Line #30 Creator/SissySpacek


1	[[quoteright:315:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sissy_spacek_article_story_main_2478.jpg]]
2	->''"When I started out in independent films in the early '70s, we did everything for the love of art. It wasn't about money and stardom. That was what we were reacting against. You'd die before you'd be bought."''
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4	Mary Elizabeth Spacek (born December 25, 1949 in Quitman, Texas), known professionally as Sissy Spacek, is an American actress and singer, best known for her roles as the titular ''Literature/{{Carrie}}'' and Loretta Lynn in ''Film/CoalMinersDaughter''. She is married to production designer and art director Jack Fisk since 1974 and they have two daughters, Schuyler Fisk (born in 1982) and Madison Fisk (born in 1988).
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7	!!Partial filmography:
8	* ''Film/PrimeCut'' (1972) as Poppy
9	* ''Series/LoveAmericanStyle'' (1973) as Terri
10	* ''Series/TheWaltons'' (1973) as Sarah Jane Simmons (Episodes: "The Townie" and "The Odyssey.")
11	* ''Film/{{Badlands}}'' (1973) as Holly Sargis
12	* ''Series/TheRookies'' (1973) as Barbara Tabnor
13	* ''Film/{{Carrie\|1976}}'' (1976) as Carrie White
14	* ''Film/ThreeWomen'' (1977) as Mildred "Pinky" Rose
15	* ''Film/CoalMinersDaughter'' (1980) as Loretta Lynn
16	* ''Film/RaggedyMan'' (1981) as Nita Longley
17	* ''[[Film/Missing1982 missing.]]'' (1982) as Beth Horman
18	* ''Film/TheManWithTwoBrains'' (1983) as Anne Uumellmahaye ([[CelebrityVoiceActor voice only]])
19	* ''Film/TheRiver'' (1984) as Mae Garvey
20	* ''Film/{{Marie\|1985}}'' (1985) as Marie Ragghianti
21	* ''Theatre/CrimesOfTheHeart'' (1986) as Babe Magrath
22	* ''Theatre/NightMother'' (1986) as Jessie Cates
23	* ''Film/{{JFK}}'' (1991) as Liz Garrison
24	* ''Film/TradingMom'' (1994) as Mrs. Martin
25	* ''Film/IfTheseWallsCouldTalk'' (1996) as Barbara Barrows
26	* ''Film/{{Affliction}}'' (1997) as Margie Fogg
27	* ''Film/BlastFromThePast'' (1999) as Helen Webber
28	* ''Film/TheStraightStory'' (1999) as Rose Straight
29	* ''Film/InTheBedroom'' (2001) as Ruth Fowler
30	* ''Literature/TuckEverlasting'' (2002) as Mae Tuck
31	* ''Film/TheRingTwo'' (2005) as Evelyn Borden
32	* ''Film/NorthCountry'' (2005) as Alice Aimes
33	* ''Film/AnAmericanHaunting'' (2006) as Lucy Bell
34	* ''Film/GrayMatters'' (2006) as Dr. Sydney
35	* ''Film/HotRod'' (2007) as Marie Powell
36	* ''Film/FourChristmases'' (2008) as Paula
37	* ''Film/GetLow'' (2009) as Mattie Darrow
38	* ''Series/BigLove'' (2010) as Marilyn Densham
39	* ''Film/TheHelp'' (2011) as Mrs. Walters
40	* ''Series/{{Bloodline\|2015}}'' (2015-17) as Sally Rayburn
41	* ''Film/TheOldManAndTheGun'' (2018) as Jewel
42	* ''Series/CastleRock'' (2018) as Ruth Deaver
43	* ''Series/{{Homecoming}}'' (2018) as Ellen Bergman
44	* ''Series/NightSky'' (2022) as Irene
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46	!!Tropes:
47	* AbilityOverAppearance:[[invoked]] Sissy was nearly rejected for being too pretty to play Carrie (who is described as chubby, mousy-haired and covered in acne in the book). For her audition, she didn't wash her face, rubbed vaseline into her hair and wore a dress her mother had made for her as a child. This was enough to convince Brian De Palma she could play a social outcast. She of course got an Oscar nomination for the role.
48	* ActorAllusion: There's a scene in ''Film/BlastFromThePast'' where she's illuminated by a red spotlight - as a clear nod to ''Carrie''.
49	* ActorSharedBackground:[[invoked]] She's from Quitman, Texas like her character in ''Film/ThreeWomen''.
50	* AdvertisedExtra: In ''Film/TheRingTwo'' she's given prominent billing, despite only three minutes of screen time.
51	* TheCastShowoff: Not only does she do her own singing in ''Film/CoalMinersDaughter'', but she did all the singing live on set.
52	* CreatorCouple: She and her husband, art director Jack Fisk, have worked on eight films together.
53	* DawsonCasting:[[invoked]]
54	** She was twenty-six when she played the seventeen-year-old Carrie White.
55	** Also in ''Badlands'', she was twenty-two when her character was fifteen.
56	* DoingItForTheArt:[[invoked]] How she describes her initial roles in the 70s.
57	--> "When I started out in independent films in the early 70s, we did everything for the love of art. It wasn't about money and stardom. That was what we were reacting against. You'd die before you'd be bought."
58	* HeAlsoDid: After high school she did some modeling and also attempted a singing career, but never got any farther than a few obscure OldShame releases and switched to film acting. After getting a chance to be TheCastShowoff in ''Film/CoalMinersDaughter'' she released an album called ''Hangin' Up My Heart'' and scored a few minor CountryMusic hits.
59	* MethodActing:[[invoked]]
60	** When filming ''Carrie'', she didn't fraternise with her cast mates, to better understand Carrie's fear and isolation. She also studied images of people being punished for their sins, and made sure she ended every scene in one of those positions.
61	** For ''Film/CoalMinersDaughter'', she followed the real Loretta Lynn on tour and studied how she performed.
62	** To prepare for ''Film/InTheBedroom'', she decorated the house her character lives in herself.
63	* OneHitWonder: With "Lonely but Only for You", from her sole studio album ''Hangin' Up My Heart'', released in 1983 on Creator/AtlanticRecords.
64	* RealitySubtext:[[invoked]] As noted above, she was originally pursuing a career in country music, and auditioned for Decca Records. She was turned down for being too similar to another artist they had on their label - Loretta Lynn. As in the woman she played in ''Film/CoalMinersDaughter''.
65	* RomanceOnTheSet: Met her husband at the set of ''Badlands''.
66	* SignificantBirthDate: Her birthday is December 25, Christmas Day.
67	* StageNames: Her birth name is Mary Elizabeth Spacek, but Sissy was a nickname from her brothers.
68	* StarMakingRole: Although her role as Loretta Lynn in ''Coal Miner's Daughter'' is what gave her her first Golden Globe Award, she solidified her legacy as the original Film/{{Carrie\|1976}}.
69	* StuntCasting:[[invoked]] For ''Film/TheRingTwo'', they wanted to cast a veteran actor of horror films to play Samara's mother Evelyn. Sissy was chosen based on her iconic role for ''Carrie''.
70	* ThoseTwoActors: She frequently worked with Creator/TommyLeeJones, Creator/DonaldSutherland or Robert Duvall in the past.
71	* TimeShiftedActor: Creator/MaryElizabethWinstead plays the younger version of her in ''Film/TheRingTwo''.
72	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:[[invoked]]
73	** Joint casting sessions were held for both ''Carrie'' and ''Film/ANewHope'' - so Sissy also auditioned for Princess Leia. And Carrie Fisher also auditioned for ''Carrie''. It was a long standing rumor that they got their respective roles because Carrie Fisher refused to do nude scenes, while Sissy Spacek was willing to. These rumors were put to rest when Carrie Fisher said she would have had no problem with the nudity.
74	** She auditioned for ''Film/PhantomOfTheParadise'', but the role went to Jessica Harper. Her husband Jack Fisk was art director on this film, so she worked as set dresser to help him. According to her, she was so bad she ruined a day's worth of filming.
75	** She auditioned for the role of Thelma Dickinson in ''Film/ThelmaAndLouise'' that ended up going to Geena Davis. She apparently thought the script was terrible.
76	** Producers of ''Film/TheRageCarrie2'' offered her a cameo but she declined - though she gave permission for them to use clips of her from the first film. She later said she saw the film and liked it.

Context Creator / SissySpacek