Sally Field Admits She 'Hated' One of Her Most Beloved Roles

The Flying Nun may have been the role that made Sally Field famous, but the legendary actress has no problem admitting she didn't enjoy playing Sister Bertrille in the beloved 1960s sitcom.

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"I hated doing The Flying Nun so much," the 79-year-old told journalist Willie Geist in the preview of his upcoming Sunday Sitdown. The reason why she didn't like working on the ABC hit show? Well, it just wasn't very sexy.

"I was 18, 19 years old. Who wanted to play a nun?" she laughed. "And it was the ‘60s by then! Everybody was, you know, eating granola and dropping out and marching and walking around naked!"

The fan-favorite show aired for three seasons from 1967 to 1970, and while viewers loved it, Field has been open about her distaste for the project, even admitting to Oprah in 2012 that she "didn't want to do it" from the second she heard the concept.

"I was trying to figure out who I was, but I knew who I wasn't: a flying nun," she teased. "I was almost 19, and my sexuality needed to be explored. My real father was Catholic, and I had issues with all religions. So I said no, which I thought was incredibly brave."

However, Field's stepfather, a stuntman who worked in the industry himself, pushed her to take the role after the cancellation of her prior show, Gidget.

"My stepfather said, 'Don't get on your high horse. If you don't take this part, you may never work again,'" she recalled. Ultimately, the role was a success, but she later said that she only took it because "at the time, I wasn't old enough, strong enough, or sophisticated enough to tell him that he was wrong."

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Of course, Field went on to have many more famous roles, including aunt May in Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man films, Carrie in Smokey and the Bandit, Sybil Dorsett in Sybil, M'Lynn Eatenton in Steel Magnolias, Miranda Hillard in Mrs. Doubtfire, and Mrs. Gump in Forrest Gump.

How to Watch The Flying Nun

If you want to watch The Flying Nun yourself, you can stream the whole series on Roku or Tubi for free.

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This story was originally published May 8, 2026 at 1:50 PM.