Celebrities

Barbra Streisand claims Mandy Patinkin wanted to have an affair: He made my life ‘miserable’

It’s “No Wonder” she threatened to replace him.

Barbra Streisand revealed in her memoir “My Name Is Barbra” that she once threatened to replace Mandy Patinkin in the 1983 film “Yentl” after he said he wanted to have an affair with her while he was already married.

“There was a moment, a week or so into the shoot, when Mandy and I were doing a scene in the yeshiva,” Streisand, 81, wrote. “I think he had two or three lines, but he wouldn’t look me in the eye. He just stared at my forehead.”

The “Funny Girl” actress said she then confronted Patinkin, 70, about his behavior and was startled to find that “The Princess Bride” star thought they were going to have a more intimate dynamic.

“His face crumpled and he said, ‘I thought we were going to have a more personal relationship,’ ” Streisand wrote.

Barbra Streisand (right) revealed that she almost fired Mandy Patinkin from the 1983 film “Yentl” after he wanted to start an affair with her. ©United Artists/Courtesy Everett Collection

” ‘What?’ I had no idea what he was talking about,” Streisand continued. “[He said,] ‘I thought we were going to have an affair.’ I looked at him as if he were crazy . . . 1) I would never have an affair with an actor I was directing, 2) he was married, and 3) I wasn’t at all attracted to him.”

Patinkin’s been married to actress Kathryn Grody since 1980.

According to the Broadway legend, she “didn’t want to hurt his feelings” so she “simply said, ‘I don’t operate that way.’ ”

“I said, ‘Mandy, this kind of behavior can’t continue. I’m prepared to replace you. We’re only two weeks in. I can reshoot all your scenes if you can’t be more professional. I’ve waited 15 years to realize my dream and I will not let you destroy it,’ ” the EGOT winner wrote, adding that her dynamic with Patinkin led to them scrapping the sex scene between the two main characters.

“There was a moment, a week or so into the shoot, when Mandy and I were doing a scene in the yeshiva,” Streisand, 81, wrote. “I think he had two or three lines, but he wouldn’t look me in the eye. He just stared at my forehead.” ©MGM/Courtesy Everett Collection

“By this point Mandy had been making my life miserable for months, and I just couldn’t bear the thought of making love with him,” the “Way We Were” actress said. “I’m not that good an actress.”

“So I changed it. I rewrote the scene. And now that I look back on it, I wonder if I allowed my frustration with Mandy to overrule my instincts,” she lamented. “Maybe I should have let ‘Yentl’ . . . and the audience . . . have that moment.”

The Post reached out to Patinkin for comment.

According to the Broadway legend, she “didn’t want to hurt his feelings” so she “simply said, ‘I don’t operate that way.’ ” BBC
The EGOT winner claimed that due to her “frustration” with Patinkin, she was forced to scrap the sex scene between their characters. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Dwight D. Opperman Foundation

Years later, Streisand said that she brought up the incident again to Patinkin.

“I said, ‘Mandy, you put me through hell. I can’t write those notes for you. I’m sorry, but I just can’t do it. Why did you give me such a hard time?’ ” she said after Patinkin asked her to help him on his upcoming album.

“[He said,] ‘Well, I was scared.’ I guess people have different ways of reacting to fear. I was scared, too, but it made me quieter.”

Streisand revealed in her memoir that longtime friend Marlon Brando expressed interest in having an extramarital affair, too.

Years later, Streisand (right) said that she learned that her co-star’s behavior had been the result of fear. Courtesy Everett Collection

According to Streisand, Brando approached the actress at a 1966 party and told her, “I’d like to f – – k you.”

Streisand rebuked the advance as Brando’s wife was reportedly in the next room.

“The Guilt Trip” actress told Page Six in 2012 that Brando tried once again to sleep with her while on a drive in the 1970s.

“He wanted to go to the desert to see the wildflowers,’’ she told the outlet. “He wanted to stay overnight.”

The actress said that despite her second rejection of him, she and the “Streetcar Named Desire” star remained good friends until his death in 2004.