Faye Dunaway had proved to be difficult and many actresses had been considered for the role, including Jane Fonda, Tuesday Weld, Ann-Margret, Carol Lynley, Leslie Caron, and Natalie Wood. Penn loved Dunaway and managed to convince actor and producer, Warren Beatty, who played Clyde Barrow in the film, that she was right for the part. Besides her relative anonymity, Beatty's concern was her "extraordinary bone structure", which he thought might be inappropriate for Bonnie Parker, a local girl trying to look innocent while she held up smalltown Texas banks. However, he changed his mind after seeing some photographs of Dunaway taken by
Faye Dunaway Laura Mars" (1978). Her career evolved to more mature and character roles in subsequent years, often in independent films, beginning with her controversial portrayal of Joan Crawford in the 1981 film "Mommie Dearest". Other notable films in which she has appeared include "Barfly" (1987), "The Handmaid's Tale" (1990), "Arizona Dream" (1994), "The Twilight of the Golds" (1997), "Gia" (1998), "The Rules of Attraction" (2002), and "The Bye Bye Man" (2017). Dunaway also performed on stage in several plays including "A Man for All Seasons" (1961–63), "After the Fall" (1964), "Hogan's Goat" (1965–67), "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1973) and was awarded