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 one of his most famous pictures, "The Morning After", showing Dunaway poolside at the Beverly Hills Hotel with her Oscar the morning after the ceremony. In 1978, Dunaway returned to the screen in Irvin Kershner's thriller "Eyes of Laura Mars", about a fashion photographer who sees visions of a killer murdering people. The film was a success at the box office and Dunaway received positive reviews for her performance, with Janet Maslin writing for "The New York Times" that she was "perfect for her role". She played supporting roles in "The Champ" (1979), as the film offered her the chance