Landing a hit TV series is supposed to launch an actor’s career. For Sally Field, it nearly derailed it.
The future two-time Oscar winner became a household name starring in “The Flying Nun.” But as reported by Far Out Magazine, the role was one she never wanted in the first place. Worse still, its success left Hollywood convinced they already knew exactly what kind of actress she was.
Sally Field Never Wanted to Be The Flying Nun
According to Far Out Magazine, Field was just 18 when she signed on to play the flying nun in the ABC sitcom. The series ran for three seasons and made her famous across America, but she has never hidden how much she disliked the experience.
“I hated doing ‘The Flying Nun’ so much,” she said.
“I was 18/19 years old. Who wanted to play a nun?”
Sally Field has explained that the role felt completely at odds with the era. While many young people in the late 1960s were embracing the counterculture movement, she found herself playing an unlikely television heroine.
Noting that “it was the ’60s by then,” Sally Field said that her peers were busy with other activities.
“Everybody was… eating granola and dropping out and marching and walking around naked!”
She later joked, “I was trying to figure out who I was, but I knew who I wasn’t: a flying nun.”
According to Far Out Magazine, Field initially turned the role down. However, her then-current project “Gidget” was soon cancelled and acting opportunities dried up. At that point, she said her stepfather pressured her into accepting the role, warning she might never work again.
Success Came With an Unexpected Price
The show was a huge success. Unfortunately, the show’s popularity created a new problem for Sally Field.
As reported by People, Field struggled to convince casting directors she could do anything beyond the wholesome television characters that had made her famous.
“I couldn’t get in a room to audition. I couldn’t get on the list,” she recalled. “They thought they already knew what I was. ‘No, thanks. We don’t want any of that.'”
Rather than giving up, Field decided the only thing she could control was her own craft.
“I had to say to myself that if I wasn’t where I wanted to be, I had to get better,” she said, adding that while Hollywood could be “rotten” and “unfair,” she refused to “hand them all the power.”
The Recommendation That Changed Everything for Sally Field
According to People, Sally Field threw herself into studying at the Actors Studio under legendary acting coach Lee Strasberg. She trained constantly, believing that eventually someone would notice.
“It will change when I’m good enough,” she told herself.
That turning point came thanks to an unexpected supporter.
While training at the Actors Studio, Jack Nicholson saw Field’s work and recommended her as “an undiscovered talent” to director Bob Rafelson and casting director Dianne Crittenden.
The recommendation led to her first major meeting since “Gidget.” Ultimately, it led to a role in “Stay Hungry” alongside Jeff Bridges and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
That film marked what she called “the beginning of the change.” The same year, she earned an Emmy for the “Sybil” miniseries. This opened the door to roles in “Smokey and the Bandit,” “Places in the Heart” and “Norma Rae.”
Looking back, “The Flying Nun” may have been the role Sally Field wanted to forget. But it also set her on the long road to becoming one of Hollywood’s most respected actresses.
After decades spent proving Hollywood wrong, Field’s career shows no signs of slowing down. Her latest film, “Remarkably Bright Creatures,” is now streaming on Netflix.
