| Holly Hunter biography:  "I always feel that I am the advocate for my character. More than anyone else on the set, including the director. I'm there to protect my character, in a way." - Holly Hunter Early Life and Career: Holly Hunter was born in Conyers, Georgia, the daughter of Opal Marguerite (née Catledge), a housewife, and Charles Edwin Hunter, a farmer and sporting-goods manufacturer's representative. Hunter earned a degree in drama from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, after which she moved to New York City and roomed with fellow actress Frances McDormand. Hunter in 2008 described living in The Bronx "at the end of the D [subway] train, just off 205th Street, on Bainbridge Avenue and Hull Avenue. It was very Irish, and then you could go just a few blocks away and hit major Italian". A chance encounter with playwright Beth Henley, when the two were trapped alone in an elevator, led to Hunter's being cast in Henley's plays Crimes of the Heart (succeeding Mary Beth Hurt on Broadway), and Off-Broadway's The Miss Firecracker Contest. "It was like the beginning of 1982. It was on 49th Street between Broadway and Eighth [Avenue] [...] on the south side of the street", Hunter recalled in an interview. "[We were trapped] 10 minutes; not long. We actually had a nice conversation. It was just the two of us". When she moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1982, Hunter shared a house with a group of people that included McDormand and director Sam Raimi, as well as future collaborators Joel and Ethan Coen. Stage and Film: Hunter made her screen debut in the 1981 horror movie The Burning. After moving to Los Angeles, California in 1982, Hunter appeared in TV movies before being cast in a supporting role in 1984's Swing Shift. That year, she had her first collaboration with the writing-directing-producing team of brothers Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, in Blood Simple, making an uncredited appearance as a voice on an answering-machine recording. More film and television work followed until 1987, when thanks to a starring role in the Coens' Raising Arizona and her Academy Award-nominated turn in Broadcast News, Hunter became a critically acclaimed star. She went on to the screen adaptation of Henley's Miss Firecracker; Steven Spielberg's Always, a romantic drama with Richard Dreyfuss; and the made-for-TV 1989 docudrama about the Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade. Following her second collaboration with Dreyfuss, in Once Around, Hunter garnered critical appreciation for her work in three 1993 films, two of which resulted in her being nominated for two Academy Awards the same year: Hunter's performance in The Firm won her a nomination as Best Supporting Actress, while her portrayal of a mute Scottish woman entangled in an adulterous affair with Harvey Keitel in Jane Campion's The Piano won her the Best Actress award. Hunter went on to appear in films such as the comedy-drama Home for the Holidays and the thriller Copycat. Her work in David Cronenberg's Crash did win her strong notices,but it was swallowed by the controversies surrounding the film, and her appearance as a sardonic angel in A Life Less Ordinary suffered a similar fate. The following year, she played a recently divorced New Yorker in Richard LaGravenese's Living Out Loud; starring alongside Danny DeVito, Queen Latifah, and Martin Donovan, Hunter won positive reviews for her performance.Hunter rounded out the 1990s with a minor role in the independent drama Jesus' Son and as a housekeeper torn between a grieving widower and Kiefer Sutherland's drama Woman Wanted. ? Following a supporting role in the Coens' O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Hunter took top billing in the same year's television movie Harlan County War, an account of labor struggles among Kentucky coal-mine workers. Hunter would continue her small screen streak with a role in When Billie Beat Bobby, playing tennis pro Billie Jean King in the fact-based story of King's famed exhibition match with Bobby Riggs; and as narrator of Eco Challenge New Zealand before returning to film work with a minor role in the 2002 drama Moonlight Mile. The following year found Hunter drawing favorable reviews for her role in the otherwise critically maligned redemption drama Levity. Also in 2003, Hunter had a supporting role in the acclaimed film Thirteen for which she received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination. In 2004, Hunter starred alongside Brittany Murphy in the romantic satire Little Black Book, and the same year lent her voice to the animated film The Incredibles as the voice of Helen Parr, a.k.a. the superheroine Elastigirl. In 2005, Hunter starred alongside Robin Williams in the black comedy-drama The Big White. Hunter became an executive producer, and helped develop a starring vehicle for herself with the TNT cable-network drama Saving Grace, which premiered in July 2007. For her acting, she received a Golden Globe Award nomination, two Screen Actors Guild Award nomination, and an Emmy Award nomination. On May 30, 2008 Hunter received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. | ||||||||||
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| Career Highlights | ||||||||||
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Was director James L. Brooks' first choice to play the female lead in As Good as It Gets (1997), but reportedly demanded too much money upfront and was passed over in favour of Helen Hunt. Hunter had previously collaborated with James L. Brooks on the 1987 film, Broadcast News (1987). * She had one line in her film debut, The Burning (1981), among a few ad libs. Regarding missing canoes she says to Todd -- "What happens if we don't find them?" * In 10th grade she placed 8th nationally in a poultry-judging contest. (Interview, 11/95) * Hunter's uncle was the first commander of the Thunderbirds, the world-famous U.S. Air Force Demonstration Squadron of fighter pilots. An accomplished pianist, she actually performed all of the piano music for her Oscar performance in The Piano (1993). Film makers selected pieces for her that matched her talent. * Second cousin of Anaheim Angels' outfielder Tim Salmon. Replaced Debra Winger for the role of Jane Craig in Broadcast News (1987). * Turned down the role of God in Dogma (1999). * Announced her separation from husband, Janusz Kaminski. They have had been apart since Halloween. [December 2001] Taught by Jorge Guerra. * She is one of the elite eleven actors to have been nominated for both a Supporting and Lead Acting Academy Award in the same year. The other nine are: Fay Bainter; Barry Fitzgerald; Teresa Wright; Jessica Lange; Sigourney Weaver; Al Pacino; Emma Thompson; Julianne Moore; Cate Blanchett and Jamie Foxx. Emma Thompson received her double-nomination in the same year that Hunter did. * While living in the North Bronx, she turned down the lead role in Blood Simple. (1984), but introduced the Coen Brothers to her roommate Frances McDormand, who got the role and ended up marrying one of the brothers. Hunter's voice can be heard on an answering machine message in the film. * Lived in the same house as Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Frances McDormand and Sam Raimi in 1985 in Silver Lake, just outside of Los Angeles. * Hired a sign language interpreter to help her create her own sign language for her role in The Piano (1993). * Started playing piano at 9. * Moved to New York in 1980 to pursue a career in acting. Made her Broadway debut in 1982 in "Crimes of the Heart." * Joel Coen and Ethan Coen saw her in "Crimes of the Heart" and wanted to cast her in the movie, Blood Simple. (1984). Because she was committed in another play, "The Wake of Jamey Foster", they cast her roommate Frances McDormand instead. Frances McDormand ended up marrying Joel Coen. * In 1993, she won the Oscar for Best Actress for The Piano (1993), in which she utilised her real-life piano skills. Eleven years later, Jamie Foxx won Best Actor for Ray (2004/I), in which he also played the piano. Both of them had been nominated for a supporting performance in those respective years, and both were nominated for a role they played opposite Tom Cruise. Hunter appeared in The Firm (1993) and Jamie Foxx appeared in Collateral (2004). * Member of jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1999. * Graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a degree in drama (1980). * Holly and her boyfriend, Gordon MacDonald, became parents of twin boys [January 17, 2006]. * Spent a summer interning at Cortland Repertory Theatre (Cortland, New York) in 1976. * Her performance as Jane Craig in Broadcast News (1987) is ranked #66 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006). * Wings of Desire (Der Himmel über Berlin (1987)) is one of her favourite films. * Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 30, 2008. * She won her Oscar-winning role in The Piano (1993) over Anjelica Huston, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Juliette Binoche and Isabelle Huppert. Sigourney Weaver's agent had turned it down without sending her the script. * She won the role in Broadcast News (1987) just two days before shooting began, over several then-better-known actresses: Sigourney Weaver, Judy Davis, Christine Lahti, Elizabeth McGovern, Mary Beth Hurt, Joanna Pacula, and Elizabeth Perkins. * Was in consideration for the part of Mia Wallace in Pulp Fiction (1994) but Uma Thurman, who went on to receive a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance, was cast instead. * Was in consideration for the part of Carolyn Burnham in American Beauty (1999) but Annette Bening, who went on to receive a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her performance, was cast instead. |
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