Why Jane Fonda hated the most important night of her career: “It just seemed wrong”
The political and social activism that dominated America in the 1960s had a significant impact on the film industry, which was transforming alongside the changing attitudes held by many individuals. As a result, movies became more openly radical – thematically and formally – with explicit content or taboo ideas working their way into the mainstream. Jane Fonda, who rose to prominence in the 1960s, found herself increasingly involved in activism during this time, which was subsequently reflected in her acting choices.
After appearances in many seductive movies like Circle of Love and Barbarella during the ‘60s, typically helmed by her then-husband Roger Vadim, Fonda started to make more conscious decisions about the roles she was playing. This led the actor to Klute, a movie she was initially hesitant to take on. The role of Bree Daniel would see Fonda play a call girl, and she was worried that this would make her appear ‘un-feminist’.
In her memoir, My Life So Far, Fonda wrote, “I’d begun to wonder if it wasn’t politically incorrect to play a call girl. Would a real feminist do that?” However, her friend reassured her that it was the right decision to make, telling her, “Jane, if you think you have room in this script to create a complex, multifaceted character, you should do it. It doesn’t matter that she’s a call girl, as long as she’s real.”
Thus, Fonda decided to take on the part, which saw her star alongside Donald Sutherland. Her performance was highly acclaimed, landing the actor an Academy Award nomination for ‘Best Actress’. Yet, when the night of the ceremony came, the actor was stricken with flu, recalling via Dave Karger’s book 50 Oscar Nights: “I was really sick. I had a temperature of 102.”
Still, she attended the event, and while sitting there – likely feeling as though her head was wedged in a sauna – her name was announced as the winner. It was the biggest night of her career thus far; after one previous nomination in 1970 for They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, she’d finally won. However, Fonda wasn’t sure what to say – she’d beaten her legendary father, Henry Fonda, to the post and didn’t have the energy to give a big political speech, as many expected from her.
“I remember thanking the people who voted for me and saying exactly what my father told me to say. And then I walked off the stage, and I went in a corner backstage and cried,” Fonda explained. “I was crying because of relief, because I said what I had to say, and I’d gotten off the stage, and nobody had booed. But I also cried because my dad had never won an Oscar, and it just seemed wrong.”
Fonda told the audience, “There’s a lot to be said, and tonight isn’t the night,” wrapping up her speech quickly. It seemed to be an emotional night for Fonda for a multitude of reasons, namely because of her father. However, in 1982, Fonda would get to see her father win his first Oscar for ‘On Golden Pond’, for which she also earned a ‘Best Supporting Actress’ nomination.
