Julianna Margulies has shared details of a "horrific" meeting she had with actor Steven Seagal in which he brandished a gun.
In a chat for the Katie Couric Podcast on Thursday (24May18), the former ER actress opened up to the broadcaster about her bizarre and uncomfortable hotel room meeting with Steven, who she starred with in '90s movie Out for Justice.
“I walked in and I sat down and I jumped right back up because there was something very uncomfortable and hard in the couch. He laughed and said, 'Oh sorry that must have been my gun,'” the The Good Wife star told Katie. “He lifted up the cushion and he took out his gun. And I had never seen a gun in my life, not up close. And I said, 'Oh my god.' I started getting very sweaty and he said, 'Oh it’s just for all the crazies that are out there. I have to protect myself.'”
The then 23-year-old college graduate had expected the female casting director who asked her to meet with Steven, who has since been accused of sexual harassment by multiple women, to be in attendance.
However, once she realised she was alone in a hotel room with the armed Under Siege actor, Julianna got angry with herself, calling herself "stupid".
The actor bizarrely informed Julianna that he was a “healer” and asked to read her palm, something she admitted she found comical.
“He told me I had really weak kidneys," the 51-year-old laughed. "At that point, to be honest, as a New York girl, I kind of started laughing inside. Like, this guy’s pathetic... I squirmed my way out of there.”
Julianna finally left Steven’s room “sweating” and with a “pounding” heart, but was forced to return to be reimbursed for the $15 (£11) cab fare she'd insisted on before attending the audition. After the actor gave her the money she left, and didn't see Steven again until they started working on the 1991 film together.
However, because of their encounter, she refused to meet with the tough guy actor alone on set.
“I said to everyone in there, I know you don’t know me, but I’d really appreciate it if no one would ever let me be in the room alone with him. Because I was scared," she added.
