Editing Anthony Perkins (section)

====Serious roles====
[[File:FriendlyPersuasionSet.jpg|thumb|Perkins (left) and Gary Cooper (right) filming ''Friendly Persuasion'' (1956)]]

Just as his run in ''Tea and Sympathy'' was coming to an end, director [[William Wyler]] sent out his assistant, Stuart Millar, to search out talent on Broadway for his upcoming film ''[[Friendly Persuasion (1956 film)|Friendly Persuasion]]''. It centered around a family of Quakers during the American Civil War, and he was scouting an actor to play the oldest of the Birdwell children, Josh. When Millar saw Perkins in ''Sympathy'', he gave him a page of script and let him do an audition. As Millar recalled: "About half an hour later, [Perkins] had the part. [William Wyler] was thrilled with the reading, he saw everything instantly. It was really one of the best, if not ''the'' best, readings I've ever seen."{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=97}}

Perkins was soon after shipped out to Hollywood, where he began shooting alongside [[Dorothy McGuire]] and [[Gary Cooper]], his screen mother and father. Perkins, a native New Yorker, did not know how to drive yet and regularly hitchhiked out from his hotel room at the [[Chateau Marmont]] to the set each day, something that became infamous and was often talked about in fan magazines.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=103}} His boyfriend, [[Tab Hunter]], later taught him how to drive.{{sfn|Hunter|2006|p=136}} Perkins's inexperience radiated almost childish naïveté, something that endeared him to Gary Cooper. "Coop was warm and gracious and kindly," [[Peter Mark Richman]], who worked on the film, said. "He liked [Perkins and me] a lot, and Tony loved to hear him talk."{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=101}} The feeling was mutual between Perkins, Cooper, and even the director. Perkins was regularly praised by Wyler for his performance and Cooper began publicly endorsing Perkins's abilities. This led to Perkins and Cooper sharing the cover of the July 1956 issue of ''Life''.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=100}} In the issue, Cooper spoke about Perkins in a fatherly manner: "I think he'd do well to spend a summer on a ranch," he commented about his younger costar. "It would toughen him up and he'd learn a lot from another kind of people."{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=101}} Cooper's daughter, Maria Cooper Janis, asserted that, although her father certainly admired Perkins, it could have also been for other reasons: "He had friends in Hollywood, in the acting community, who were gay, and they couldn't come out. He saw what an emotional toll it took on them. I know my father adored Tony Perkins. My father felt he was a hell of an actor."<ref name="advocate.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/film/2012/08/08/hollywood-backstory-western-favorite|title=The Hollywood Backstory on a Western Favorite|website=The Advocate|date=August 8, 2012 |access-date=January 23, 2022}}</ref>

Whatever the reason, this did not alter Perkins's performance. After rushes of the film were shared, the advance praise of his performance became so strong that [[Paramount Pictures]] took an interest in him. They soon signed him under a seven-year semi-exclusive contract, which gave him room to return to Broadway whenever he wanted. He was their last matinee idol and was called the "fifteen million dollar gamble."<ref>{{cite web |url= https://hrc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15878coll90/id/52/ |title=Interview with Tony Perkins |website=The Mike Wallace Show |access-date=January 21, 2022}}</ref>

Perkins's first film for the studio was a 1957 biopic about [[Boston Red Sox]] baseball player [[Jimmy Piersall]] titled ''[[Fear Strikes Out]]''. It followed his father's pressure to become a legendary baseball player and how it led to his highly publicized mental breakdown, as well as detailing his efforts to get better in a mental institution. The set of the film was hostile and riddled with homophobia, something that put Perkins on edge so much that the cast and crew feared he was actually having a mental breakdown while filming the scene.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=125}} Although he wasn't nominated for any Oscars, his performance was widely praised by critics. ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' proclaimed of the film: "Every recent young star has been compared to [[James Dean]]. From now on the standard is Tony Perkins."{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|pp=139–140}}

After this critical success, Perkins starred in the first of two Westerns, ''[[The Lonely Man]]'' (1957), with [[Jack Palance]]. Perkins played Riley Wade, whose father, Jacob (Palance), abruptly returns to his life after having abandoned his mother years before. Jacob battles Riley's hatred for him throughout the film, desperate to reconnect with his estranged son after years of separation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/16857/the-lonely-man |title=The Lonely Man (1957) - Overview |publisher=Turner Classic Movies |date=June 14, 2011 |access-date=January 25, 2022}}</ref> [[Kim Stanley]], a previous costar of Perkins's, was cast as his love interest but was replaced at the last minute by Elaine Aiken in her film debut.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=117}} Reportedly, the film set was riddled with tensions, most of which arose from Palance's ultra-masculinity and Perkins's lack thereof. This was only heightened when filming was put behind schedule by an abrupt weather crisis that prevented outdoor production for a number of days. Still, a feeling of vitality remained. "We all thought this was an important picture we were making."{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=118}}

Perkins's next film was also a Western, this time named ''[[The Tin Star]]'' (1957) with [[Henry Fonda]]. Originally, despite his burgeoning popularity, Perkins was not wanted for the project: "The producers, Bill Perlberg and [[George Seaton]], told someone who told someone who told someone who told me that they wouldn't have me in their picture for a million dollars," Perkins admitted during filming. However, he auditioned for them as soon as he heard the news.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=128}} In the film, Perkins played yet another pacifist, this time a sheriff named Ben Owens. After encountering an experienced bounty hunter, Morgan Hickman (Fonda), Ben has to prove himself worthy of his title in an ironic reflection of Perkins's troubles with Paramount. Perkins and Fonda took the hours-long drive out to set together in the same car, during which they became closely acquainted and shared stories of their private lives. Some cast members speculate that Perkins confided in Fonda about his sexuality during these drives.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=132}} The film grossed over $1 million in the box office and was one of the biggest films of 1957. It is now considered a classic of the Western genre.<ref>"Top Grosses of 1957", ''Variety'', January 8, 1958: 30</ref>

''Friendly Persuasion'' opened globally to huge critical and commercial success. The film was largely praised by critics, who took a liking to Perkins. The film earned him the [[Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor|Golden Globe Award for Best New Actor of the Year]] and a nomination for the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000578/awards?ref_=nm_awd |title=Anthony Perkins: Awards |publisher=IMDb |access-date=January 21, 2022}}</ref> In a 1958 cover story, ''Newsweek'' hailed Perkins as "possibly the most gifted dramatic actor in this country under 30."<ref>"Tony Perkins: Shooting Star," Newsweek, March 3, 1958</ref>