After more than six decades in Hollywood, Sally Field has nothing left to prove — but she still has plenty she wants to do. The legendary actress, whose career stretches from sitcom stardom to Oscar-winning dramatic performances, is speaking candidly about aging in the entertainment industry and why she refuses to let outdated ideas about older women define what comes next.

Now starring in Netflix’s emotional new film “Remarkably Bright Creatures,” the 79-year-old performer is once again earning praise for a role that highlights her signature strengths: vulnerability, warmth, and emotional depth. But while audiences continue embracing her work, Field says the entertainment industry still has a long way to go when it comes to how it views older actresses.

During a recent conversation on TODAY’s Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist, Field reflected not only on her newest project but also on the reality of growing older in Hollywood — and why she believes women of a certain age deserve far more opportunities than they often receive.

Field, a two-time Academy Award winner whose career began in the 1960s, made it clear that she does not spend much time dwelling on legacy or looking backward.

“I really think about what’s next,” she said honestly.

For Field, the future remains just as important as the past. Despite decades of success that include iconic performances across television and film, she remains focused on finding meaningful stories and characters that continue challenging her creatively.

Still, she acknowledged that the search becomes more difficult with age.

“As you get older,” she explained, “roles are hard to find.”

Hollywood has long struggled with representation for older women, often placing youth at the center of storytelling while pushing veteran actresses into smaller or less developed roles. Field did not shy away from addressing that issue directly.

“People don’t think older women are interesting, I guess,” she said.

Then came the remark that immediately resonated with fans.

“But I got news for you,” Field added. “It’s all those older women who raised you.”

The statement captured exactly why audiences have continued connecting with Field throughout her career. Her honesty feels deeply personal while speaking to broader realities many women experience as they age.

Ironically, Field’s newest role directly challenges those assumptions.

In “Remarkably Bright Creatures,” based on Shelby Van Pelt’s bestselling 2022 novel, Field plays a grieving widow working as a custodian at an aquarium. Her character forms an unexpected friendship with a younger man, portrayed by Lewis Pullman, who is searching for answers about his family history.

Together, the two damaged strangers gradually help each other heal while building an emotional connection that also involves one very unusual companion — a giant Pacific octopus.

The story blends grief, hope, humor, and healing, themes that Field said immediately drew her to the project.

She described her character as a woman carrying multiple layers of loss.

“She has grief in her life,” Field explained.

But beneath the obvious pain sits something deeper.

“There’s a deeper grief that she hides and holds,” she said, “and it has kept her away from the world.”

That emotional complexity has long defined many of Field’s most celebrated performances.

Throughout her remarkable career, she has moved seamlessly between genres and generations of entertainment audiences.

Television viewers first discovered her through lighthearted series like “Gidget” and “The Flying Nun.” Later came transformative dramatic work that demonstrated her extraordinary range.

She stunned audiences in “Sybil.”

She won Academy Awards for “Norma Rae” and “Places in the Heart.”

She brought unforgettable emotional power to films like “Steel Magnolias,” “Mrs. Doubtfire,” and “Forrest Gump.”

Newer generations discovered her through projects including “Lincoln” and television’s “Brothers & Sisters.”

Across decades of changing trends and evolving entertainment landscapes, Field remained relevant not by reinventing herself entirely but by staying committed to authenticity.

That commitment carried into “Remarkably Bright Creatures.”

Field revealed that she and Lewis Pullman developed a natural creative chemistry while filming.

Several scenes between their characters evolved organically through improvisation.

“We began to improvise,” Field recalled. “We just were these people.”

The connection developed immediately.

“Bam,” she said. “Right out of the chute.”

That instinctive approach reflects the confidence of an actor who understands her craft completely.

For some performers, adapting a beloved novel with an established fan base could create enormous pressure.

Field saw things differently.

By the time filming officially began, she explained, preparation had already done its job.

“Anything that needed to be left, had to be left,” she said.

At that point, the responsibility shifts.

“The allegiance,” Field explained, “has to be in making the film work.”

Her philosophy reveals why she has remained one of Hollywood’s most respected actors for so long.

Success, for Field, has never been about protecting past accomplishments.

It remains about serving the story.

That passion has not faded with age.

If anything, it has grown stronger.

Appearing on TODAY earlier this year with Carson Daly, Field spoke openly about her hopes for this stage of her career.

As she approaches her 80th birthday, she knows exactly what she wants.

“Finding the roles about 80-year-old women,” she said, “is my dream.”

The statement feels particularly significant given the larger conversation surrounding representation in film and television.

Field is not asking audiences to lower expectations.

She is asking for better stories.

More opportunities.

More complexity.

More honesty.

After all, older women exist at the center of countless powerful life experiences — family relationships, grief, reinvention, resilience, joy, loss, and growth.

Field believes those stories deserve space on screen.

Her own life demonstrates why.

Acting was never simply a career choice.

It felt like destiny.

Born into a family connected to entertainment, Field grew up around performance. Her mother, Margaret Field, worked as an actress, while her stepfather, Jock Mahoney, built a career as a stuntman.

Yet Field’s connection to acting ran even deeper.

During her conversation with Willie Geist, she described discovering performance as a child.

The experience changed everything.

“I left my body,” she recalled about stepping onto a stage for the first time.

Something clicked instantly.

“I heard my voice for the first time,” she explained.

Acting became freedom.

It allowed her to express emotions and explore parts of herself she otherwise struggled to access.

“I could be mean,” she said. “I could be all sorts of things I wasn’t allowed to be.”

When Geist jokingly asked what career she might have pursued if acting had never entered her life, Field admitted she genuinely does not know.

“Maybe a nurse,” she guessed.

Then she laughed.

“Thank goodness for acting.”

After more than 60 years in entertainment, Sally Field remains exactly where she belongs — telling stories, challenging assumptions, and reminding audiences that talent, passion, and purpose do not disappear with age.

If anything, they deepen.

And she clearly is not finished yet.