Faye Dunaway
Birthday: 14 January 1941, Bascom, Florida, USA
Birth Name: Dorothy Faye Dunaway
Height: 170 cm
She is one of the great models who transitioned successfully into acting! "Thomas Crown Affair" being one of the greatest performances causing all to take notice! Playing intelligent women w ...Show More
[on portraying Joan Crawford in Mommie Dearest (1981)] If your mind is on a woman who is dead and yo Show more
[on portraying Joan Crawford in Mommie Dearest (1981)] If your mind is on a woman who is dead and you're trying to find out who she was and do right by her, you do feel a presence. I felt it at home at night sometimes. It wasn't pleasant. I felt Joan was not at rest. Hide
[on clashing with Roman Polanski on the set of Chinatown (1974)] Roman was very much an autocrat, al Show more
[on clashing with Roman Polanski on the set of Chinatown (1974)] Roman was very much an autocrat, always forcing things. It ranged from the physical to the mental. He was very domineering and abrasive and made it clear he wanted to manipulate the performance. That approach has never worked with me. Hide
Dick Van Dyke is one of the sweetest and funniest men in the world.
Dick Van Dyke is one of the sweetest and funniest men in the world.
With the exception of my mother, my brother, and my beloved son, William Alfred has been without que Show more
With the exception of my mother, my brother, and my beloved son, William Alfred has been without question the most important single figure in my lifetime. A teacher, a mentor, and I suppose the father I never had, the parent and companion I would always wanted, if that choice had been mine. He has taught me so much about the virtue of a simple life, about spirituality, about the purity of real beauty, and how to go at this messy business of life. Hide
I really hate talking about Mommie Dearest (1981)! It is like an obsession with people! Why do peopl Show more
I really hate talking about Mommie Dearest (1981)! It is like an obsession with people! Why do people need to focus so much on one film I made over 20 years ago? It was not a great time in my life and the film was not an experience I want to think about. Period! Hide
I know you have a life, and you act many roles. But after Mommie Dearest (1981), my own personality Show more
I know you have a life, and you act many roles. But after Mommie Dearest (1981), my own personality and the memory of all my other roles got lost along the way in the mind of the public and in the mind of many in Hollywood. It was a performance. That's all that it was. For better or worse, the roles we play become a part of our persona, and the actress and the woman are identified with that persona. People thought of me as being like [Joan Crawford]. And that was the unfortunate reality for me about this project. Hide
Though I loved making The Wicked Lady (1983), in the end it just didn't have the juice it needed to Show more
Though I loved making The Wicked Lady (1983), in the end it just didn't have the juice it needed to be a hit. It seemed to never quite decide whether to be a farce or a drama, and so it failed by being neither. Hide
[on working with Steve McQueen in The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)] It was really my first time to pla Show more
[on working with Steve McQueen in The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)] It was really my first time to play opposite someone who was a great big old movie star, and that's exactly what Steve was. He was one of the best-loved actors around, one whose talent more than equaled his sizable commercial appeal. Hide
[on Supergirl (1984)] The film was really just a send-up, a spoof, and I had a lot of fun with Selen Show more
[on Supergirl (1984)] The film was really just a send-up, a spoof, and I had a lot of fun with Selena. But every time I tried to do something funny, [director Jeannot Szwarc] wouldn't let me. He said, "you have to be the straight person". I always wanted to do comedy but it's daunting when you've not done it before. Hide
[on portraying Joan Crawford in Mommie Dearest (1981)] Though [Christina Crawford's] book was obviou Show more
[on portraying Joan Crawford in Mommie Dearest (1981)] Though [Christina Crawford's] book was obviously an exploitation book, the first one of its kind, my task was to portray a woman, a full woman who she was in all her facets, not just one. I tried to illuminate who this woman was. But it was more than just about being angry, it was about trying to examine and explore the forces that undermined her. Hide
'Old Times' affected me in a lot of very complex ways. The play itself reminded me during a difficul Show more
'Old Times' affected me in a lot of very complex ways. The play itself reminded me during a difficult point in my life that there are a million facets to life. There is never just one answer. Professionally, if I hadn't taken that step to go back to the stage, in a serious way, I think I would have suffered for it. Hide
[on Bonnie and Clyde (1967)] It put me firmly in the ranks of actresses that would do work that was Show more
[on Bonnie and Clyde (1967)] It put me firmly in the ranks of actresses that would do work that was art. There are those who elevate the craft of acting to the art of acting, and now I would be among them. I was the golden girl at that time. One of those women who was going to be nominated year after year for an Oscar and would win at least one. The movie established the quality of my work. 'Bonnie and Clyde' would also turn me into a star. Hide
[on playing an alcoholic in Barfly (1987)] This character, who has given over her days and nights to Show more
[on playing an alcoholic in Barfly (1987)] This character, who has given over her days and nights to a bottle, is my way back to the light. This is a role that I care deeply about. I haven't felt this passion for a character since Network (1976). I saw the promise of a comeback for me in the deglamorized face of Wanda, a woman of sweet vulnerability. Hide
The rhythms of being an actress are by definition intensity and then letting out. It's like a heartb Show more
The rhythms of being an actress are by definition intensity and then letting out. It's like a heartbeat. Hide
[2008] I am furious that they think I'm too old to play the love interest of guys like Jack Nicholso Show more
[2008] I am furious that they think I'm too old to play the love interest of guys like Jack Nicholson and Clint Eastwood. Why should I play sisters and mothers while guys like Jack and Clint, who are older than me, have on-screen lovers half their age? Hide
[on signing a six-picture deal with Otto Preminger that she later got out of] As much as it cost me Show more
[on signing a six-picture deal with Otto Preminger that she later got out of] As much as it cost me to get out of the deal with Otto, if I'd had to do those movies with him, then I wouldn't have done Bonnie and Clyde (1967), or The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), or any of the movies I was suddenly in a position to choose to do. Beyond the movies I might have missed, it would have been a kind of Chinese water torture to have been stuck in five more terrible movies. It's impossible to assess the damage that might have done to me that early on in my career. Hide
[on winning an Emmy for her guest appearance on Columbo (1971)] I was overwhelmed by the generosity Show more
[on winning an Emmy for her guest appearance on Columbo (1971)] I was overwhelmed by the generosity of spirit my colleagues extended me that night. It was like being wrapped up in a warm embrace. Though this is more often than not a town of grand illusions and transitory friendships, the moment seemed heartfelt, and touched me deeply. Hide
[on playing Blanche DuBois in a stage adaptation of 'A Streetcar Named Desire'] It was a fun perform Show more
[on playing Blanche DuBois in a stage adaptation of 'A Streetcar Named Desire'] It was a fun performance for me, but hard, very draining. At the height of the madness each night, I would go from standing straight up to falling to my knees, in one swift move. [Tennessee Williams] told me later that he thought I was brave and adorable and reminded him of a precocious child, and that my performance ranked with the very best. It was high praise indeed coming from him. Hide
[on playing Bonnie Parker in Bonnie and Clyde (1967)] That movie touched the core of my being. Never Show more
[on playing Bonnie Parker in Bonnie and Clyde (1967)] That movie touched the core of my being. Never have I felt so close to a character as I felt to Bonnie. She was a yearning, edgy, ambitious southern girl who wanted to get out of wherever she was. I knew everything about wanting to get out, and the getting out doesn't come easy. But with Bonnie there was a real tragic irony. She got out only to see that she was heading nowhere and that the end was death. Hide
What gave [Cold Sassy Tree (1989)] its heart were the people who were involved. It was an incredible Show more
What gave [Cold Sassy Tree (1989)] its heart were the people who were involved. It was an incredible collaboration, and I treasure the experience as much as the result, of which I am extremely proud. Hide
[on winning the Best Actress Oscar for Network (1976) at The 49th Annual Academy Awards (1977)] I wi Show more
[on winning the Best Actress Oscar for Network (1976) at The 49th Annual Academy Awards (1977)] I will never forget the moment, and the feeling, when I heard my name. It was, without question, one of the most wonderful nights of my life. The Oscar represented the epitome of what I had struggled for and dreamt about since I was a child. The emotional rush of getting this accolade, the highest one this industry can award you, just hit me like a bomb. It was the symbol of everything I ever thought I wanted as an actress. Hide
Faye Dunaway's FILMOGRAPHY
as Actor (114)
Faye Dunaway'S roles
Wanda Wilcox
Vicki Anderson
Bonnie Parker
Dr. Margaret Campbell
Laura Mars
Lou McDowell
Kathy Hale
Mrs. Dubrow
Diana Christensen
Wilhelmina Cooper
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