Jeff Goldblum is sharing how being "shamed" at the start of his career helped him learn an important lesson that made a lasting impact on how he behaves on set.
The Wicked star recently spoke to People about how he got a little too in character while filming his first major movie as a young actor, choosing to forgo bathing in order to play a street thug in the 1974 thriller Death Wish.
"I didn't shower in order to play this street thug," he recalled. "Because I was a nice boy from Pittsburgh, I was like 19 or 20, something like that. And I was rather well-behaved. I had to be this dangerous street criminal."
His intense "misguided" method acting caught the attention of the assistant director — and everyone else on set for that matter — who didn't mince words when telling the actor that he smelled bad.
"The assistant director came up to me and said, 'Jeff, we're in a small space here. You smell. Can you do something about that? Please, please go home and et cetera, et cetera," he recalled, adding, "I was shamed, but it was a good lesson: In show business or any collaborative, close area, keep your hygiene up."
Goldblum seems to have taken the constructive criticism to heart as he has gone on to land roles in TV and film, including movies like The Fly, Jurassic Park, and Independence Day, among many others. He also recently shared a story about how he met his Wicked co-star Ariana Grande 20 years ago, and how she had to remind him of that fact.