Actress Julianna Margulies has recounted a “traumatic” experience she had with actor Steven Seagal in a hotel room.

She was auditioning for her first film role and was asked by the casting director to meet with Seagal, who was alone in his hotel suite, ahead of filming the 1991 movie Out for Justice.

The ER and The Good Wife actress was surprised to be met with Seagal holding a gun as they spoke in the living room.

Margulies said that Seagal asked her to move to the bedroom to continue discussing her character because he was tired after a long day.

She recalls Seagal telling her that he was a healer and could help with her pain that she didn’t have.

Margulies said she was “straight out of college” and needed her Screen Actors Guild card.

She had given herself five years to make a living as an actress, saying, “I’ll quit and do something else—something worthy of my time. But I’m not going to beg. And I’m not going to live on a futon for the rest of my life.”

She received a call from the casting director the night before her second audition, asking her to go to Seagal’s New York hotel suite to prepare for their scene.

Margulies was not accompanied by the casting director and instead met Seagal, who was holding a gun, in his hotel room.

Seagal was also accused of sexual harassment and assault by several women, including actresses Portia de Rossi, Jenny McCarthy, and Eva LaRue, and Bond girl Rachel Grant.

Margulies first shared her story in November 2017 amid the #MeToo movement. Seagal denied the allegations, and no charges were brought against him.

In 2018, he walked out of a live interview when questioned about the accusations.

Margulies said that Seagal’s comment about being a healer gave her the courage to stand up and leave the hotel room.

“When the #MeToo movement happened, and I heard women talking about things he had done, I was like, Yeah, I was in that hotel room,” she said.

She also shared the story in her new memoir, Sunshine Girl.

In the memoir, Margulies wrote about feeling something hard under the couch cushion when she sat down.

It turned out to be the gun, which Seagal said he kept to be safe from “crazies” but proceeded to hold it while they spoke about the film role, which she felt he did to intimidate her.

She wrote, “Pretending I wasn’t shitting myself was the best course of action.” While they discussed her sex worker character, Seagal told her that he had a long day and needed to lie down, so he wanted to finish the conversation in the bedroom.

Margulies felt her stomach lurch and her skin get clammy. She said she had to talk her way out of the situation, and she had no chance of survival against a giant with a gun.

She declined Seagal’s offer to read her palm, noting it was almost midnight and she had to get home.

She then backed out of the room and headed for the door as fast as she could without breaking into a sprint.

Seagal followed her a few steps but seemed to find the whole scenario amusing as he leaned one arm on the doorjamb of the bedroom and watched her leave.

Margulies was not invited to the premiere of Out for Justice.

She said that during the two-week shoot in Los Angeles, she made sure that one of the hair and makeup professionals was always with her.

She didn’t want to be left alone in a room with Seagal again. Margulies said that Seagal made jokes at her expense on the set, but she paid no attention