Sally Field revealed how veteran star Jack Nicholson played a huge part in her getting her big break in the industry. The actress claimed that she “couldn’t get in a room to audition” after her stint on the ABC sitcom The Flying Nun, but Nicholson, who spotted her at Lee Strasberg’s studio, was impressed by her talent and helped her land her first major film role.

Sally Field recalls how Jack Nicholson saved her career

Sally Field, who boasts two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and three Primetime Emmy Awards, had hit a dead end early in her career. After starring in three seasons of the ABC sitcom The Flying Nun, Field found herself with no auditions.

“I couldn’t get on the list,” she told PEOPLE, “They thought they already knew what I was. ‘No, thanks. We don’t want any of that.’” So, Field decided to improve at her craft. “I had to say to myself that if I wasn’t where I wanted to be, I had to get better,” she said, “It had to be that it was on me to make it different. I felt if I wasn’t doing that, then I was just handing them all the power.”

So, she started studying at Lee Strasberg’s reputable Actor Studio in Los Angeles, where many reputable actors, including Jack Nicholson, got coaching.

Field recalled that Nicholson saw her training and passed her name on as “an undiscovered talent” to director Bob Rafelson and casting director Dianne Crittenden. They eventually cast her in Stay Hungry.

“I said to myself, ‘[My luck] will change when I’m good enough,” she said, “And ultimately, in a weird way, it happened because I was acting at the studio so much.”

“My theory was right,” she continued, “I worked at the Actors Studio for so long — and it was so hard — that Jack had seen it and the word spread.”

Field went on to become one of the most acclaimed actors of her generation and continues to remain a prominent name in the industry.