Sally Field Earns 10th Emmy Nomination for Netflix Adaptation

Sally Field is a household name, synonymous with iconic roles like Mary Todd Lincoln and Mrs. Doubtfire.

From Sitcoms to Oscar-Winning Roles

The Emmy-nominated star of Netflix’s 'Remarkably Bright Creatures' adaptation discusses the "The whole time?" moment from 'Mrs. Doubtfire&#quot; and whether you can expect to see her reprising Mary Todd Lincoln on Broadway: "No, no, no."

Over the course of Sally Field‘s storied career, there have been opportunities to discover her character on set (like the ad-lib-heavy Mrs. Doubtfire) and those where it was all on the page (Tony Kushner’s Lincoln script). In Netflix’sRemarkably Bright Creatures, an adaptation of Shelby Van Pelt’s novel that’s sold more than 2 million copies, it was a little bit of both.

Fighting for Roles

Her Emmy nom for the work isn’t just interesting because it’s her 10th (she has three wins), she’s also the first actress in nearly a decade to earn one for a TV movie. But for Field, who went from ABC’s The Flying Nun to an Oscar winner for Norma Rae early in her career, the medium is something she’s learned not to focus on.

A Long Haul

Is there some role or project you’re still itching to do that’s not being presented to you?

My whole life, it’s been very difficult to find projects that I wanted to do. In the beginning, it was very difficult to find projects where they would even let me in the room to audition. I started in situation comedy television in 1964. In those days, they didn’t let you out. You lived and you died on that railroad track. You weren’t getting out. Even after I got to a place where [they’d let me audition], it has always been difficult to find films, characters, stories that I want to be part of me … that I would go, “OK, that’s it. This is the one.” It’s always taken me a long time.

Conversations with Her Team

What were the conversations with your team like in those moments where you felt like you weren’t booking what you wanted?

I didn’t think it was their responsibility. They would perhaps come across something that I might like, even if it wasn’t offered to me, maybe they would show it to me. But many times, the things that I finally, eventually did do, I found it. I came after it.

Lincoln: The Role She Fought Hard for

Was Lincoln the role that you fought the hardest for?

No, I fought hard for Sybil. That was a huge turning point. And I fought hard to get into this movie, Stay Hungry [1976]. That was the first [feature]. It was incredibly difficult to even get in the room. Nowanted me there. I could hear [director] Bob Rafelson in the back room yelling at Dianne Crittenden, the casting director, for even letting me sit in the waiting room because I was wasting his time.

A New Era

You talk about this stigma of working in sitcoms at the beginning of your career. You went back to TV in 2006 with Brothers & Sisters — a time before a lot of other Oscar winners started working in both mediums. Did you feel that the iron curtain was lifting?