Quote Of The Day By Sally Field: ‘I Worked So Hard To Get Out Of Television. People Wouldn’t Let Me…’ – TVLine

These days, Sally Field is widely known for her accomplishments on the big screen. Field won two best actress Oscars for her work in “Norma Rae” and “Places in the Heart,” in addition to a best supporting actress nod for “Lincoln” in 2013. Cinephiles will also recognize her from roles in “Forrest Gump,” “Mrs. Doubtfire,” and this year’s quirky Netflix feature “Remarkably Bright Creatures,” which earned her an Emmy for lead actress in a limited or anthology series or movie last month.  

The Emmy for “Remarkably Bright Creatures” wasn’t Field’s first. She also won statuettes for roles in “Brothers & Sisters,” “ER,” and “Sybil” over the years. But before she could earn this plethora of achievements, Field had to start small. The actor launched her career by playing the titular surfer on 1965 sitcom “Gidget,” before leading another sitcom, “The Flying Nun,” in 1967. While casting directors looked down on Field as a result of these relatively lightweight roles, she never gave up on her dream of being a serious actor. That’s why she’s today’s quote of the day.

“I worked so hard to get out of television. People wouldn’t let me in a room to audition.”

The above quote is from Sally Field’s 2026 interview with Parade. The actor discussed the broad strokes of her career from “Gidget” to “Remarkably Bright Creatures,” which marked her return to the screen after a three-year hiatus. “[Acting] is my language with myself. It is how I have learned who I am, and I’m continuing to learn who I am,” she said. 

While it took Field “a long time to get out of situation comedy television in the 1960s,” she studied hard and honed her craft by attending The Actors Studio and taking inspiration from her peers. “It was such a battle to even get onto a list,” she reflected. “But I told myself that I had the power to change within myself. I had to get better.”

In her 1985 Academy Award acceptance speech for “Places in the Heart,” Sally Field famously said, “I can’t deny the fact that you like me. Right now, you like me!” But to earn that undeniable appreciation from the audience, Field first had to believe in herself — even when it seemed like no one else did.  

Field’s quote is good advice for anyone who feels like they’ve hit a wall in their personal life or their career. You have to keep pushing because you never know when that big break will come. For Field, “‘Sybil’ was the beginning of the transition,” as she said to Parade. Now, she has credits in 70 different titles.

Even at 80 years old, Field is still pushing herself to learn and grow. “You’re always changing,” she said. “So I’m looking at what does 80 offer me? What can I do that I’ve never been before? What will there be for that 80-year-old actor that I didn’t have as a 50-year-old actor or 40 or 30 or 20 or 17? So it’s always a journey. But I’m grateful to be on it.”

• “I played Gidget when I wanted to entertain people but keep some distance. When I was Gidget, no one ever really knew me. And by playing Gidget, I learned about me — about how deeply I wanted things I hadn’t even let myself see.” — from a 2008 interview with Oprah
• “Many times, the things that I finally, eventually did do, I found it. I came after it. … I fight like crazy.” — from a 2026 interview with The Hollywood Reporter
• “Being a little girl raised in the ’50s and having a very complicated childhood with my stepfather and even my mother at times, I was filled with rage. Really filled with rage. … And it was working with [acting coach] Lee Strasburg that allowed me to begin to tap into it, to not let it devour me.” — from a 2026 interview with People
• “Everybody always says the word ‘fun.’ ‘Fun’ I find to be a very thin word. Work is so much more meaningful than fun. Joyousness might be part of it. Stage is the most impactful because it’s so hard and so real and so there and so present, you don’t have the luxury to be hidden behind the protection of film and television.” — from a 2017 interview with The Guardian
• “Stand up. Be heard, whatever it takes. Get out on the streets. Be heard. It’s the first amendment.” — from a 2026 interview on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”