Sally Field reflects on a career in which she has often had to pursue the roles she wanted rather than wait for them to be offered. Speaking about Netflix’s Remarkably Bright Creatures, she describes building her character’s relationship with co-star Lewis Pullman through frequent improvisation, while also stressing the longstanding difficulty older women face in finding substantial work.

Field says she fought particularly hard for earlier roles including Sybil and the 1976 film Stay Hungry, calling Sybil a major turning point. Her performance in Remarkably Bright Creatures has earned her a 10th Emmy nomination, with three previous wins; she is also the first actress in nearly a decade nominated for a television film role. The film adapts Shelby Van Pelt’s novel, which has sold more than two million copies.