Donna Mills, best known for her role in Knots Landing, is opening up about her big break and working with Clint Eastwood. They starred in the 1971 film Play Misty for Me. It turns out that Donna actually got the role because of Burt Reynolds.
She explained, “I worked with Clint Eastwood because of working with Burt Reynolds. I had come out here to California. I was living in New York at the time where I was doing a soap opera. About a month or so later after doing ‘Dan August,’ I was getting ready to leave the soap. I had already given them my notice. All of a sudden, I got a call. I was told I got this new movie with Clint Eastwood. My instant reaction was ‘What? How did I even do that if I’ve never met Clint?’ I didn’t audition for it or anything.”
Donna Mills gives Clint Eastwood’s kissing a triple A
She continued, “It turned out he ran into Burt Reynolds at a bar one night, and he was saying, ‘I can’t find a girl I like to play my girlfriend in this movie I want to do.’ Burt said, ‘Well, I just worked with this girl from New York. Maybe you’d like her. I thought she was great.’… Clint hired me from that!”
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In the film, Donna and Clint shared a passionate kiss. She admitted that it was a great one and said, “I would give him a triple A!” She added that Clint was “a really sweet man” on the set and was always very respectful. There was a scene she was unsure about because of nudity but Clint promised that it would be very tasteful and added that if she were uncomfortable, he would omit it.
After working in Play Misty for Me, Donna got her standout role in Knots Landing as Abby Ewing from 1980 until 1993. These days, she is 82 years old and still working. She recently appeared in General Hospital and the movie Nope. She also reportedly has four Lifetime films coming out soon.
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