Miriam Margolyes says Steve Martin was “horrid” on ‘Little Shop Of Horrors’ set

Miriam Margolyes has described Steve Martin as being “horrid” and “unlovely” to her on the set of 1986 film Little Shop Of Horrors.

Margolyes, who played an assistant to Martin’s sadistic dentist character Orin Scrivello in the Frank Oz’s musical, shared her experience working with Martin in her new memoir, Oh Miriam! Stories From An Extraordinary Life.

In the film, the pair appeared together in the musical number ‘Dentist!’, where Martin’s character slams a 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,” Margolyes wrote (via The Huffington Post).

She later described Martin as “undeniably brilliant, but horrid to me”, adding: “Let it not be said that I have never suffered in the name of art.”

Margolyes went on to compare him to her “unerringly sweet” Ed And His Dead Mother co-star Steve Buscemi, who she said “knocked spots off Steve Martin”.

In recent years, Martin is best known for starring in Hulu series Only Murders In The Building opposite Martin Short and Selena Gomez. At the time of writing, he’s not responded to Margolyes’ claims.

Recently, Margolyes expressed her disdain for Monty Python actor John Cleese, who she described as “poisonous” and “irrelevant”.

“John was a brilliant comedian in his day, but something has turned,” she told the Guardian. “Like milk, he’s gone sour. He’s an irrelevance.”