"You start to worry about choking...:" Uma Thurman reveals eating on camera as her biggest fear while acting
Jun 18, 2025
Washington [US], June 18 : While Uma Thurman is no stranger to sword fights, high-octane stunts, or emotionally charged performances, there's one scene that still unnerves the seasoned actress, eating on camera.
Appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday night, the Oscar-nominated star offered a candid and humorous insight into her unexpected anxiety during mealtime scenes.
"I realised something after filling out one of those DSM checklists psychiatrists use to figure out your mental state," she told Fallon, as quoted by The Hollywood Reporter.
"Did you know that eating in front of strangers is actually one of the questions? It turns out I have anxiety when I eat around other people, and especially on set," she added.
Though she jokingly added that her DSM result came out as "just fine," Thurman admitted that acting while eating is an entirely different performance challenge.
"First of all, you have to do lots of takes," she explained, adding, "Second, you don't choose what food you're eating, and then you have to talk while chewing. That's when you start worrying about choking or messing up the scene," as quoted by The Hollywood Reporter.
Host Jimmy Fallon playfully pointed out how actor Brad Pitt is famously always eating in scenes, whether it's an apple or even an onion, seemingly unbothered. Thurman laughed, but stood by her point.
"I've done action scenes in heels, monologues through tears, but a proper eating scene? That's still on my bucket list," she said, adding, "It's like skinny-dipping, something you know you should have done at least once, but you just haven't."
Best known for her iconic roles in 'Pulp Fiction' and 'Kill Bill', Thurman prepares for her upcoming role in 'The Old Guard 2'.
'The Old Guard 2' will release on July 2, 2025.
