Field Spotlights Bipolarism On ‘Er’

Thu., Nov. 23, 2000

Contra Costa Times

Some viewers who check out Sally Field’s riveting guest-star work on NBC’s “ER” might be quick to conclude, “There she goes doing `Sybil’ again.” But the two-time Oscar winner insists she’s breaking new personal ground in television’s top-rated drama.

As the estranged mother of Abby Lockhart (Maura Tierney), Field plays a woman afflicted with bipolarism, a psychotic order marked by extreme mood swings from euphoria to deep depression.

In 1976, she won an Emmy for the TV film “Sybil,” playing a young woman whose traumatic childhood left her with multiple personalities.

“Sybil had a very unique condition,” says Field. “On the other hand, bipolarism is a huge problem in this country. So many victims go undiagnosed or are mismedicated. It can be a crippling illness for them and their families.”

Field says “ER” executive producer John Wells contacted her a year ago about doing the show. In the meantime, she studied bipolarism.

“I learned that a member of John’s family is bipolar, so this was a very personal story for him,” Field says. “We wanted to make the character as accurate as we could.”

“ER” is deploying Field much as it did Alan Alda last season, relying on her star power in limited doses to juice up the show. She appears in tonight’s Thanksgiving episode and again on Dec. 7. She’s scheduled for three more in the spring.

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