Frank Sinatra’s Tough Guy Persona Was An ‘Exaggeration,’ Says Former Co-Star

Frank Sinatra maintained a tough guy image throughout his career. The persona emerged particularly during the ’40s and ’50s when he was a part of the Rat Pack, a group of entertainers that included Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and others who were associated with a carefree and sometimes rebellious lifestyle, and Sinatra, as a prominent member, embodied elements of that image.

Recently, a former co-star of the late actor, Jacqueline Bisset, provided valuable perspective on the renowned musician’s on-screen persona. She stated that contrary to popular opinion about Sinatra’s persona, he was a perfect gentleman all through the period she worked with him on the set of The Detective.

Jacqueline Bisset says Sinatra is soft at heart despite tough guy persona

The 78-year-old revealed to Closer Weekly that even though she met the singer at a very trying time of his life, Sinatra was very nice to her on the set of The Detective. “He wasn’t going through an easy period in his life with the breakup with his wife, but he was very protective of me,” Bisset told the news outlet. “He called me ‘The Kid’ and was quite patient because I was still very inexperienced.”

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Bisset further stated that she was quite surprised at the treatment given to her by the Chairman of the Board as it was different from her expectations. “[I had heard] he would only do one take. His reputation was very tough, but it was an exaggeration. He couldn’t have been nicer.”

Jacqueline Bisset says ‘The Detective’ was not her breakout movie

Bisset revealed that working with Frank Sinatra was a dream come true because she grew up with a father who enjoyed the singer’s music. “My father loved Sinatra. When he was in a particularly good mood, he would play Sinatra. So, I associated Sinatra, not so much with my own feelings, but with my father’s feelings of being in this mood,” she confessed to Closer Weekly. “I was very happy that I was working with Sinatra. He was the biggest guy I’d ever heard of.”

However, rather than considering her role in The Detective as her breakthrough, the 78-year-old named a French film where she had the opportunity to work on alongside director François Truffaut. “It was called ‘Day for Night,'” Bisset stated. “And it was an Academy Award winner for foreign film. It was a nice role that gave me a leg up.”