NEED TO KNOW<\/h3>\n\n- \n\n
Sally Field appears in this week’s issue of PEOPLE, sharing stories from her over six decades working in Hollywood<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
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After three years on the absurdist 1967 sitcom The Flying Nun<\/em>, a dry spell began where Field \u201ccouldn’t get in a room to audition\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n- \n\n
Field says Jack Nicholson, after seeing her perform at the Actors Studio, quietly helped her nab an audition for her breakout film role in 1976’s Stay Hungry<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nSally Field<\/a> famously had a hard time being taken seriously in Hollywood after starring inThe Flying Nun<\/em><\/a>.<\/em> It was Jack Nicholson<\/a>, she reveals, who helped end her drought.\u00a0<\/p>\nSpeaking to PEOPLE in this week’s issue, Field, 79, says that after breaking out in the fantasy sitcom in the early 1970s, she \u201ccouldn’t get in a room to audition. I couldn’t get on the list. They thought they already knew what I was. \u2018No, thanks. We don’t want any of that.’\u201d<\/p>\n
The two-time Oscar<\/a> winner recalls coming up with a career mantra: \u201cI had to say to myself that if I wasn’t where I wanted to be, I had to get better.\u201d Hollywood may be \u201crotten\u201d and \u201cunfair,\u201d she adds, but \u201cit had to be that it was on me to make it different. I felt if I wasn’t doing that, then I was just handing them all the power.\u201d<\/p>\nField says she began studying at the infamous Actor Studio in Los Angeles, and Nicholson, 89, was among the many \u201cwonderful actors, really working actors\u201d training with its founder and coach Lee Strasberg: \u201cEverybody used to come. It was packed. You couldn’t get in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\nSally Field in 1967
Credit: Ron Thal \/TV Guide\/courtesy Everett Collection<\/i><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
Training in performance techniques \u201cconstantly, as much as I possibly could,\u201d recalls the actress, \u201cI said to myself, \u2018It will change when I’m good enough.’ And ultimately, in a weird way, it happened because I was acting at the studio so much.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was Nicholson, Field shares, who saw her working with Strasberg and recommended her as \u201can undiscovered talent\u201d to the late casting director Dianne Crittenden and director Bob Rafelson. Crittenden went on to call the actress in for a meeting \u2014 her first real “interview” since the 1965 sitcom Gidget<\/em>, she says \u2014 for Stay Hungry<\/em>, the Rafelson-directed comedy-drama set at a gym.\u00a0<\/p>\n\u201cSo in some weird way, my theory was right,\u201d she says. \u201cI worked at the Actors Studio for so long \u2014\u00a0and it was so hard \u2014 that Jack had seen it and the word spread.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n![\"Arnold](\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/lo\/mysterio\/api\/93481651D9127DAA979237784BF5588D33459F4F69A8EC51C7B9A5100AB20FBE\/subgraphmysterio\/resizefit_w960_h640;quality_80;format_webp\/https:%2F%2Fmedia.zenfs.com%2Fen%2Faol_people_articles_471%2F4fcff021cca6f6069cbd16fb8eed91b6\"\/)
<\/div>\nArnold Schwarzenegger and Sally Field in ‘Stay Hungry’
Credit: Glasshouse Images\/Shutterstock<\/i><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
Booking that role opposite Jeff Bridges<\/a> and then-newcomer Arnold Schwarzenegger<\/a>, she concludes, \u201cwas the beginning of the change\u201d to a more meaningful career in Hollywood. The same year Stay Hungry<\/em> established Field as a movie star, she won an Emmy for the miniseries Sybil<\/em>, launching her toward Smokey and the Bandit<\/em>, Norma Rae<\/em>, Places in the Heart <\/em>and beyond.<\/p>\nNow with two Oscars, two Emmys and a Tony nomination to her name, Field, who stars in the new film Remarkably Bright Creatures<\/em><\/a>, says she remains focused on what’s ahead. [Acting] is what I do,\u201d she says simply. \u201cI’m supposed to go into rehearsals for a play at the end of summer. I still have my head down, and I’m always hoping to get better.\u201d<\/p>\nNever miss a story \u2014 sign up for <\/strong>PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/strong><\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
Sally Field appears in this week’s issue of PEOPLE, sharing stories from her over six decades working in Hollywood<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
After three years on the absurdist 1967 sitcom The Flying Nun<\/em>, a dry spell began where Field \u201ccouldn’t get in a room to audition\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Field says Jack Nicholson, after seeing her perform at the Actors Studio, quietly helped her nab an audition for her breakout film role in 1976’s Stay Hungry<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Sally Field<\/a> famously had a hard time being taken seriously in Hollywood after starring inThe Flying Nun<\/em><\/a>.<\/em> It was Jack Nicholson<\/a>, she reveals, who helped end her drought.\u00a0<\/p>\n Speaking to PEOPLE in this week’s issue, Field, 79, says that after breaking out in the fantasy sitcom in the early 1970s, she \u201ccouldn’t get in a room to audition. I couldn’t get on the list. They thought they already knew what I was. \u2018No, thanks. We don’t want any of that.’\u201d<\/p>\n The two-time Oscar<\/a> winner recalls coming up with a career mantra: \u201cI had to say to myself that if I wasn’t where I wanted to be, I had to get better.\u201d Hollywood may be \u201crotten\u201d and \u201cunfair,\u201d she adds, but \u201cit had to be that it was on me to make it different. I felt if I wasn’t doing that, then I was just handing them all the power.\u201d<\/p>\n Field says she began studying at the infamous Actor Studio in Los Angeles, and Nicholson, 89, was among the many \u201cwonderful actors, really working actors\u201d training with its founder and coach Lee Strasberg: \u201cEverybody used to come. It was packed. You couldn’t get in.\u201d<\/p>\n Sally Field in 1967 Training in performance techniques \u201cconstantly, as much as I possibly could,\u201d recalls the actress, \u201cI said to myself, \u2018It will change when I’m good enough.’ And ultimately, in a weird way, it happened because I was acting at the studio so much.\u201d<\/p>\n It was Nicholson, Field shares, who saw her working with Strasberg and recommended her as \u201can undiscovered talent\u201d to the late casting director Dianne Crittenden and director Bob Rafelson. Crittenden went on to call the actress in for a meeting \u2014 her first real “interview” since the 1965 sitcom Gidget<\/em>, she says \u2014 for Stay Hungry<\/em>, the Rafelson-directed comedy-drama set at a gym.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSo in some weird way, my theory was right,\u201d she says. \u201cI worked at the Actors Studio for so long \u2014\u00a0and it was so hard \u2014 that Jack had seen it and the word spread.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sally Field in ‘Stay Hungry’ Booking that role opposite Jeff Bridges<\/a> and then-newcomer Arnold Schwarzenegger<\/a>, she concludes, \u201cwas the beginning of the change\u201d to a more meaningful career in Hollywood. The same year Stay Hungry<\/em> established Field as a movie star, she won an Emmy for the miniseries Sybil<\/em>, launching her toward Smokey and the Bandit<\/em>, Norma Rae<\/em>, Places in the Heart <\/em>and beyond.<\/p>\n Now with two Oscars, two Emmys and a Tony nomination to her name, Field, who stars in the new film Remarkably Bright Creatures<\/em><\/a>, says she remains focused on what’s ahead. [Acting] is what I do,\u201d she says simply. \u201cI’m supposed to go into rehearsals for a play at the end of summer. I still have my head down, and I’m always hoping to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for <\/strong>PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/strong><\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
Credit: Ron Thal \/TV Guide\/courtesy Everett Collection<\/i><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>
Credit: Glasshouse Images\/Shutterstock<\/i><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n