Tough guy Tommy Lee Jones put the fear of God in the cast of his movie directorial debut THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA when he fired his own teenage daughter.

The MEN IN BLACK star gave his 13-year-old daughter VICTORIA her marching orders after she slept in and refused to get up for an early set call.

He explains, "I knocked on her door at 5.30 in the morning and she responded customarily, typically, by saying, 'Go away,' and I said, 'No baby, this is different, we can't be late, we're making a film.'

"She said, 'Go away,' so I said, 'OK... and I got in the car, went to the set and the guys were there with their storyboards and their shot lists and all the things that I prepared for them - the mark on the ground for her (daughter) - and they said, 'Where is she?' and I said, 'Forget about it, she's fired.'"

But some quick-thinking production assistants saved the day by rushing the tired teenager to the set.

Jones adds, "Behind my back the production staff had crept into the room... and said, 'You might wanna think about getting up,' and (they) got her there in time to go into hair and make-up and get her job back."