This year’s recipient of the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award is none other than Sally Field!
As she accepted the award on behalf of SAG-AFTRA from her co-star in The Amazing Spider-Man, Andrew Garfield, at the SAG Awards 2023, which took place on Sunday at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles, Field, 76, reflected on some of the most significant roles she has played over the course of her more than five decades in the industry.
Growing up, while Field was learning how to act on stage, she “never knew what I would say or do,” and she remembered that when she first joined SAG and got her first acting part in the 1960s comedy Gidget, she stated that she “never knew what I would say or do.”
The actress shared her thoughts by stating, “I wasn’t seeking for the applause or the attention, even though that’s great… sometimes.” “And it was never because I felt the need to conceal who I was by adopting the personalities of other people. Finding those few priceless moments when I am completely, thoroughly, and even dangerously alive has been the driving force behind my acting for as long as I can remember. Hence, the mission has always been to discover a method to get to it, to get to the job, and to scratch and claw my way to it if that’s what it takes.”
During her remarks, Field praised the efforts of the other performers in the audience for their own challenging paths to success. She said that her own career’s “battle, as hard as it was, was lightweight compared to some of yours.”
“Do you realize what? The phrase “easy” is overstated, continued Field. “I have soared through the air on wires and surfed in the ocean. I have also ridden horses, wagon trains, and fast autos. I used to have many different personas, I worked at a textile factory, and I plucked cotton… “I played Mrs. Doubtfire’s boss, Forrest Gump’s mother, Lincoln’s wife, and Aunt May to Spider-Man,” said Sally Field, referring to some of the iconic roles she has played throughout the course of her acting career. I’ve performed scenes while wearing historical gowns that weighed fifty pounds each, as well as when fully dressed, partially clad, and completely nude.
She continued by saying, “There is hardly a day that goes by that I don’t feel quietly happy to call myself an actress,” as she wrapped up her address. “Thank you, thank you, thank you for this tremendous distinction, which comes from you, the people whose respect I have always desired the most in my life. Actors.”
In January, SAG-AFTRA announced that Field will be the 58th winner of the award. The award is “presented yearly to an actor who nurtures the ‘finest principles of the performing profession,'” according to the organization that bestows the honor.
Fran Drescher, who was serving as President of the Screen Actors Guild at the time, was quoted as saying in a statement that “Sally is a brilliant performer with a huge range and an incredible ability to portray any role.” “She simply connects with people, and as a result, her career has stood the test of time because she is genuine in her performances and consistently conveys likability and empathy.”
After more than half a century spent in the spotlight as an actress, Sally Field is best known for her roles in the films 80 for Brady and Spoiler Alert, both of which were released relatively recently. In the 2022 season of the HBO series Winning Time: The Birth of the Lakers Dynasty, the actress also played the role of Jessie Buss.