- Tom O'Brien, Misty Holland, Chris Beachum
- Film
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Faye Dunaway has had a dynamic 57-year career on Broadway, television and of course in film. Despite her regal bearing and glamorous style, Dunaway was actually born in rural Florida to rather humble beginnings. She was drawn to the arts at a young age and eventually graduated from Boston University with a degree in theater. A few weeks after her college graduation she was hired to join the cast of the hit play “A Man for All Seasons,” which was in the midst of a successful run on Broadway.Dunaway was also hand-picked by Elia Kazan to by a part of a repertory company of actors he was assembling at New York’s Lincoln Center. She appeared in a number of small roles with the company until she found her breakthrough role in an off-Broadway production of a play called “Hogan’s Goat” (a role she would later recreate for television.)
That success led to a film offers and she would debut on screen in 1967 in an Anthony Quinn film entitled “The Happening.” That performance led to director Otto Preminger offering her a six-picture deal. The first film of that deal, “Hurry Sundown,” starred Michael Caine and Jane Fonda but Dunaway found working with the notoriously tempestuous Preminger so difficult she asked to be let out of her contract.
That proved to be a smart move since soon after she would be cast opposite Warren Beatty in “Bonnie and Clyde,” which would become a landmark in film history and establish Dunaway as one of the most successful actresses of the coming decade. (The two famously reunited in 2017 to present the Best Picture Oscar to “La La Land”… then to “Moonlight.” They returned the very next year to redeem themselves by correctly presenting the prize to “The Shape of Water.”)
Along the way Dunaway has amassed number of awards for her acting including an Oscar for “Network,” an Emmy for a “Columbo” TV movie and three Golden Globes (“Network”, TV miniseries “Ellis Island” and the TV movie “Gia”). Should her upcoming Broadway play bring her a Tony that would earn her a place in the triple crown of acting (actors who have achieved Oscars, Emmys and Tonys.)
Tour our photo gallery of her 15 greatest film performances, ranking them from worst to best. Our list includes “Network,” “Bonnie and Clyde,” “Chinatown,” “Mommie Dearest” and more.
15. SUPERGIRL (1984)
Director: Jeannot Szwarc. Writer: David Odell. Starring Helen Slater, Brenda Vaccaro, Peter O’Toole.
After the immense success of the all-star 1978 version of “Superman” (back in an era when superhero films were rare) sequels started appearing in the forthcoming years. While “Superman II” was also a hit 1983’s “Superman III” was not. The following year this spinoff featuring Superman’s cousin Supergirl opened to somewhat disastrous results. Despite an equally stellar cast featuring Mia Farrow and Peter O’Toole the film was visibly not as grand as the Superman films and Dunaway received a lot of flack for her portrayal of the film’s villainess. On second viewing Dunaway (who likely took the role since her idol Marlon Brando had appeared in the first “Superman” film) is really giving it all she got to create a memorable comic book villain. Her scenes with Brenda Vacarro as her assistant and cohort in crime also have a palpable humor which is not something Dunaway has not explored much in her work.
14. THE CHAMP (1979)
Director: Franco Zeffirelli. Writers: Frances Marion, Walter Newman. Starring Jon Voight, Ricky Schroder, Jack Warden.
Dunaway had starred with Jon Voight in a high-profile stage production of “A Streetcar Named Desire” in Los Angeles (playing the roles that Vivian Leigh and Marlon Brando had played so memorably on film) a few years prior to this film’s release. The two wanted to work together again which explains Dunaway’s appearance in the somewhat thankless role of Voight’s ex-wife and mother of his son in this tear-jerking remake. While there is not much depth to Dunaway’s role, she does bring a nice dose of maternal love to her part as a woman trying to reconnect with the son (a young Rick Schroder) she gave up years before.
13. THE HANDMAID’S TAIL (1990)
Director: Volker Schlöndorff. Writer: Harold Pinter. Starring Natasha Richardson, Robert Duvall, Elizabeth McGovern.
Before the highly successful television series brought Margaret Atwood’s dystopic fantasy novel to a wide audience there was this 1990 film version that though not without its merits came and went pretty quickly in theaters. While some of the casting is somewhat questionable (Natasha Richardson is strangely subdued as June the lead character played on TV by Elisabeth Moss perhaps due to the fact that she was a last-minute replacement for a pregnant Sigourney Weaver) Dunaway along with Elizabeth McGovern give the film whatever life it has. Dunaway plays Serena Joy the imposing wife to whom June is assigned to birth a child. It’s to Dunaway’s credit that in a film that seemingly went wrong in so many ways she manages to give the sleek sophisticated performances she does.
12. THE THREE MUSKETEERS (1973)
Director: Richard Lester. Writer: George MacDonald Fraser. Starring Michael York, Oliver Reed, Raquel Welch.
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas has long been a screen favorite and multiple takes on the tale have been made. This all-star version featured Dunaway as Milady de Winter one of the Musketeer’s chief adversaries. Among the huge cast was also Raquel Welch (who won a Golden Globe and one of her first bursts of acclaim as an actress for the film after years of being thought of as just a sex symbol.) Having two huge female stars (both with a reputation for prickly behavior) together caused tabloid headlines to run amuck but Dunaway spoke highly of Welch in her biography and Michael York confirmed that the two actresses were both great to work with and got along well in an interview he gave to TCM in 2016.
11. THE TOWERING INFERNO (1974)
Director: John Guillermin. Writer: Stirling Silliphant. Starring Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, William Holden.
Disaster movies were a staple of the seventies and following the huge success of “Airport” and “The Poseidon Adventure” came this story of a newly built skyscraper that earned a Best Picture Oscar nomination as well as three Oscar wins. Dunaway plays the girlfriend of the architect of the building that catches fire on the night of its grand unveiling played by Paul Newman. Working with Newman was the reason Dunaway has said she accepted the role which she admits was just your standard “girlfriend” of the hero type part. Dunaway caused some stress on the set angering co-star Jennifer Jones when Dunaway took too long in hair and makeup preparing for the famous shooting of the scene where an elevator attached to the outside of the building nearly falls to destruction. Dunaway knew what she was doing though since her main job in this film was to provide glamour and she has perhaps never looked as beautiful on film as she does in this exciting picture.
10. VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED (1976)
Director: Stuart Rosenberg. Writers: David Butler, Steve Shagan. Starring Oskar Werner, Lee Grant, Max von Sydow.
Based on a true incident that took place during WWII “Voyage of the Damned” tells the story of a luxury liner that departs Germany with nearly a thousand Jewish refugees who think they are being granted asylum in Cuba. The cruise proves to just be a political propaganda exercise and the passengers are denied entry into both Cuba and the United States. Dunaway plays one of the more aristocratic passengers on the ship and serves as calming presence for some of the other passengers who are succumbing to the stress of the experience. Lee Grant earned a Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for the film and Katharine Ross won the Golden Globe as Best Supporting Actress in a rare example of the Oscars and Globes recognizing different actresses from the same film in their nominations.
9. EYES OF LAURA MARS (1978)
Director: Irvin Kershner. Writers: John Carpenter, David Zelag Goodman. Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Brad Dourif, René Auberjonois.
Dunaway brings a haunted deeply tortured quality to her role as a fashion photographer who is famous for the violent images she depicts in her photos. Her close friends and colleagues begin being seemingly randomly murdered while Dunaway develops the ability to see the murders happening through the eyes of the killer. The film offers an interesting glimpse into the disco scene and crime ridden streets of seventies Manhattan while providing Dunaway with a meaty role and a strong supporting cast. The film was initially conceived as a vehicle for Barbra Streisand by her than producing partner and boyfriend Jon Peters. While Streisand dropped out of the film due to its dark subject matter, she did provide the films moody and atonal theme song “Prisoner” which provides Streisand with one of her best and rare rock performances.
8. THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR (1968)
Director: Norman Jewison. Writer: Alan Trustman. Starring Steve McQueen, Jack Weston, Paul Burke.
Dunaway’s follow up to her star making role in “Bonnie and Clyde” was this romantic thriller heist movie featuring Steve McQueen as a bank executive pulling off a major heist and Dunaway as the insurance executive investigating the theft. The film features one of the most famous love scenes ever put on film. It also won an Oscar for its original song “The Windmills of Your Mind” which became a pop hit of the time. The film would be remade in 1999 with Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo starring and Dunaway in a supporting role as a psychiatrist.
7. LITTLE BIG MAN (1970)
Director: Arthur Penn. Writer: Calder Willingham. Starring Dustin Hoffman, Chief Dan George, Martin Balsam.
Following the one two punch of the hits “Bonnie and Clyde” and “The Thomas Crown Affair” Dunaway’s career stumbled a bit with her next three films underperforming with critics and audiences. She bounced back though with a small but memorable role in this Dustin Hoffman film about a 121-year-old man looking back and recounting the story of his life which included being raised by native Americans and fighting against General Custer in the battle of Little Big Horn. Dunaway plays the wife of a minister with whom the teenage Hoffman lives after he leaves his native American tribe. The flirtatious scene where Dunaway bathes a reluctant Hoffman is considered a classic movie moment of its day.
6. THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR (1975)
Director: Sydney Pollack. Writers: Lorenzo Semple Jr., David Rayfiel. Starring Robert Redford, Cliff Robertson, Max von Sydow.
Dunaway earned a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama for this film about a CIA analyst (played by Robert Redford) who returns to his office one day to find all of his co-workers have been murdered. He then proceeds to flee the killers and ends up kidnapping Dunaway and forcing her to hide him in her apartment. She eventually falls in love with him and the two begin a romance. This is an interesting performance from Dunaway. She has always excelled at bringing a subtle neurosis to her characters but this is one of the rare films that she displays a slightly comic edge to her inner turmoil. Even in the early scenes where she is afraid of Redford she brings a slightly ditzy quality to the woman who after all is in a strange situation in that she has been kidnapped but the kidnapper is one of the most desirable men imaginable.
5. BARFLY (1987)
Director: Barbet Schroeder. Writer: Charles Bukowski. Starring Mickey Rourke, Alice Krige, Frank Stallone.
After leaving the United States and living in London for a number of years to raise her son and recover from what were some career setbacks Dunaway returned to the US and American films with a gung-ho performance in this tale of two desolate souls drinking there lives away in a series of seedy bars. Dunaway earned a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actress in a Drama for the film but she was left out at the Oscars. Siskel and Ebert who were at the peak of their power during this period as film critics were deeply critical of the Academy for overlooking what they believed was one of the best performances of that year.
4. MOMMIE DEAREST (1981)
Director: Frank Perry. Writers: Robert Getchell, Tracy Hotchner, Frank Perry, Frank Yablans. Starring Diana Scarwid, Mara Hobel, Steve Forrest.
This is easily the most controversial entry on this list. Some people will argue that the film should be in the number one spot while others will probably think the film shouldn’t be included at all. This biopic of screen legend Joan Crawford has been somewhat of an albatross around the neck of Dunaway since its release in 1981 so much so that she now entirely refuses to discuss the film. (A recent TCM special on her career completely omitted the film.) In her biography “Looking for Gatsby” Dunaway explains that the experience of making the film was so painful that even when people complement her on her performance it is still like a dagger to her soul. (Debra Winger once told her the movie taught her how to act which Dunaway felt was a complement but also difficult to hear.) The story of Crawford’s out of control homelife and her cruelty to her children was the one of the first of its kind to expose the not so perfect life of movies stars. Dunaway received a great deal of negative press for the film and wound up on countless worst films of the year or even decade lists but what is often forgotten is that while the film was considered to be too melodramatic at times (Dunaway jokingly described her performance as “kabuki” on “Inside the Actor’s Studio”) Dunaway herself received some rave reviews for her performance including one from the powerful critic Pauline Kael. She even was a runner up for Best Actress at both the New York and National Society of Film Critic’s Awards that year. Dunaway’s unhappiness with the final product seems to stem mostly from her feeling that the director edited the film to make it look campy. Her despair with the final product can be understood since she is clearly throwing herself into the role with a staggering amount of emotion in many of the film’s scenes. To have moments when she was trying to convey great angst such as the infamous wire hanger’s moment be laughed at must have been incredibly painful. Many feel Dunaway should embrace the film nowadays since its fans seem to outweigh its detractors more and more as time goes by.
3. BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967)
Director: Arthur Penn. Writers: David Newman, Robert Benton. Starring Warren Beatty, Estelle Parsons, Gene Hackman.
It only took three films to make Dunaway a movie sensation. After appearances in “The Happening” and “Hurry Sundown” Dunaway got the female lead in “Bonnie and Clyde” and to use that classic phrase a star was born. Warren Beatty produced and played Clyde to Dunaway’s Bonnie in a film that is often credited with changing the course of film history. The film brought a gritty violence to the medium that had rarely been seen before on the big screen. Based on a real-life group of bank robbers known as the Barrow gang, Dunaway plays a bored young girl who joins up with Clyde Barrow when she catches him trying to steal her mother’s car. The group then go on a multi-state robbing and killing spree which make them some of the most sort after criminals in the country. The film earned 10 Oscar nominations including five acting nominations for all the principal members of the cast (Beatty as Best Actor, Dunaway as Best Actress, Gene Hackman and Michael J. Pollard as Best Supporting Actor and Estelle Parsons as Best Supporting Actress.) The film was perhaps a bit too far ahead of its time for the then conservative Academy tastes so it only took home two of those nominations, one for Cinematography and one for Parsons as Supporting Actress.
2. CHINATOWN (1974)
Director: Roman Polanski. Writer: Robert Towne. Starring Jack Nicholson, John Huston, Diane Ladd.
This is a classic film noir about the corruption in the water business in Los Angeles in the early part of the 20th century. The complicated plot stars Jack Nicholson as private detective who thinks he is investigating an adulterous relationship but finds himself in a much deeper case than he imagined. At the center of that case is Dunaway as Evelyn Mulwray, a tortured woman trying to survive under the domination of a cruel father played by John Huston. While “Bonnie and Clyde” introduced the film world to Dunaway as a sexy brash young girl, “Chinatown” remade her image into one of an alluring sophisticated screen siren in the mold of some of the classic film noir heroines of the 1940s. Dunaway earned her second Best Actress Oscar nomination for her work here. She and Nicholson also created one of the great classic film moments of all time with the scene where Nicholson repeatedly slaps Dunaway across the face demanding the identity of a young woman only to have Dunaway alternate with “my sister”, “my daughter” and finally the shockingly delivered “SHE’S MY SISTER AND MY DAUGHTER.” Classic film acting at its best.
1. NETWORK (1976)
Director: Sidney Lumet. Writer: Paddy Chayefsky. Starring William Holden, Peter Finch, Beatrice Straight.
Dunaway finally won the Best Actress Oscar on her third try for this classically prophetic satire of the increasingly untrustworthy and exploitative television news business. What writer (and Oscar winner for Best Original Screenplay) Paddy Chayefsky created as outlandish fantasy in 1976 is sadly commonplace in the news media today. Dunaway stars as Diana Christensen the head of entertainment programming at a struggling television network. In a role that a critic at the time called the best written female role since Lady Macbeth, Dunaway also takes over the news division of her network and brings up its ratings by placing a mentally unbalanced newscaster (Best Actor Peter Finch) on the air to rant and rave over what he sees as society’s decay. The climax of the film is of course the now legendary “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore” moment where Finch encourages people to go to their windows and express their anger at societies decay. The film also won a Supporting Actress Oscar for Beatrice Straight making it one of only two films in Oscar history to win three of the four Oscar acting awards. Dunaway is simply electric in the role which requires her to go from manipulative seductress to cold hearted killer to desperately fearful lonely woman to manic career obsessed executive who is almost giddy with joy over her latest corporate maneuvers. It is also an incredibly well done technical acting performance and displays the stage training that brought Dunaway her initial success in the acting world. Dunaway’s character’s cunning mind moves faster than her lips can keep up and the early scenes in the film where she proudly exclaims her latest ideas for television programs while speaking so fast she literally has to gasp for air is an example of the depth of skill this esteemed actress has displayed throughout her career.
