Faye Dunaway "The Extraordinary Seaman", a comedy adventure directed by John Frankenheimer and also starring David Niven that she shot right after "Bonnie and Clyde", was released to poor reviews and proved to be a commercial failure. Despite protests from her agent, Dunaway turned down a lot of high-profile projects in order to spend time with Mastroianni. In 1970, Dunaway took a supporting role as a favor to Arthur Penn in his western, "Little Big Man". In a rare comic role, Dunaway played the sexually frustrated wife of a minister who helps raise and seduce a boy raised by Native Americans, played
Faye Dunaway and elevated Dunaway to stardom. Roger Ebert gave the film a rave review and wrote, "The performances throughout are flawless. Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, in the title roles, surpass anything they have done on the screen before, and establish themselves (somewhat to my surprise) as major actors." The film was nominated for ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and Dunaway received her first nomination for Best Actress. Her performance earned her a BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer and a David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actress, and she was now among the most bankable actresses in Hollywood, as she