Editing Faye Dunaway (section)

=== 1967–1968: Early films and breakthrough ===

[[File:Faye-Dunaway-1.png|thumb|Faye Dunaway in 1967]]

Dunaway's first screen role was in the comedy crime film ''[[The Happening (1967 film)|The Happening]]'' (1967), which starred [[Anthony Quinn]]. Her performance earned her good notices from critics; however, [[Roger Ebert]] of ''The Chicago Sun-Times'' panned the performance, saying that she "exhibits a real neat trick of resting her cheek on the back of her hand."<ref name="ebert-happening"/> That same year, she had a supporting role in [[Otto Preminger]]'s drama ''[[Hurry Sundown (film)|Hurry Sundown]]'', opposite [[Michael Caine]] and [[Jane Fonda]]. Filming proved to be difficult for Dunaway, as she clashed with Preminger, who she felt did not know "anything at all about the process of acting."{{sfnb|Dunaway|1995|p=112}} She later described this experience as a "psychodrama that left me feeling damaged at the end of each day."{{sfnb|Dunaway|1995|p=110}} Dunaway had signed a six-picture deal with Preminger, but decided during the filming to get her contract back. "As much as it cost me to get out of the deal with Otto, if I'd had to do those movies with him, then I wouldn't have done ''Bonnie and Clyde'', or ''The Thomas Crown Affair'', or any of the movies I was suddenly in a position to choose to do. Beyond the movies I might have missed, it would have been a kind of Chinese water torture to have been stuck in five more terrible movies. It's impossible to assess the damage that might have done to me that early on in my career."{{sfnb|Dunaway|1995|p=116}} Preminger's film did not meet critical or box office success, but Dunaway retained notice enough to earn a Golden Globe Award nomination for [[Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress|New Star of the Year]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://goldenglobes.com/person/faye-dunaway/ |title=Faye Dunaway |publisher=Golden Globe Awards |access-date=August 14, 2024}}</ref>

Dunaway had tried to get an interview with director [[Arthur Penn]] when he was directing ''[[The Chase (1966 film)|The Chase]]'' (1966), but was rebuffed by a casting director who did not think that she had the right face for the movies.{{sfnb|Dunaway|1995|p=120}} When Penn saw her scenes from ''The Happening'' before its release, he decided to let her read for the role of the bank robber [[Bonnie Parker]] for his upcoming film, ''[[Bonnie and Clyde (film)|Bonnie and Clyde]]'' (1967). Casting for the role of Bonnie had proved to be difficult, and many actresses had been considered for the role, including [[Jane Fonda]], [[Tuesday Weld]], [[Ann-Margret]], [[Carol Lynley]], [[Leslie Caron]], and [[Natalie Wood]]. Penn loved Dunaway and managed to convince actor and producer [[Warren Beatty]], who played [[Clyde Barrow]] in the film, that she was right for the part. Besides Dunaway's being a comparative unknown, Beatty's concern was her "extraordinary bone structure," which he thought might be inappropriate for Bonnie Parker, a local girl trying to look innocent while she held up small-town Texas banks.{{sfnb|Finstad|2006|p=368}} He changed his mind, though, after seeing some photographs of Dunaway taken by [[Curtis Hanson]] on the beach: "She could hit the ball across the net, and she had an intelligence and a strength that made her both powerful and romantic."<ref name="people-mcneil-2016"/> Dunaway only had a few weeks to prepare for the role, and when she was asked to lose weight to give her character a Depression-era look, she went on a starvation diet, stopped eating, and dropped {{convert|30|lb}}.{{sfnb|Dunaway|1995|p=58}}

[[File:Faye Dunaway (1967 Bonnie and Clyde promo).jpg|thumb|Dunaway as [[Bonnie and Clyde|Bonnie Parker]] in ''[[Bonnie and Clyde (film)|Bonnie and Clyde]]'' (1967)]]

The film was controversial on its original release for its supposed [[Aestheticization of violence|glorification of murderers]] and level of graphic violence, which was unprecedented at the time. It performed well at the box office and elevated Dunaway to stardom. Roger Ebert gave the film a rave review and wrote, "The performances throughout are flawless. Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, in the title roles, surpass anything they have done on the screen before, and establish themselves (somewhat to my surprise) as major actors."<ref name="ebert-b&c"/> The film was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]], and Dunaway received her first nomination for [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]. Her performance earned her a [[BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles|BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer]] and a [[David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actress]], and she was now among the most bankable actresses in Hollywood, as she later recalled. "It put me firmly in the ranks of actresses that would do work that was art. There are those who elevate the craft of acting to the art of acting, and now I would be among them. I was the golden girl at that time. One of those women who was going to be nominated year after year for an Oscar and would win at least one. The movie established the quality of my work. ''Bonnie and Clyde'' would also turn me into a star."{{sfnb|Dunaway|1995|p=142}}

{{Blockquote|quote=That movie touched the core of my being. Never have I felt so close to a character as I felt to Bonnie. She was a yearning, edgy, ambitious southern girl who wanted to get out of wherever she was. I knew everything about wanting to get out, and the getting out doesn't come easy. But with Bonnie there was a real tragic irony. She got out only to see that she was heading nowhere and that the end was death.{{sfnb|Dunaway|1995|p=131}} |source=Faye Dunaway}}

Dunaway followed the success with another hit, ''[[The Thomas Crown Affair (1968 film)|The Thomas Crown Affair]]'' (1968), in which she played Vicki Anderson, an insurance investigator who becomes involved with Thomas Crown ([[Steve McQueen]]), a millionaire who attempts to pull off the perfect crime. [[Norman Jewison]] hired Dunaway after he saw scenes from ''Bonnie and Clyde'' before its release. As Arthur Penn had needed to persuade Warren Beatty to cast Dunaway, Jewison had to convince McQueen that she was right for the part. The film emphasized Dunaway's sensuality and elegance with a character who has remained an influential style icon. The role was complex requiring over 29 costume changes.<ref name="bazaar-bagley"/> "Vicki's dilemma was, at the time, a newly emerging phenomenon for women: How does one do all of this in a man's world and not sacrifice one's emotional and personal life in the process?"{{sfnb|Dunaway|1995|p=161}} Despite his original reluctance to work with her, McQueen later called Dunaway the best actress he ever worked with. Dunaway was also very fond of McQueen. "It was really my first time to play opposite someone who was a great big old movie star, and that's exactly what Steve was. He was one of the best-loved actors around, one whose talent more than equaled his sizable commercial appeal."{{sfnb|Dunaway|1995|p=164}} The film was immensely popular and was famed for a scene where Dunaway and McQueen play a chess game and silently engage in a seduction of each other across the board.