Arthur Penn on Anne Bancroft: Always Hungry

Interview with Arthur Penn

Conducted by James Grissom

NYC

2006

She was ready, and it was glorious. When you teach the young or the eager or the hungry, it's very important; it's very serious. Annie was like that, because she had the talent, and she hadn't had the opportunities. No one--including myself--thought she was any good, and we wondered why she was trying so hard. Well, she was breaking out of the prison of our expectations and her bad luck, and she was extraordinary. In The Actors Studio she was feral and brilliant, and soon we were doing 'Two for the Seesaw.' Annie changed my life not only because she brought both of us success, but because she taught me the importance of always being hungry, of always trying harder, of always defying expectations.

© 2014 James Grissom