“That was a big break for me,” she said of the film, which received 10 Oscar nominations.

Faye Dunaway names her ‘best’ movie during rare public appearance

"That was a big break for me," she said of the film, which received 10 Oscar nominations.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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May 5, 2026 3:05 p.m. ET

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Faye Dunaway in Los Angeles on Sunday. Credit:

Emma McIntyre/Getty

- Faye Dunaway made her first public appearance in almost two years at the TCM Classic Film Festival on Sunday.

- At a screening of *Network*, the actress revealed which of her classic movies she considers "the best" of them all.

- Dunaway also reflected on her Oscar win and shared memories of Sidney Lumet and William Holden.

Faye Dunaway has returned to the red carpet after almost two years.

The legendary actress, 85, made her first public appearance since 2024 at an anniversary screening of *Network* at the TCM Classic Film Festival on Sunday.

In a conversation with TCM's Ben Mankiewicz at the festival, Dunaway reflected on working on industry-changing classics like *Bonnie and Clyde* and *Chinatown* during the peak of the New Hollywood movement of the late '60s and early '70s.

"You go from one [film] to another in a kind of natural movement, and it's all very exciting as it's happening, and you're on the edge, pretty much, because you're on the line and you're trying to achieve what you want to achieve," she said. "But you did feel like it was something special. You're less aware of it from the outside, but you're in the river of it, you're in the flow of it."

Dunaway in Los Angeles on May 3, 2026.

Emma McIntyre/Getty

Mankiewicz asked her to pick a favorite among five of her most acclaimed films: *Bonnie and Clyde*, *The Thomas Crown Affair*, *Three Days of the Condor*, *Chinatown*, and *Network*.

"All of the above," she responded initially. "I mean, *Chinatown* was special. You know, it had a very stylish thing, [Roman] Polanski was fantastic. And *Condor* was fun, a lovely kind of softer movie."

She continued, "*Thomas Crown* was great, stylish. Steve McQueen!"

But she ultimately settled on a favorite. "*Bonnie and Clyde*, that was the best, I think, probably," she said, praising her costar Warren Beatty. "Warren was great. He is quite phenomenal. Big businessman, he knows what he's doing."

She added of the film, which garnered 10 Academy Award nominations, "That was a big break for me."

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In *Network*, Dunaway portrayed Diana Christensen, the programming chief of the fictional TV network Union Broadcasting System who has an ill-fated affair with news president Max Schumacher (William Holden).

"Sidney Lumet is one of our finest directors, and he rehearses," the actress said of the *12 Angry Men* filmmaker. "I very much wanted to work with him, and we rehearsed, and then we discussed it as well. It was just like on stage, basically, because we rehearsed it, and we blocked it, and we just kept working on it."

Dunaway in 'Network'.

Silver Screen Collection/Getty

Dunaway went on to praise the talents of Lumet and Holden, who died in 2011 and 1981, respectively. "I came from the theater, really, when we rehearsed a lot, and that's one of the best things about Sidney, is that he rehearses, and he lets you find, discover the character," she said. "And that happened with him and it was very good because Bill and I got along very long together. He was a wonderful, *is* a wonderful actor."

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The *Eyes of Laura Mars* star also recalled her reaction to winning the Oscar for Best Actress for her turn in *Network*. "There's word on the street, usually — there's kind of a sense, and there was some kind of word that it was my time," she remembered. "But when it did happen, then I'm up and at 'em pretty quickly… They were all pretty good, weren't they, the nominees?"

She continued, "When you do [win], you're very relieved. It's a mixture, that you thought it sort of might happen, and then you're very relieved."

*Reporting by Rance Collins.*

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