Dolly Parton recalls tensions with ‘Steel Magnolias’ director

Dolly Parton has shared recollections regarding her difficult experience filming the 1989 movie ‘Steel Magnolias’ with director Herbert Ross. In her 1994 autobiography, Parton noted that Ross reportedly told her she could not act. She responded by stating that she was hired as a personality and that it was the director's responsibility to make her appear as though she were acting.

Actress Sally Field corroborated these accounts, noting that Ross was also extremely hard on a young Julia Roberts during the production. Field described how the cast members, including Parton, would rally around Roberts to support her while she was being ‘picked on’ by the director. Despite the initial tensions, Parton noted that the cast and director eventually made peace by the end of the film.