Ep 1. Sally Field On Fighting for Her Role in 'Lincoln'

Popcorn With Peter Travers is a talk show that is dedicated to interviewing some of the biggest celebrities in the entertainment industry. The show’s sixth season premieres with an exciting episode featuring none other than Sally Field, the esteemed Hollywood actress who has graced both the stage and screen for several decades. This particular episode of Popcorn With Peter Travers explores Sally Field’s role in the 2012 Steven Spielberg film ‘Lincoln’ and the rigorous process she went through to secure the part.

As the episode begins, Peter Travers introduces Sally Field and begins discussing her impressive acting career. Field, who has won two Academy Awards and three Primetime Emmy Awards, talks about her love for performing and the passion that drives her art. The conversation then moves towards the making of ‘Lincoln’, which is widely regarded as one of the best historical dramas of all time.

Field plays Mary Todd Lincoln, the wife of the 16th President of the United States in the movie. She shares with Travers the challenges she faced while preparing for the role. Field reveals that Mary Todd Lincoln was a complex character, who was often misunderstood by historians and interpreters. She says that she wanted to bring a humanity to the character that had not been shown before and was unafraid to fight for her interpretation of the role.

The segment takes the audience through the phone call that Field received from Spielberg, asking her to play Mary Todd Lincoln. Field discusses how she immediately accepted the role despite her initial skepticism and was determined to do justice to it. She compares the experience of working with Spielberg to being in a master class of filmmaking and talks at length about the meticulous attention to detail that Spielberg brought to the project.

The episode takes the audience behind the scenes of ‘Lincoln’ where Field talks about the extensive research she did to play the character convincingly. She visited museums, libraries, and archives, studied letters, photographs, and accounts of people who knew Mary Todd Lincoln, and even memorized her speeches. Field reveals that she went through a grueling makeup and hairstyling regimen to portray Lincoln's wife convincingly.

Overall, the episode is a fascinating insight into the world of acting and filmmaking. Field is candid and revealing in her conversation with Travers, and audiences will leave with a new appreciation for the art of acting. This episode is a must-watch for film enthusiasts, history buffs, and anyone who appreciates good acting.