Steve Martin Hits Back Against Miriam Margolyes' Claim He Hit Her on Set of 'Little Shop'

Steve Martin has responded to allegations that he "repeatedly" hit his Little Shop of Horrors co-star Miriam Margolyes while filming the 1986 horror comedy musical. Margolyes, who co-starred alongside Martin as the dental assistant to his character, Orin Scrivello, gets punched and has a door slammed in her face during the musical number "Dentist!" – an experience she described in her memoir, Oh Miriam! Stories From an Extraordinary Life.

"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," she wrote in the memoir, as per HuffPost UK. The Harry Potter actress went on to say that Martin was "undeniably brilliant but horrid to me."

After the excerpt made headlines, Martin released a statement to The Hollywood Reporter sharing his differing recollection of filming the scene, saying he used "extreme caution" not to actually hit her. "When I first read Miriam Margolyes's 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," Martin's 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."

The Only Murders in the Building star continued that he and Margolyes had talked on set at the time and that she had assured him she was OK. "There was never any physical contact between her and me, accidental or otherwise, in this scene or any other we shot," he wrote, adding that there were a number of crew members on set to ensure the scene went as planned, including director Frank Oz.

Oz offered his own statement defending Martin to THR, saying, "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."

Margolyes previously made headlines in July 2022 for claiming Arnold Schwarzenegger "deliberately" farted on her while filming the 1999 film End of Days. "He was actually quite rude. He farted in my face. Now, I fart, of course, I do – but I don't fart in people's faces. He did it deliberately, right in my face," Margolyes said on news.com.au's I've Got News For You podcast at the time. "I was playing Satan's sister and he was killing me, so he had me in a position where I couldn't escape and lying on the floor. And he just farted."