Actress Jane Seymour almost put a stop to her journey in Hollywood after she was sexually harassed by a Hollywood producer in the very early days of her career.
The 66-year-old actress did not reveal the producer's name, but said during an interview with the Australian morning show Sunrise 7 that he was "the most powerful man in Hollywood at that time."
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According to the actress, the incident was so horrific that it led to her quitting acting almost for a year. "I've often wondered whether I should tell this story, but I do feel it is very important," Seymour said.
Speaking to the breakfast show, Seymour — most famous for her leading role on CBS' Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman — described how she was asked to go for a screen test in a movie and subsequently asked to go to the producer's house to further discuss the script.
She said: "He had another movie that he wanted me to star in. It was very exciting. He asked if I would come to his house to do a screening.
"I went to the house expecting to see other people there. There was no one there. He showed me the screen test I'd done, and then he sat down next to me and he said, 'Well, I've told everyone you're perfect for my movie, and I can't wait. You're just perfect'."
Seymour continued: "He said, 'I've done my bit and now it's your turn to do your bit.' And I looked at him very innocently and said, 'Oh, yes, I'll do a great screen test for you in a day and a half'.
"And he said, 'No, no, you know what you have to do.' And I'm going, 'No, I don't.' And he put his hand on my thigh, way up high. And being very British, I crossed my legs and scooted down the couch until I had no couch left. I had no option but to stand up and say, 'Please help me get home'."
The former Bond girl — she starred in Live and Let Die — further said she, while waiting for a cab to take her home, was threatened by the unnamed producer of being blacklisted from Hollywood if she ever opened up about the "devastating" encounter.
She further said the producer told her: "If you ever tell anyone that this happened, or that you were even here in my house... You'll never work ever again anywhere on the planet," which scared her into silence for so many years.
Seymour revealed that the threat was so intense that it almost stopped her from being an actress for a whole year. "I could have quit the profession completely. Shows you how devastating it was to me," she said.
