Sally Field has worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, but one of her earliest experiences on a film set left her completely puzzled.
Looking back on her first movie role in the 1967 Western ‘The Way West‘, the Oscar-winning actress revealed that she spent much of the production trying to figure out what one legendary co-star was actually saying to her.
Sally Field’s First Film Came With An Unforgettable Co-Star
During a recent appearance on the Talking Pictures podcast, Sally Field revealed that the co-star who left her confused was legendary Hollywood actor Robert Mitchum. The two appeared together in the 1967 Western ‘The Way West‘, which also featured Kirk Douglas and Richard Widmark.
The film marked Field’s first movie role, and she admitted that she felt intimidated by the established stars around her. Instead of socializing on set, she often kept to herself and would sit alone in the dirt between scenes.
Despite her shyness, Mitchum regularly joined her. However, their conversations did not go quite as expected. “Mitchum would sit with me, and I never could understand a single word he said,” Field recalled. “I didn’t know what he was saying! I don’t know if he was stoned or what, but I couldn’t string two words together. And I would go, ‘yeah, yeah,’ and [I’d laugh] and pretend I understood what he said.”
The One Thing Robert Mitchum Said That Field Never Forgot
Although Field struggled to understand most of what Mitchum said, she never doubted his intentions. She recalled that even when his words were impossible to follow, she could tell that he was welcoming her into the group and making her feel at ease during a time when she felt out of place.
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“He was good to me,” Field said. She then shared the one comment from Mitchum that stayed with her long after filming ended. “The only thing that I understood that he said to me — and then I thought, did I understand that right? — he said, ‘You know, you’re one of us,’” she said. “And I went, ‘Well, okay.’”
At the time, the young actress admitted that she had no idea what the remark really meant. Looking back, however, she believes Mitchum was simply stating a fact rather than offering praise. “It certainly wasn’t overly sentimental or overly flattering. It just was a fact,” she reflected. “He said, ‘You know what, you’re one of us.’ And I just said thank you.”
Field said she “didn’t really know” what Mitchum meant until nearly two decades later. By the early 1980s, she had built an impressive career of her own and had become one of Hollywood’s most respected actresses.
During an appearance at the People’s Choice Awards, she found herself seated at the same table as Mitchum. Recalling the moment, she said, “In the early ‘80s, I had to join a table at the People’s Choice Award… And I went to sit down at this table, and Mitchum was across the table.”
The actress remembered that Mitchum immediately recognized her. “He was still alive — older, obviously — and he stood up, and we looked at each other, and he said, ‘I told you so.’” The brief conversation suddenly gave new meaning to the words he had spoken to her years earlier on the set of ‘The Way West‘.
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