Summary
June Squibbis a legend.
An absurdity, in my opinion.
But, thats not how Squibb looks at it.
Image via Paramount Pictures
InThelma, Squibb plays Thelma Post, a 93-year-old woman living alone in Los Angeles.
Collider’s Perri Nemiroff predicts our 2025 Academy Award nominees.
After years of stage work, Squibb made her film debut in 1990sAlice.
Frank Oz was directing.
It was a long process … We shot forever.
We shot forever and ever and ever.
Image via Collider
[Laughs] So I got a lot of different variations of the same thing.
Wondering which scene took the longest to film?
It was actually the one that included one of the most memorable lines of the entire movie.
They had told her she could go home and she said, Oh no, I’ll stay!
And in Miss Piggy’s voice, he said, No, and I wont!
I was like, What?
I didn’t know what this meant, really.
After those three films, there was a shift.
All at once, I could sense this.
When 93-year-old Thelma Post gets duped by a phone scammer pretending to be her grandson, she sets out on a treacherous quest across the city to reclaim what was taken from her.
I could realize it from people’s attitudes toward me.
One of the biggest attitude shifts Squibb would go on to experience?
How things change once youve been nominated for an Academy Award.
In 2014 Squibb wasnominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Rolefor playing Kate Grant inAlexander PaynesNebraska.
I think some people don’t, but I did.
I enjoyed the Oscar luncheon, andI still enjoy tremendously seeing Oscar nominee after my name.
I take it that I have been recognized, and it’s nice.
A nomination perk Squibb didnt quite expect?
The fact that itd essentially end her days of having to audition for roles.
That’s kind of wonderful.
I auditioned for years in New York, and then even out here I auditioned some.
It really hit me that this was important, you know?
This is a very close friend of mine, Kitty McMillan.
Her husband was Ken McMillan.
I don’t know if you remember his work or not.
He was a wonderful actor.
I’ve known her for years and years and years, and she has worked many times with agents.
She’s worked with casting directors, she’s worked with writers, she’s helped writers.
She will proofread for writers and things like that.
So, she has a background.
She was a dancer originally.
In fact, Feldstein is the one responsible for getting Josh MargolinsThelmascript in Squibbs hands.
I read that script I had never met [Josh].
To me, a script is like a bible, really.
This is what I study.
This is what I decide on, if I’m gonna do something or not.
Something that didnt factor into Squibbs decision to doThelma?
The size of the role.
Turns out, thats something Squibb herself never even considered.
You see, I don’t look at it like that.
[Laughs] I really don’t.
I think it’s wonderful.
I don’t know whyThelmacame along.
Who knows why these things happen?
And I’m thrilled!
And as I said, I get to spend more time in front of the camera.
But I’ve always thought of myself as a character actor.
When I was younger, I wasn’t even an ingenue ever.
I mean, I stunk at that kind of work.
I’ve never thought I’ve lost out on anything.
It’s real life combined with ‘Mission: Impossible’.
Squibb certainly has never lost out on anything.
She only continues to gain and give.
I think it’s sort of intergenerational, and that’s kind of amazing.
I was surprised at the young people that really loved it.
Not surprised, but it’s like, Wow, wearetouching people.
Eager to hear more from Squibb on her journey as an actor and her experience makingThelma?
Thelmais currently streaming on Hulu.
