Sally Field’s Worst On-Screen Kiss Might Surprise You
Sally Field is one of Hollywood’s most beloved and respected actresses, with a career spanning over five decades and two Academy Awards under her belt. She’s starred alongside some of the biggest names in the business — Tom Hanks, Robin Williams, and Burt Reynolds, to name a few. But when it comes to on-screen chemistry, even legendary careers have their awkward moments. And in Sally Field’s case, her worst on-screen kiss might just shock fans: it was with Burt Reynolds — her real-life former flame.
During a revealing interview, Field once admitted that despite their off-screen romance in the late 1970s and early 1980s, her least favorite on-screen kiss happened with Reynolds. The confession surprised many, especially considering the iconic status of their film “Smokey and the Bandit,” which turned them into one of Hollywood’s hottest couples — both on and off screen.
So why did a kiss with someone she once deeply loved end up on the bottom of her list? According to Field, it wasn’t about lack of affection. Instead, it had everything to do with how Reynolds kissed. “It was just not something that felt good,” she once said in an interview. “He had a mustache that felt like a Brillo pad, and he was a very controlling kisser.” She went on to explain that he wanted every kiss and every movement to be exactly choreographed, leaving no room for natural emotion or spontaneity.
Field also opened up about how their off-screen relationship mirrored those issues. She later described their romance as “complicated and hurtful,” saying she felt “controlled and diminished” by Reynolds at times. In her memoir In Pieces, she recounted how her love for him was real, but the emotional toll was lasting. The awkward kiss became a metaphor for deeper problems — passion complicated by control.
Ironically, Reynolds often called Field the love of his life. Before his death in 2018, he gave numerous interviews expressing regret over how their relationship ended, saying he never truly got over her. But Field, looking back with the wisdom of years, seems to have processed the relationship differently — valuing the lessons it taught her more than the romance itself.
Fans of Smokey and the Bandit may still see sparks when they watch the pair together on screen, but Field’s candid comments add a new layer of complexity. Her revelation reminds us that even in the glitzy world of Hollywood, what looks like passion can sometimes be more performative than real.
So while the worst on-screen kiss of Sally Field’s career might not have been with a bad actor or in a terrible movie, it was with someone whose kiss carried personal baggage — making it the most memorable for all the wrong reasons.
