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A Slice of Life
by Francine Brokaw
In Touch With . . . Sally Field
Sally Field
Sally Field is not a newcomer to weekly television. Her past credits include the hit shows Gidget and The Flying Nun and she had a recurring role in ER. Sally’s list of feature films – and award nominations – is long enough to paper your dining room. Fans of this petite dynamo can now enjoy her new series, Brothers and Sisters, which airs on Sunday nights on ABC.
“This is a phenomenal group,” the actress says about her costars. “You just don't get a group like this with the opportunity to tell the kinds of stories that they want to tell about family, (and) about America.” She is excited about the new show and all the storylines and possibilities within the show. Other cast members include Calista Flockhart, Patricia Wettig, Rachel Griffiths, Ron Rifkin, and many more. This cast list is enormous, and consists of some actors who have helped shape the world of television today.
“You know, one of the really interesting things about this - certainly for me - is that Robbie (John Robin Baitz, the creator) wants to write some great stories about women of varying ages. We are -just the women alone - we are all various types and various ages. And that's really, really interesting to me and not done very often.”
The last series in which Sally starred, “The Court,” is an experience the actress would rather wipe from her memory and from all who saw it. “I knew before it went on the air,” that it wouldn’t last. “We were in the midst of filming. Literally, the first episode, they took it off the air immediately. I don't know. Whatever. You always face failure in life. I just figure it's better to fail with a big, huge, loud splat than a tiny, little, weeny whimper,” she says with laughter.
“That was many years ago,” she comments. “And, you know, life moves on. And, certainly, this is a different try. And if we splat, I just hope it's colorful, really bold and colorful. Because that's what we'll be.” However from the look of the pilot, the show has the potential to last a long time.
“It's a very interesting time in television. It really is,” she says. “I mean, television obviously is having to compete with a lot of other things and it's having to change and grow and try new things. And I think, without sounding like I'm kissing somebody's hind end, ABC has really just absolutely rethought the whole thing. And it's very interesting to see how much creativity they are inviting in, how many chances they are taking.” She continues, “Are there a lot more opportunities to tell little stories in TV that aren't in film? All in all, probably not, because you have to fight for it. And, I mean, we hope that we have the opportunity to do that, to be telling little human stories on a very big entertaining, hugely entertaining canvas.” Sally is just as comfortable on the big screen as the small, but Field has chosen this new series because she is excited about the possibilities it affords the actors and the audience.
“I saw the pilot and I had a meeting, and went, ‘Wow.’” She said after learning what was planned for the show, she couldn’t turn it down. “So here I am,” she smiles.
Steel Magnolias, Murphy’s Romance, Norma Rae, Absence of Malice, Sybil, Punchline, Places in the Heart, Forrest Gump, and so many more films bear the Sally Field mark. She is a unique and wonderful actress who rolls with the punches and keeps on swinging. With luck, she will be a big part of this television season and those to come.
© 2006 Francine Brokaw
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