Acting often requires actors to get up close and personal with people they barely know, and because of that, uncomfortable situations can arise. Such was the case on the set of Quentin Tarantino's 1997 film Jackie Brown, where star Pam Grier accidentally felt up co-star Samuel L. Jackson. The Foxy Brown actress explained the awkward moment that happened in the scene where Jackie Brown has Ordell Robbie at gunpoint, saying:
See that gun? Well they wouldn't give me the gun while we were rehearsing, they only gave it to me when we did the scene... I had to use my hand to stick between his legs during rehearsal.
For insurance reasons, Pam Grier couldn't use the gun until actually filming the scene, so that necessitated her just using her hand as if she had a gun in it. In the scene, Ordell Robbie gets the tables turned on him and Jackie Brown, as the former puts it, has "a gun pressed up against my dick." To rehearse the placement of said gun and its proximity to Samuel L. Jackson's nether regions, Pam Grier had to put her hand between his legs and, well, she accidentally felt him up.
Pam Grier also explained to PeopleTV's Couchsurfing what happened when she accidentally felt up her co-star, saying:
I said, 'Sam, I'm sorry. Wow, I didn't know they were way down there. Okay, so thank you giving me that. I can't wait to use the gun. I won't miss.'
As if the situation wasn't awkward enough to begin with, Pam Grier's hilarious apology and 'thank you,' accompanied by a comment about the location about Samuel L. Jackson's private area, had to make the situation even more uncomfortable. This seemingly made Pam Grier eager to use the gun and film the actual scene, confident that she wouldn't miss the mark next time.
The actress also told Couchsurfing that Samuel L. Jackson's response to his co-star and '70s sex symbol Pam Grier's hand being in a place he didn't expect it to be was 'oh,' which seems appropriate. Although I would have liked the story to have included Samuel L. Jackson spouting a Samuel L. Jackson-ism in response to this situation, like "Hold on to your butts" or "This party's over" or something about the path of the righteous man.
If you're curious to see the actual scene Pam Grier is talking about, check out the clip from Jackie Brown below.
Watching the scene itself, you can see how Pam Grier's aim may have been a little off, especially if they were rehearsing the scene in the dark. Even if they weren't, her character is looking at Samuel L. Jackson's when she threatens him, so she sort of just had to make an educated guess where to put her hand.
Jackie Brown is arguably the forgotten Quentin Tarantino film, but it is probably worth revisiting, if just for the cast alone. Speaking of incredible casts, Quentin Tarantino's upcoming ninth film boasts arguably the auteur's most impressive yet. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood opens in theaters on July 26, 2019.
For all of the biggest movies hitting theaters next year, check out our 2019 release schedule.
