Two-time Academy Award-winning actress Sally Field has revealed a Hollywood icon was responsible for reviving her career during a time when she was struggling to even land auditions.
Field, 79, is now a hugely successful star. Her two Oscars were in the Best Actress category, for 1979’s “Norma Rae” and 1984’s “Places in the Heart.” Additionally, she received a nomination for the Best Supporting Actress gong for 2012’s “Lincoln.”
The star is also known for her appearances in hugely popular movies like 1977’s “Smokey and the Bandit,” 1989’s “Steel Magnolias,” 1993’s “Mrs. Doubtfire,” 1994’s “Forrest Gump,” and 2012’s “The Amazing Spider-Man” (per IMDb).
However, there was a time when she was having no luck finding screen roles at all. In fact, nobody was even taking her seriously as an actress. It was then that a bona fide movie legend came to her aid.
Jack Nicholson Helped to End Sally Field’s Acting Drought
GettyIn an exclusive chat with People, Sally Field revealed it was Jack Nicholson who helped to end her Hollywood acting drought in the early 1970s.
Nicholson, 89, is, of course known for his roles in movies like 1974’s “Chinatown,” 1975’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” 1980’s “The Shining,” 1989’s “Batman,” and 1997’s “As Good as It Gets” (per IMDb).
At the time when he came to Field’s rescue, the actress says she “couldn’t get in a room to audition.”
Field continued, “I couldn’t get on the list. They thought they already knew what I was. ‘No, thanks. We don’t want any of that.’”
She added, “I had to say to myself that if I wasn’t where I wanted to be, I had to get better.”
Then she started studying at the renowned Actor Studio in Los Angeles, where Nicholson was among what Field described as the many “wonderful actors, really working actors” training with its founder and coach Lee Strasberg.
Nicholson saw her working with Strasberg and recommended her as “an undiscovered talent” to the late casting director Dianne Crittenden and director Bob Rafelson. It resulted in Crittenden calling Field to arrange a meeting to appear in “Stay Hungry” â which she says was her first real “interview” since the 1965 sitcom “Gidget.”
Field landed the role alongside Jeff Bridges and Arnold Schwarzenegger. She credited Nicholson for that, saying, “I worked at the Actors Studio for so long â and it was so hard â that Jack had seen it and the word spread.”
Field’s Career Continues to Thrive
GettyAs already mentioned, bearing in mind what she has said about him, Sally Field has a lot to thank Jack Nicholson for. She’s had a hugely successful career that has resulted in tangible acclaim in the form of two Oscars and countless additional awards.
Her success extends to the small screen. Her more recent prominent television roles include the likes of legal drama “The Court,” medical drama “ER,” drama series “Brothers & Sisters,” and drama series “Dispatches from Elsewhere.”
She is also due to star in the upcoming Netflix mystery drama movie “Remarkably Bright Creatures.” Field will appear alongside the likes of Lewis Pullman, Joan Chen, Kathy Baker, Beth Grant, Sofia Black-DâElia, Colm Meaney, and Alfred Molina in the film.
Per IMDb, “Remarkably Bright Creatures” plot is as follows: “Through unlikely bonds formed during night shifts at a local aquarium, Tova, an elderly widow (played by Field), learns of a life-changing discovery that may bring her joy and wonder once again.”
As for Nicholson, he hasn’t acted since he appeared in the 2010 rom-com “How Do You Know.” He was, however, looking remarkably healthy in his most recent public appearance in Feburary. Nicholson appeared in photographs on his daughter Lorraine Nicholson’s Instagram account, which can be seen below.
We’d like to wish Sally Field all the success in the world with her ongoing career. We also hope Jack Nicholson continues to enjoy his retirement.
The post Oscar Winner Sally Field Credits Hollywood Icon With Reviving Her Career When She Couldn’t Get Hired appeared first on EntertainmentNow.