Dolly Parton’s Showdown With Steel Magnolias Director Over Her Acting
When Dolly Parton joined the cast of Steel Magnolias, director Herbert Ross doubted her acting skills and told her to take lessons. Parton stood her ground, proving her talent and earning respect from her co-stars and critics alike.
Making a movie often means working with people you don’t always see eye to eye with. For Dolly Parton, her experience filming Steel Magnolias was a clear example of this. Already a country music legend with hits like ‘Jolene’ and ‘I Will Always Love You,’ Parton had become a household name long before she ever stepped onto a movie set. Her transition to film was natural, thanks to her charisma and stage presence, even though she’d never had formal acting training.
From Music Icon to Movie Star
Parton’s first major film role came in 9 to 5, where her star power drew audiences and critics alike. Sharing the screen with Jane Fonda, she quickly proved she could hold her own, earning rave reviews and even an Oscar nomination for the movie’s title song. She followed up with roles in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and Rhinestone, further cementing her place in Hollywood.
Clashing With Herbert Ross
But it was on the set of Steel Magnolias that Parton faced her toughest critic yet: director Herbert Ross. Known for his work on Footloose, Ross was notoriously hard on his cast. Sally Field once recalled,
“My deepest memories of the film were how we bonded together after he told one of us or all of us we couldn’t act. He went after Julia with a vengeance. This was pretty much her first big film.”
Ross didn’t hold back with Parton either, telling her outright that she needed acting lessons.
Standing Her Ground
Parton didn’t let Ross’s criticism shake her confidence. She fired back,
“I’m not an actress, I’m Dolly Parton. I’m a personality who has been hired to do this movie. You’re the director. It’s your job to make me look like I’m acting.”
Instead of letting the negativity get to her, she grew closer to her fellow cast members, who were also feeling the pressure from Ross. Despite his doubts, Julia Roberts ended up with an Oscar nomination for her role, and Parton received plenty of praise for her performance as well.
After Steel Magnolias
Although she didn’t win any major awards for Steel Magnolias, Parton’s performance was well received, proving Ross’s harsh words wrong. However, the experience left a mark, and she chose to take on fewer acting roles in the years that followed, focusing instead on her true passion: music.