At a juncture in the ’70s,Burt Reynoldswas the biggest, most recognizable star on the planet for his wit and sparking personality, universally beloved. That is, just as long as you weren’t a dues-paying SAG-AFTRA member. That’s a good example of how public perception and personal working relationships don’t always sync up. Deep within the inner sphere of Hollywood, Reynolds alienated himself while somehow managing to climb the ladder of the acting world, the hottest commodity in showbiz. For his growing list of enemies, that fact had to be like rubbing salt in their wounds. His fame came at a high price, professionally and personally, a seedy side of his life we’ll address shortly, but at least he got a cool car.
Piling up an impressive career (pretendCop and a Halfdoesn’t exist), the fan-favorite heartthrob explored an array of characters and genres in such productions asDeliverance,Smokey and the Bandit,Cannonball Run, andBoogie Nights. Hitting the rocks in the ’80s, Reynolds at long last achieved a modicum of recognition from his peers in the ’90s. He could not have cared less. The juiciest and most perfectly conceived role he ever got meant little to him, repaying the director who gave him the nuanced, well-written part on a silver platter with scorn and a near beating.
You’d think money, fame, and the adoration of millions of strangers would make you less petty and miserable, but Reynolds would be the first to disagree. In his estimation, it ruined him. Behind that mustache, coy grin, and cowboy hat was a man who viewed his profession with about as much reverence as the Amish have for social media. For a guy who specialized in comedies, his life was nothing but drama. The mutual enmity between Reynolds and the city of Los Angeles runs deep. He was pissing off Hollywood royalty long before he was a household name.
Crafting the Burt Reynolds Persona
Through his numerous TV appearances, magazine interviews, and photo shoots — including one where he was completely naked — he proved he could get his name out into the world, no PR staff necessary.Though he usually came across as folksy, down-to-earth, and self-deprecating, there were moments when his true personality broke through, as when he poured water on a fellow guest on the Jay Leno-eraTonight Show, escalating the tension after taking offense at a perceived slight. If you ever wondered why chat shows don’t like having multiple guests on stage at the same time, check out this all-time classic trainwreck of an interview:
This was consistent with his track record. Reynolds maintained an ongoing war of words with actress Kathleen Turner for years, first making her sob during the filming of a movie in the ’80s. They were supposed to have romantic chemistry, but instead, both Reynolds and Turner had to fight the urgeto strangle each other on set. In his spare time, he picked fights with film critics and bumped heads with film directors.
Think it was just the uppity, L.A. scene that couldn’t stand the guy? That list included about 90% of the human population, and it didn’t stop at movie directors and the press. Nobody mastered the art of constructing and then immediately burning bridges so proficiently as he. Reynolds was the first to admit he didn’t treat people right, fessing up to his uncontrollable egotismin his autobiography,But Enough About Me, expressing the damage it did while simultaneously bragging about how awesome he was in his typical fashion:
In 1978, I had four movies at once playing nationwide. If I met you then, I’m sorry. I was flying through life trying to take a bite of everything. My only excuse is that I was on top of the mountain, where the air is thin.
He had about ten feuds going at any given time. He didn’t discriminate either. Kathleen Turner, a journalist, and any director who dared force him to film extra takes or challenged him in any way. Now you know why he never worked with Stanley Kubrick. In later years, he jumped on the voice-over bandwagon, with titles including the iconicGrand Theft Auto: Vice City.you may guess how it ended.The actor so disgusted the game’s adoring UK developers that they decided to kill off his character out of spite after Reynolds insulted the game’s director.
The Brando-Burt Beef That Lasted Decades
The full extent of the backlash against the breakout star ofDeliverancefirst became evident in the early seventies when Reynolds was rumored for the role of Michael Corleone inThe Godfather(Part I). Now, that sounds nuts, and it likely is. Knowing what we do about Francis Ford Coppola, there is no chance that he’d ever agree to having a jock from Florida play the most critical role in an Italian family from New York. StarMarlon Brando gave the producers an ultimatum, threatening to walk, part of a long-time grudge he held against Reynolds. Locking two men with egos this large together on a set was a recipe for disaster.
Brando’s contempt was the sweetest revenge,Reynolds told Andy CohenonWatch What Happens Livein 2018. In an informal recording fromThe Apocalypse Nowshoot, Brando elaborated on his hatred for thefootball-star-turned-actor. Brando, sensitive to shallow and demeaning portrayals of natives, bristled at Reynolds treating Native American children as props to promote his film. When hearing the name, Brando is recorded on tape uttering the line “Don’t say that name around me … He worships at the temple of his own narcissism,” before launching into an extended diatribe about a man he admitted he never actually met.
A far more logical explanation for the animosity is likely found in an episode of the CBS anthologyThe Twilight Zone, in which a then-unknownReynolds played an insufferable, self-absorbed method actor, clearly meant to evoke the image of the most recognizable method-acting practitioner of the ’50s. Of course, this could only refer to Mr. Brando. In return, Brando would talk smack for the next couple of decades, Burt living rent-free in his head.
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A Self-Destructive Personality to the End
Sadly, that lack of respect for the film elites and prestigious events extended to his own private life. While dating Sally Field,Reynolds dismissed Field’s acting ability, which she chalks up tohis insecurity of being overshadowedby his own girlfriend, she revealed in Dave Karger’s50 Oscar Nights. This likely played a role in their failed relationship, essentially denigrating her at the moment she was coming into her own as a serious actress, nominated for her turn inNorma Raein 1979. He casually remarked that Field had zero shot of winning, and shouldn’t bother with the ceremonies. Funny enough, she won both the Best Actress hardware at both the Oscars and at Cannes.
“Burt was not happy with what was happening to me. He did not want me to go to Cannes at all. He said, ‘You don’t think you’re going to win anything, do you?’ Then when the Oscars came around, he really was not a nice guy around me then and was not going to go with me.”
Old Burt lost none of his blasé spirit. In his defense, he failed to appreciate a great performance even when he was the one providing it.When finally nominated for an Oscar for this role inBoogie Nights, Reynolds scoffed at the hype, the picture, and the mere thought of running the junket marathon to publicize the film or impress himself to Academy voters inan award campaign. No, it wasn’t modesty, rather it was becausehe didn’t thinkBoogie Nightswas very good. Co-star Mark Walberg recalled him trashing the film in private. This after Reynolds almost got into a fistfight with director Paul Thomas Anderson during principal photography.
Boogie Nightswould define his career for millions of younger movie buffs too young to recall his Trans-Am racing days. In his mind, acting in a prestige picture was no different from voicing a cartoonish character in a video game or tossing pies at people on talk shows. He acted for fun, money, women, and fast cars. He sure didn’t linger in Tinseltown for six decades to make friends. His reaction to the industry and its tendency to take itself seriously is understandable as a perpetual outsider who never even tried to soften his rough edges, ingratiate himself, and fit in; he was too cool to care for the rules. Paradoxically,those qualities that endeared him to fans are exactly what singled him out for ridicule inside the film communitywho saw him simply as a jerk.
