Sally Field does not mind playing an “old woman” as she puts it to me about her role in the new Netflix movi, Remarkably Bright Creatures. If fact she embraces it, and isn’t afraid to reveal that she is about to turn 80 later this year. She joins me for this episode of my Deadline video series The Actor’s Side to talk about taking on the role of Tova, the first movie leading role she has played since Hello, My Name Is Doris a decade ago.
In her new movie, Field plays an aging cleaning lady who works nights in an aquarium, where she strikes up a relationship with a similarly aging octopus on display there, as well as a relationship of the human kind with a young new co-worker played by Lewis Pullman. It is all based on a bestselling book and has been lovingly brought to the screen by Olivia Newman (Where The Crawdads Sing) with lots of new Emmy buzz for its venerable star.
Field already has two Oscars and three Emmys among many other showbiz honors including a Life Achievement Award from SAG-AFTRA, but it is still hard to believe the actress who began her career at age 15 as TV’s Gidget could ever refer to herself as old. But in fact in our conversation she talks about being especially interested in exploring the lives of women at an age where, for female stars, Hollywood usually doesn’t have much to offer (she says it is much different for men).
Field also tells stories of shedding her early image as a TV sitcom star and The Flying Nun to become a “serious” actor studying with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio. She also talks about how the TV movie Sybil, in which she starred opposite Joanne Woodward as a woman with multiple personalities changed everything in the way the business perceived her. The rest is history (along with her first Emmy).
Field also relives the night she won her second Oscar and explains how her now infamous “you like me” acceptance speech has been so wrongly misinterpreted over the years. And there is so much more in this lively visit with one of the greats, who is still catching a new wave with every role she takes on.
To watch our conversation and get the “actor’s side” of things from Sally Field, watch the video above. Join me this season every Tuesday and Thursday for another episode of The Actor’s Side, and every Monday and Friday for a new edition of Behind the Lens.
