Faye Dunaway, 83, has revealed that she suffers from bipolar disorder.
The diagnosis was shared in the Oscar-winning star’s new documentary titled Faye, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival.
The acclaimed star, who was a top actress in the 1960s and 1970s with hits such as Bonnie & Clyde and Chinatown, as well as The Thomas Crown Affair and Network, has been considered difficult for decades.
His new diagnosis may explain those many years of unusual behavior.
‘I worked with a group of doctors who analyzed my behavior and prescribed pills that they thought would be good for me. And that helped,” the star says in the film, according to Page six.
‘So I’m calmer. But throughout my career, people know there were tough times.”
Faye Dunaway, 83, suffers from bipolar disorder. The diagnosis was revealed in the Oscar-winning star’s new documentary titled Faye, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Seen on Wednesday
The star, who was a top actress in the 1960s and 1970s with hits such as Bonnie & Clyde and Chinatown, as well as The Thomas Crown Affair and Network (pictured), has for decades been considered difficult.
The film directed by Laurent Bouzereau from HBO Documentary Films. The film includes interviews with Sharon Stone and Mickey Rourke.
“I don’t want to make any excuses about it, I’m still responsible for my actions,” Dunaway also said in her film.
‘But this is what I came to understand, was their reason. “It’s something you have to be aware of, you have to try to do the right thing to fix it.”
Dunaway appears to have come to terms with living with her mental disorder.
“It’s a sensitivity and it’s something that’s just a part of my makeup,” he shared in the film.
‘Thank God there are medications and there are studies, and there are doctors who deal with this and I have been able to benefit from that. Medication is crucial and without it you fall back into what already exists psychologically and biologically.’
His son, Liam Dunaway O’Neill, 43, also appears in the documentary.
‘If she wasn’t in so much pain, would she have been so good? You have to take the good with the bad, that’s life,’ she stated.
‘I worked with a group of doctors who analyzed my behavior and prescribed pills that they thought would be good for me. And that helped,” the star says in the film, according to PageSix. Seen in 1969
Bonnie and Clyde with Warren Beatty and Dunaway in 1967; Jane Fonda was up for the role of her but she didn’t get it because the director wanted Faye.
The Thomas Crown affair with Steve McQueen in 1968
Chinatown with Jack Nicholson in 1974. Faye talked about working with Roman Polanski on his classic Chinatown. She became upset when her real hair kept showing through her wig and ruining scenes, and eventually the director wanted to rip her hair out.
“She started out as a normal person who wanted to be famous and ended up as a famous person who wanted to be normal.”
Dunaway made her first public appearance in four years at the Cannes Film Festival this week.
She walked the red carpet at the premiere of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga starring Chris Hemsworth and Anya Taylor-Joy.
Also in the documentary she talks about how she almost wasn’t chosen for Bonnie & Clyde, since Jane Fonda was a candidate for the role.
Warren Beatty also wanted to work with his own girlfriend at the time.
But the director insisted that Faye take the lead role.
And Faye talked about working with Roman Polanski on his classic Chinatown.
She became upset when her real hair kept showing through her wig and ruining scenes, and eventually the director wanted to rip her hair out.
Dunaway ran to her trailer, but was then coaxed out when told she could wear a hat.
In fact, in the film he wears a very elegant hat while filming a scene with Jack Nicholson.
In 1981, her career took a nosedive after playing Joan Crawford so successfully as an abusive mother that fans began to believe Faye was also abusive or at least too much like Crawford to feel comfortable around.
The film has become a classic of the field.
In the 1990s, Dunaway made a cameo in Pierce Brosnan’s version of The Thomas Crown Affair, and was seen in Gia with Angelina Jolie, but her career slowed.
Also in the new documentary, that infamous Tonight Show clip was shared.
Johnny Carson asks Bette Davis if there was any co-star she couldn’t stand.
‘Yeah. Faye Dunaway,” Davis responded immediately. ‘And you can ask anyone else and they’ll tell you the same thing!’
Johnny Carson asked Bette Davis if there was any co-star she couldn’t stand. ‘Yeah. “Faye Dunaway,” Davis responded.
They had worked together on a television movie about The Disappearance of Aimee in 1976.
Dunaway doesn’t address Davis’ bad comments.
Dunaway began her career in the early 1960s as a Broadway actress, appearing in Robert Bolt’s A Man for All Seasons and Arthur Miller’s After the Fall.
She was taught by method acting pioneer Elia Kazan at her Lincoln Center Repertory Company and is considered one of the greatest actresses of her generation.
In 1967, she landed her breakthrough role as Bonnie Parker in Arthur Penn’s biographical crime drama, Bonnie And Clyde.
While the film was controversial upon its release due to its depiction of intense violence, Dunaway was propelled to stardom.
(L-R) Laurent Bouzereau, Dunaway, Liam Dunaway O’Neill and McKinzie Roth attend the premiere of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on May 15
She followed this up with a role in Norman Jewison’s The Thomas Crown Affair in 1968, for which she was once again praised.
Problems began to arise in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when Dunaway starred in a series of unsuccessful films, including A Place for Lovers, The Extraordinary Seamen and The Arrangement.
Her performance in Roman Polanski’s Chinatown brought her back to the spotlight in 1974, earning critical acclaim, including an Oscar nomination for best actress.
Dunaway won the award a few years later, after giving a highly praised performance in Network.
He will next work with Harvey Keitel and Andrew McCarthy on an upcoming film titled Fate, from director Jonathan Baker.
“There’s an excellent chance that it will become one of the most memorable love stories of our time,” said Baker, who is also a producer on the film. Deadline Monday.
The media describes the film as “a supernatural and suspenseful romance,” and noted that it will hit the international market at the next Cannes Film Festival through the Highland Film Group company.
She has been married twice; to rocker Peter Wolf from 1974 to 1979 and to Terry O’Neill from 1983 to 1987.
