When Jack Nicholson tried to make advances on Geena Davis, she warded him off using a brilliant bit of advice given to her by Dustin Hoffman.
While speaking to The New Yorker about her new memoir, Dying Of Politeness, the Oscar-winning actor explained that she'd got some great advice from Dustin Hoffman which she used when Jack Nicholson was interested in her.
Davis got to work with the legendary actor on her first ever gig, the 1982 romantic comedy Tootsie, and she recalled that he gave her some excellent guidance on how to keep interested men at bay.
She said that Hoffman had two big pieces of advice for her: the first being to 'read a lot of books' and the second to say to a man in the showbiz industry making advances that it would 'ruin the sexual tension between us' if anything happened.
The Thelma & Louise star said she 'saved the advice away' and later used it when Nicholson tried to get in touch with her to let her know he was interested.
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Davis remembers that after Tootsie was released, she was taken to Hollywood by her agent, who 'happened to know' Nicholson, to meet casting directors.
She said they had dinner with Nicholson every night, and one night she got a note under her door with his number on it.
She excitedly called him up and introduced herself, with Nicholson responding: "Hey Geena, when is it gonna happen?"
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Wondering 'why didn't I realise this is what it was going to be about', she then remembered the tip Hoffman had given her and used it.
She said: "But it immediately came into my head what to say. 'Uh, Jack, I would love to. You're very attractive. But I have a feeling we’re going to work together at some point in the future, and I would hate to have ruined the sexual tension between us.'"
"He was like, 'Oh, man, where'd you get that?' so it worked."
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Nicholson at the time was a major movie star who had terrified audiences with his performance in The Shining.
Recent footage of him getting into character for the role has resurfaced showing him jumping around and geeing himself up for his iconic 'here's Johnny' moment.
It was recently revealed by Adrian Brody that Nicholson tried to get fellow actors to boycott the Oscars in 2003 in protest against the Iraq war.
Both of the actors were nominated for an Academy Award that year, with Brody ending up winning it and using his acceptance speech to talk about the war.
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UNILAD has contacted Jack Nicholson's representatives for comment.
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Topics: Celebrity, Film and TV
Joe Harker