Geena Davis has shared that she used advice from Dustin Hoffman to shut down a sexual advance from Jack Nicholson.

Davis, who starred in the 1982 romantic comedy Tootsie opposite Hoffman, revealed that her former co-star gave her advice that helped her deal with the encounter.

Speaking in an interview with the The New Yorker, Davis shared that Hoffman suggested how she ward off advances from men in the industry, telling her to say: “Well, you’re very attractive. I would love to, but it would ruin the sexual tension between us.”

The Thelma And Louise star, who was a model before she became an actress, added that she “saved the advice away” before using it during her interaction with Nicholson.

She continued: “After ‘Tootsie,’ my modelling agent took me and a couple of other actor-slash-models to Hollywood to meet casting directors. He happened to know Jack Nicholson, and every single night Jack Nicholson had dinner with us.

“Then one day there was a note under the door that said, ‘Please call Jack Nicholson at this number.’ I was, like, I can’t believe it! So I said, ‘Hello, Mr. Nicholson. This is Geena the model. You called me?’ He said, ‘Hey, Geena. When is it gonna happen?’”

“I was, like, Oh, no – why didn’t I realise this is what it was going to be about? 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.”

In the Oscar-winning actress’ new memoir Dying of Politeness, she also detailed a “bad” experience with Bill Murray while making Quick Change in 1989.