Jane Fonda has revealed that she nearly quit acting after a disastrous experience on her first-ever movie.
“I had decided after my first movie, Tall Story, that I was going to quit while I was ahead,” Fonda, 87, revealed to Variety in an interview published on Wednesday, February 19.
Jane comes from one of Hollywood’s most famous acting families – her father, Henry Fonda, won an Oscar for On Golden Pond in 1982, and brother Peter Fonda cowrote and starred in 1969’s counterculture classic Easy Rider. Jane faced lofty expectations when she started her career on Broadway in 1960, before making her film debut in Tall Story that same year.
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The romantic comedy cast Jane opposite Anthony Perkins in an adaptation of Howard Nemerov’s 1957 novel The Homecoming Game, but working with director Joshua Logan was not pleasant for her.
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“I didn’t enjoy the experience. And before we started shooting, Josh Logan, the director-producer, said to me, ‘You should have your jaw broken so your cheeks aren’t so puffy.’ Stuff like that really builds a girl’s confidence,” she recalled in her new interview.
Jane walked away from Tall Story feeling unsure about her future as an actress, before an unexpected offer to star in 1962 drama Walk on the Wild Side changed her life forever.
“That made all the difference in the world. [Her Walk on the Wild Side role] was a real character,” she said. “She wasn’t some cheerleader from next door that I had a hard time relating to. She rode around in a boxcar and then she becomes a hooker in a high-class brothel run by Barbara Stanwyck. And I had a blast.”
Jane earned her first Golden Globe Award, for Most Promising Newcomer, for Walk on the Wild Side. Throughout the 1960s, she racked up a string of acclaimed performances in Western comedy Cat Ballou, Neil Simon‘s film adaptation of his hit play Barefoot in the Park and, of course, 1968’s science fiction classic Barbarella.
She became one of Hollywood’s most enduring stars into the present day, which is why she will be presented with the Life Achievement Award by Julia Louis-Dreyfus at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday, February 23.
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“Given annually to an actor who fosters the ‘finest ideals of the acting profession,’ the SAG Life Achievement Award will be the latest of Fonda’s esteemed catalog of international industry and public distinctions recognizing her masterful performances and impactful activism,” SAG-AFTRA confirmed via its website in October 2024. “Jane Fonda’s acclaimed career, which spans six decades, has captivated audiences with her versatile performances across film, television and theater, while using her platform to champion critical social causes.”
Jane responded to being chosen for the prestigious award by saying that there’s “no honor like the one bestowed on you by your peers.”
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“SAG-AFTRA works tirelessly to protect the working actor and to ensure that union members are being treated equitably in all areas, and I am proud to be a member as we continue to work to protect generations of performers to come,” she added.
Kristen Bell hosts the 31st annual Screen Actors Guild Awards live on Netflix Sunday at 8 p.m. ET from the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles.
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