Osanna speaks glowingly of legendary director William Wyler. She describes him as being soft spoken and a man of few words, adding, "his very pores oozed a male, magnetic charm." Osanna was 29 when she auditioned for FRIENDLY PERSUASION but the character of Mattie was supposed to be 16. How was this reconciled? After they read through the script and engaged in some casual conversation, Osanna remembers:

Mr. Wyler casually sneaked in a loaded question. "How old are you?"I half-flirted and grinned through my answer. "Why, Mr. Wyler, Im as old as the part!" He laughed. I was acting the part of a 16-year-old in BUS STOP on Broadway-which didn't hurt.

Osanna admits to unintentionally trying Wyler's patience on a couple of occasions. One occurred during the first close-up in a porch scene with Anthony Perkins and Peter Mark Richman. She explains:

That morning it was stop and go and wait as the crew adjusted lights and camera positions for the master shot and each actors close-up. So I wandered down the trail at the Roland V. Lee Ranch in the San Fernando Valley where we shot all the home scenes. I was having a pleasant second breakfastwhen an assistant director came running up shouting my name.

I realized my stupidity and ran back to encounter a furious William Wyler. The lights and the camera were all packed for moving to the next set. Wyler demanded, "Where have you been?! We are skipping your close-up!"

Osanna says she considered lying but instead offered no excuses. Instead, she looked him in the eye and said, "I'm so sorry, Mr. Wyler, I'm so very sorry." In response, Wyler stared back at me, relented, and directed the crew to set everything back up to film my close-up. He half-smiled for he knew I was tempted to lie

Shooting plans for each day were kept a total secret. Osanna remembers Wyler keeping a small handwritten note in his right back pants pocket and glancing at it often but never sharing the contents with the actors or even his assistant directors. She says she found this secrecy "maddening" but realizes it was Wyler's way of keeping the cast and crew on hand in case he needed them.

...fuming to the head camera man, "Why does she have to go to the bathroom? I control MYSELF!"

My next scene was running barefoot down a long road trying to catch up with my love, Gard Jordan, cantering on his horse off to war. I finished and stuck my head out the window and looked directly at Director Wyler. "Yes, but you don't have to play a love scene!" I said.

Osanna says this remark "tickled him" and seemed to reinforce their working relationship and friendship. She also remembers Wyler's unorthodox way of dealing with the oppressive heat:

From time to time he suffered heat exhaustion in the 100 degree plus weather. Fully dressed, Wyler would have the property man completely hose him down and immediately return to work sopping wet.