Great Film Performances of 2012

6. Sally Field in “Lincoln”

There are few female actors more highly regarded than Sally Field, winner of two Academy Awards and three Emmys. Yet Field says she still has to fight for roles, including her current turn as Mary Todd Lincoln in Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln.” Though Spielberg had approached her in 2005 about the part, he had a change of heart when Liam Neeson dropped out of the title role and Daniel Day-Lewis stepped in. Field called Spielberg and made a case for keeping the role. “I said, ‘Steven, I know all your concerns. I’m 10 years older than Daniel. Lincoln was 10 years older than Mary. But I won’t look it. And Daniel will look old and worn and thin, and I will look old and worn and fat, and that’s what they were,’ ” Field says. “He said the lighting will be harsh, and they weren’t doing any prosthetics. I said, ‘I don’t care what I look like; I only care that I will be Mary. I won’t let you walk away. You have to test me.’ ”

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Photo Source: Film Frame/DreamWorks