Sally Field has always possessed a rare, alchemical mix of vulnerability and steel—a combination that has made the world fall in love with her repeatedly over seven decades. At 78, she remains as sharp as a diamond, radiating honesty that slices through the artifice of Hollywood like a serrated blade. Today, she is more than a legendary actress; she is a survivor of an era that often demanded its leading ladies be seen and not heard. When she speaks now, it is with the hard-won clarity of someone who has moved beyond the need for approval, exemplified by her recent, hilariously blunt reflections on her time as Hollywood’s most sought-after heartbreaker.
During a spirited appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, a caller asked Field to reflect on the best and worst on-screen kisses of her career. She praised the late James Garner, her co-star in Murphy’s Romance (1985), for delivering the gold standard—a performance defined by effortless warmth and genuine chemistry. Then came the inevitable question: who had been at the opposite end of the spectrum?
Field leaned in, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “This is going to shock you,” she teased, before delivering her verdict: “Burt Reynolds.”
The reaction was instantaneous. Reynolds, the 1970s and ’80s quintessential heartthrob, had long been the embodiment of Hollywood swagger. To Field, however, he had failed spectacularly. When Cohen pressed for specifics, she didn’t hedge. “Not totally involved,” she said, “just a lot of drooling was involved.”
With that single word—“drooling”—Field dismantled decades of Hollywood myth-making. For her, it wasn’t about cruelty; it was about honesty, the kind of truth only an actress with her experience and perspective could deliver.
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