There’s been a ton of conversation over the past few years about the power of representation, with the TV and film industry taking major steps forward. A number of exciting projects featuring queer characters have been released throughout this year, and that will continue with Michael Showalter’s drama Spoiler Alert, which is based off Michael Ausiello’s memoir of the same name. The film depicts the real-life story of Ausiellio caring for his late husband Kit Cowan during his final months battling terminal cancer. The cast includes the great Sally Field as Kit’s mother, and she recently explained why she had to push her own feelings as an LGBTQ+ ally aside while filming Spoiler Alert.
Much like Michael Ausiello’s memoir Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies, the upcoming movie adaptation starring Jim Parsons is a deeply touching story that is sure to touch the hearts of many. I had the privilege of speaking with the cast and Ausiello himself about working on bringing this true story to life. As you can see in the video above, I asked the iconic Sally Field about her process of bringing her role to life. Specifically, if she felt the importance of playing a mother who is wholly accepting of her queer son after he came out. As she told me:
I have to keep all of that thought out of my head. When you do a piece you just have to play allegiance ot the craft in front of you. I can’t have my own personal thoughts or opinions or weight in anything. My task as an actor is certainly to bring my own emotional life into it, and I have experience with that in my own son finally talking to me about being gay. And I certainly have very strong feelings about the parents who shut their kids out and leave them to the elements, literally sometimes. I have very strong feelings about that, but I have to put all of that out of my head. I’m playing this person, with this son, with this husband. And have to make that world work.
That makes a great deal of sense. The primary job of an actor is to disappear into their role and become a different person. And as such, Sally Field had to keep her feelings as a queer ally to the side when working on Spoiler Alert. Although she clearly has very strong emotions about what it means to parent a LGBTQ+ child, partly thanks to her own personal experience.
As Sally Field mentioned, she’s the mother of a queer child. Her youngest son Sam is gay, and the Mrs. Doubfire actress has been a vocal supporter of the queer community. She joins the ranks of other celebs like Jamie Lee Curtis who have publicly supported their LGBTQ+ child, and served as a possible example to others in the process. Although as Field mentions, she tried not to use her own personal experience when filming the Spoiler Alert movie.
Later in our same conversation, Sally Field explained further how she collaborated with her cast and crew during Spoiler Alert’s principal photography. In particular the scene where Ben Aldridge’s Kit unexpectedly comes out to his parents as gay. As she explained,
Even within that though, there were times when I’d say ‘Something is wrong here. Let’s improvise, let’s figure it out.’ Because I think in this coming out moment, it was written… to me there was something off. And It took us a moment, me a moment, to find the words that felt authentic to who the Marilyn character is within the film. Not necessarily within the memoir. I had to keep them separate.
Given Sally Field’s accomplished career on the screen and stage, she’s definitely got an important perspective when it comes to her scenes. Spoiler Alert is no exception in this regard, with Field able to flex both her comedic and dramatic muscles throughout its runtime. And through her performance she’s able to help make the world of the movie feel truly authentic.
Spoiler Alert will arrive in theaters on December 2nd. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your trips to the theaters in the New Year. And as someone who has seen this movie I've got some advice: bring your tissues.
