Sally Field is the latest and most well-deserving recipient of the SAG Lifetime Achievement Award, and the moment in which she was honored was made more precious by the actor chosen to present her with the nod to her life and career: Andrew Garfield. As Garfield spoke with poise and adoration for Field, fans worldwide felt a sense of deep emotion being shared in the way he acknowledged not just her accolades but her personality and her heart.
It’s almost impossible to imagine the entertainment realm without Sally Field; she’s given so much of herself to the roles and characters she brings to life across film and television. From Edna Spalding in Places in the Heart and Miranda Hillard in Mrs. Doubtfire to Betty in the hilarious 80 for Brady, Field has worked her way into our homes and hearts since the early 1960s, and she’s showing no signs of slowing down.
Calling her a titan of acting, Garfleid gushed about her talent and the generosity she lends to other actors who are lucky enough to share a screen with her. Those lucky enough to be impacted by her brilliance, humility, and power, and we all felt it — even those of us who have only seen her from our screens. We’d all do well to feel her guidance and to run forward with it.
“I got to play Peter Parker to Sally’s Aunt May, and any intimidation I may have felt from playing opposite titan of acting, evaporated the moment my eyes found hers. Her generosity, her sensitivity, her imagination, and her playfulness have seemed to have kept her striving in the pursuit of that ineffable mystery at the heart of every character she plays. The truth, nobility, the beauty, and dignity of the human soul; you’re a North Star for all of us, and especially, of course, in inspiring, liberating, and empowering women — charting a previously pathless path in an era of often unimaginative and one-dimensional female roles. Sally was Gidget, independent, and then she was maybe the first true female superhero. The Flying Nun. She plays a nun that flies, and it’s because of the hat she’s wearing and her slight frame — she catches the wind, and she makes the miraculous believable. It’s ridiculous. You inspire us to believe that a huge creative life of richness, depth, humor, joy, pathos, and mystery is possible, and you also show us how to do it…somehow miraculously, with humility. You never drink the Kool-Aid of your own brilliance; you never get high on your own supply. But tonight, we’re going to try to make you.” Your mother’s fav and mine — Miss Sally Fields.”
In a wholesome moment before the SAG Awards began, Field called Garfield her “boy” on the red carpet when it was mentioned that he’d be presenting her with the honor. Playing Aunt May to his Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man, the bond they shared on screen was only made better by their closeness off-screen, and it’s evident that their adoration for one another has only grown stronger with time.
Here’s to the ever-talented Sally Field, the bravery and brilliance of her talent, and her compassionate nature as she navigated a world that wasn’t yet ready for all she would bring to the table. May we all continue to be inspired by her for years to come; here’s to Sally Field!