Faye Dunaway, 83, thanks God that ‘there is medication’ to treat her bipolar disorder as she looks back on wild past in new documentary

Faye Dunaway discusses her diagnosis with bipolar disorder in the upcoming documentary Faye, about her life and career.

The 83-year-old Oscar winner attributes her notorious bad behavior in the film and theater industries to her condition, which is characterized by alternating periods of joy and depression.

The National Institutes of Health estimates that approximately 7,000,000 Americans suffer from bipolar disorder each year.

Medication has helped her regain control of her life, the Network star said.

“I worked with a group of doctors who analyzed my behavior, gave me prescriptions for pills that they thought would be good for me. And that helped,” Dunaway said in the film, according to Page Six.

“So I’m quieter. But throughout my career, people know there have been difficult times.”

“I don’t want to make excuses for it. I’m still responsible for my actions.”

“But I found out this was the reason,” she added.

“It’s something you have to be aware of. You have to try to do the right thing to fix it.”

Bette Davis, who co-starred with Dunaway in 1976’s The Disappearance of Aimee, told Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show in 1988 that she found Dunaway “totally impossible,” “uncooperative” and “very unprofessional.”

Chinatown director Roman Polanski told Rolling Stone in 1974 that he considered the actress a “huge pain in the a**” but continued to work with her because he “had never seen an actress take her work as seriously as she did.”

The Bonnie and Clyde star’s son Liam, who is in a relationship with her ex-husband, the late photographer Terry O’Neill, told the filmmakers that his mother “hit rock bottom” a few years ago.

Dunaway told filmmakers she believes the disorder is responsible for some of her bad behavior on set. Chinatown director Roman Polanski said he found the actress to be a “gigantic pain in the a**” but had “never seen an actress take her job as seriously as she did.”

Bette Davis, who worked with Dunaway on 1976’s The Disappearance of Aimee, said her co-star was “totally impossible,” “uncooperative” and “highly unprofessional.”

Dunaway’s son, Liam, said he was able to get his mother into treatment when she “hit rock bottom” a few years ago. “Luckily, there’s medication,” Dunaway said. “I’ve benefited from it.”

“I got to a point where I said, ‘Listen, let’s get you to that clinic in Boston,’” he said.

As part of her treatment, ‘she went to lectures and classes where she was introduced to the right subjects and she came out a completely different person.’

Dunaway said the diagnosis and medication were a turning point for her.

‘Fortunately, there is medication and there are studies and there are doctors who are working on this, and I have benefited from that. Medication is crucial, and without medication you psychologically and biologically regress to what is there.’

FAYE debuts July 13 on HBO/MAX.