Dolly Parton Didn’t Think Her Role in ‘9 to 5’ Was Her ‘True Nature’
In 1980, Dolly Parton made her film debut in 9 to 5. Parton enjoyed the experience of working on the film with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. Still, she didn’t think of herself as much of an actor. Parton said she typically took parts that reminded her of her real self. 9 to 5 was not one of these roles.
Dolly Parton said her role in ‘9 to 5’ didn’t resemble her true character
Parton’s magnetic personality is a huge part of why people love her. She said her personality made people think she was taller than she was.
“I walk tall, I got a tall attitude. But I’m just a little bitty person,” she said, per the book Dolly on Dolly. “When people see me in airports, they stop me and say, ‘Gee, I thought you were a big person.’”
Because of this, she felt most connected to her bombastic character in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, even though she didn’t like the experience of filming it.
“When I was doing Whorehouse was when I got so sick,” she said. “It was right after that diet that I gained so much more back. That was my second film, and it was so close to my personality as far as me getting to say what I wanted to say, dress the way that I like to dress, that I was real comfortable in the part.”
She didn’t feel all that connected to her character in 9 to 5.
“Like 9 to 5, I always joke about playing a secretary,” Parton said. “That was good, but that was not really my true nature.”
Dolly Parton said a different role reminded her of herself
Years after 9 to 5, Parton appeared in Steel Magnolias. She said she felt right at home in the role.
“She’s a pretty flamboyant lady and so am I,” she said, per the book Smart Blonde by Stephen Miller. “She has a great sense of humour, a big heart and a big mouth … and how different is that from me, specially the big mouth?”
Her character, Truvy, was a hairdresser. Parton said she thought she would have been similar to her if she had never left her hometown.
“You’ll see the Dolly I would have been had I stayed at home,” she said. “She has a good attitude, full of jokes, full of heart, and tries to keep the peace with everybody.”
She said one scene in the film felt especially daunting to her
Parton’s character in 9 to 5 was a married secretary. As a result, she had to kiss the actor who played her husband. The actor was also married. Parton said she found this nerve-wracking.
“We didn’t know we was supposed to [kiss] and this was the very first day of the movie and boy, you talk about clumsy and awkward,” she said on The Ralph Emery Show in 1981. “It’s hard enough to kiss somebody else, much less somebody else’s husband, much less on the first day of shootin’ a film and, on top of that, with all the cameras and the crew and all the people lookin’ on.”
Ultimately, though, Parton thought the film was sweet.
“I never felt so embarrassed in my whole life!” she said. “But it was just sort of a sweet love scene. We were supposed to be married in the film, so it made it OK.”
