, 2024 07:22 am