Geena Davis recalls how she warded off Jack Nicholson’s sexual advances

Geena Davis is telling the story of how Dustin Hoffman's guidance helped her supposedly repel Jack Nicholson's advances while she was co-starring in "Tootsie." After starring opposite Hoffman, 85, in the pair's 1982 rom-com, the Oscar winner, 66, told The New Yorker in an article published Thursday that she had picked quite a lot from the veteran actor. Hoffman reportedly advised Davis to fend off excessively enthusiastic males in the business by remarking, "Well, you're really gorgeous," in addition to advising the then-green actress to "read a lot of books." Although I would really like to, it would damage our sexual chemistry. She said she "saved that tip aside" and told the publication. When Davis earned the part of April Page in "Tootsie," she was Victoria's Secret lingerie model living in New York and attempting to get into acting. She claimed that shortly after the film's release, her modeling agent brought her and "a few other actor-turned-models to Hollywood to meet casting directors." Davis said her agent “happened to know” Nicholson, 85, who “had dinner” with the budding star and her peers “every single night.” One day, Davis recalled, “there was a note under the door that said, ‘Please call Jack Nicholson at this number.'” She said she couldn’t “believe it” and excitedly phoned the “Shining” star. “So I said, ‘Hello, Mr. Nicholson. This is Geena, the model. You called me?’ He said, ‘Hey, Geena. When is it gonna happen?'” she claimed. The alleged inquiry took Davis by surprise. “I was like, ‘Oh, no — why didn’t I realize this is what it was going to be about?'” she told the New Yorker. “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?'” the actress recalled. “So it worked.”