Hollywood superstars Ryan Reynolds and Glen Powell took on bad guys and tornados this year, but that’s nothing compared to the threat of an ass-kicking from 94-year-old June Squibb. Earlier this year Squibb starred in “Thelma,” her first lead role in a film, playing a grandmother who tracks down her swindlers. While promoting the film, the dumpling-faced Oscar nominee posted short videos in which she warned other action stars: “I can kick your ass!”
The question is – did she get any responses from her targets? Squibb laughs good-naturedly. “I don’t think we did, but we got a lot of laughs,” she admits. She also cites a clip she saw of Austin Butler and his costars from “The Bikeriders” watching her video, noting: “They all laughed about it.”
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Okay, but what if Butler showed up and said he was ready to take her up on the challenge? “Oh my, what would I do?” she laughs. Suggest that she can take him, she responds, “I think so.”
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Squibb was reflecting on the empty threats when she dropped by Variety’s Award Circuit Podcast in the midst of a non-stop media blitz for “Thelma.” Listen below!
Based on writer-director Josh Margolin’s real-life grandmother, “Thelma” has been charming audiences since its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January, winning raves for the Squibb. The star, who turned 95 this week, is in line to make history: if she receives a best actress Academy Award nomination for her work, Squibb will be the oldest Oscar nominee in history.
Audiences have fallen in love with Squibb as the seemingly sweet old lady who proves tougher than anyone expected before. That includes her Oscar-nominated role as the foul-mouthed matriarch Kate Grant in Alexander Payne’s “Nebraska.” Ironically, Payne originally didn’t want to see her for that role, even though he had previously cast her as Jack Nicholson’s quiet wife in “About Schmidt.”
Actually – Payne didn’t want to see her for “About Schmidt” either, as Squibb was in New York and he was casting out of L.A. “My agents just pushed and pushed until they got so sick and tired of us that they said, ‘All right, we’ll send you the script,’” she recalls. “They called about a week later and said, ‘Alexander’s in town and wants to meet you.’ And I was given the role.”
But because she was so good in that role, his team balked at the idea of seeing her for such a wildly different part in “Nebraska.” She notes, “Everybody – the casting director, Alexander, everybody – thought I was this sweet sort of dumbish lady from ‘About Schmidt’ and had no idea I had a Kate inside of me.” Those close to Squibb knew. She reveals with some pride that when she was working in the theater, a friend told she had been dubbed “The Dirtiest Mouth on Broadway.”
After a long career onstage, Squibb made her feature film debut at the age of 61 in Woody Allen’s 1990 drama “Alice.” But she’s been making up for a late start in a big way – landing her first Oscar nod at age 84 and sharing scenes with legends from Bruce Dern to Adam Sandler. She collaborated with the latter on 2020’s “Hubie Halloween,” in which she also performed a profanity-laden monologue and got to sport a series of racy T-shirts.
Squibb says she adored working with Sandler, both as a co-star and a producer. “I admire him so much. I just love him,” she raves. “He is such a leader. He had that film company, all the actors right in the palm of his hand. It’s something I’ve never seen many people able to do, and he can do it.” And it’s a film that people often approach her about to this day. “They ask me if I own any of the shirts – and I do!” she reveals. “I own ‘Boner Doner.’”
And now, as she hits 95, Squibb shows no signs of slowing down. She stars in the new film “Lost & Found in Cleveland,” which costars Martin Sheen and Dennis Haysbert and just premiered at the Newport Beach Film Festival. And she recently shot another title role in Scarlett Johannsen’s directorial debut, “Eleanor the Great,” playing a woman who lies about being in the Holocaust. She adored working with Johannssen and recently saw a cut of the movie. “I’m really proud and pleased,” she enthuses. “I think it’s going to be something very special.”
Also on this episode: “Conclave” star Isabella Rossellini talks to Variety‘s Clayton Davis about her new film.
Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, hosted by Clayton Davis, Jazz Tangcay, Emily Longeretta, Jenelle Riley and Michael Schneider, who also produces, is your one-stop source for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Each episode, “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives, discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines, and much more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or anywhere you download podcasts.
