Trivia of Eva Marie Saint

Trivia of Eva Marie Saint (4 July 1924)

*In her high school yearbook, Saint is listed as being nicknamed “Bubbles,” which she says she earned when she was a child because she’d make bubbles in her mouth. Bubble originally wanted to be a teacher. She was actually in the middle of majoring in education when a drama professor asked her to try out for a play. She got the role and loved the experience so much that she decided to change her major to drama.

*Saint got her start in show business working as a page (intern) for the television studio NBC. At 19, it was her first job out of school, and it changed her life. According to Saint, the experience brought her out of her shell and gave her the opportunity to meet stars like Joan Crawford, whose brief words to her one day were as she describes, "the thrill of her summer."

*In one of her early stage roles, she was set to play opposite Henry Fonda in Mister Roberts (1955). Just as she was about to perform on opening night, the director gave her crushing news: she was being replaced because the production was “nervous with you.” Saint was utterly devastated. After that, she made up her mind never to let the profession get to her heart, so she’d be better able to handle it when rejection happened.

*Saint was persuaded by a renowned director Elia Kazan to audition for a role. He gave her the debut role in his film On The Waterfront (1954) opposite famous Marlon Brando, which garnered praise and attention from most. She made her debut role in Hollywood as the sister of a murder victim.Her acting and her beauty were praised, and it showed in the amazingly huge sales at the box office. This role gave her an Academy Award, and the most astonishing fact is that she received the award just 48 hours before giving birth to her firstborn.

*While filming Raintree Country (1957), Saint decided to invite her handsome co-star Montgomery Clift to lunch so they could get to know one another. It was a total disaster. Both talented actors were luminous on camera, but excruciatingly shy behind the lens. As a result, they hardly spoke at all during the sit down meal, and Saint left feeling embarrassed.

*When famed director Alfred Hitchcock was choosing roles for his new movie North by Northwest (1959), he stunned everyone when chose the still relatively untried Saint to play the role of the femme fatale in the movie. Hitchcock's insistence on casting Eva Marie Saint came as a surprise to some as she was known as a method actress often cast as dowdy or put upon housewives or girlfriends. Saint starred alongside Hollywood heavyweights Cary Grant and James Mason in the film, beating out dozens of hopeful actresses, such Sophia Loren (recommended by Cary Grant) and Cyd Charisse (recommended by studio).

*During the filming of Exodus (1960), director Otto Preminger was unhappy with how a kissing scene involving Saint was turning out. Shockingly, he didn't try to explain it to his actors—he did something much more disturbing. Preminger strode over to Saint, elbowed her co-star Paul Newman out of the way, and kissed her himself to demonstrate how he wanted it done. Different with Preminger, Elia Kazan had different trick to direct Saint for kiss scene On The Waterfront (1954).He came over to her and whispered something intimate to her: he said her husband’s name "Jeffrey Hayden".Saint was able to complete the scene by pretending that Marlon Brando is her beloved husband.