The director who told Dolly Parton she needed acting lessons: “I’m not an actress”
To make a good film, it helps when a director actually gets on with their actors. The reality of Hollywood isn’t as pleasant as that, though, and it’s often the case that you have to work with someone you hate, or someone who doesn’t like you.
You’d think that a filmmaker would have faith in their stars if they’ve agreed to their casting, but Dolly Parton found herself at odds with a director who was critical of her talents. She rose to fame as a country singer, of course, releasing her debut album and with songs like ‘Jolene’ and ‘I Will Always Love You’ under her belt, she secured a legacy as an iconic singer and songwriter, and soon she was thrust into the world of cinema.
Despite the fact that she has never had any training as an actor, she has always possessed the skills of a performer, and paired with her popularity, this made her a suitable choice to be cast in the movie 9 to 5. Guaranteed to attract viewers and likely smash the box office, Parton’s casting was based on her star power, just as Madonna took to cinema that same decade.
Parton proved to be much more capable than Madonna, though, receiving rave reviews from critics for her leading role alongside established stars like Jane Fonda. So, with 9 to 5 in the bag, which earned her an Oscar nomination for her performance of the titular track, Parton took another step into the world of cinema with The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, followed by Rhinestone, although it was Steel Magnolias that suddenly saw her abilities questioned.
Acting alongside some big names like Sally Field and Shirley MacLaine, as well as newcomer Julia Roberts, Fonda soon found herself united with the cast over their struggle to get on with the director, Herbert Ross, who had recently made Footloose. For some reason, he had something to say about all of his actors, with Field once revealing, “My deepest memories of the film were how we bonded together after he told one of us or all of us we couldn’t act. He went after Julia with a vengeance. This was pretty much her first big film.”
In particular, though, Parton was subject to Ross’ harsh criticism, with the filmmaker of the belief that the singer just wasn’t good enough as an actor. Why he allowed people that he thought couldn’t act to appear in his film is another question entirely, but it sounds like Ross got some sort of trip out of criticising those he was in charge of.
After telling Parton to get acting lessons, she reportedly hit back at him, suggesting that his frustration was more of a skill issue on his behalf rather than hers. “I’m not an actress, I’m Dolly Parton. I’m a personality who has been hired to do this movie. You’re the director. It’s your job to make me look like I’m acting,” she said.
Putting him in his place, Parton instead continued to bond with the rest of her castmates in the face of Ross’ harshness, and in the end, Roberts even wound up with an Oscar nomination, which isn’t too bad for someone who was told she couldn’t act by the director. Parton might not have earned awards for the role, but she still received acclaim, also proving Ross wrong.
In the end, though, Parton decided to act much less from that point on, and she has only ever been in a handful of movies since. It seems that singing is where she truly belongs.
