Hunter still in demand and enjoying adventure
“Now, how did you know it’s me, Mark?” Even when she’s on the phone, there’s no mistaking Holly Hunter’s slow southern drawl and distinctive chuckle.
The Academy Award-winning actress is calling the morning after the première of Incredibles 2 — a fast-paced romp that picks up right where we left off in the original (in a parking lot) as Disney-Pixar’s first family of superheroes prepares to battle a new threat. It doesn’t faze Hunter, now 60, that 14 years have passed since the first Incredibles movie. Animated films don’t have to worry about pesky things like time or actors getting too old.
“I’m from the world of real-life movies and you can’t do that,” the Georgia-born actress says. “So I was endlessly amused they did that.” The sequel centres on Bob/ Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson), struggling to be a stayat-home dad as his wife Helen/ Elastigirl (Hunter) becomes the family’s crime-fighting figurehead in a society where superheroes are no longer legal.
Q In Incredibles 2, Elastigirl is front and centre. And now it seems timely because of #MeToo and #TimesUp. How did you feel about that?
A It brought out things with Elastigirl that I didn’t even know. I thought she was the coolest of the cool when she goes out on her mission in this particular story. I didn’t realize that she would be such a surgical, unflappable queen.
Q Fourteen years is a long time to go between sequels. Were you worried you might not be able to catch lightning in a bottle again?
A I felt like if Brad (director Bird) was ready to do this one, it must be good. After we all looked at the first movie and then a sequel didn’t come immediately, I was surprised. When Brad decided to do a part 2, I felt there was a genuine reason for him to make this movie.
Q What did you think of the decision to start part 2 right after the end of part 1?
A I think the audience will find it endlessly fulfilling because the stage we left them on at the end of the first Incredibles was something pretty special. Seeing JackJack with all these crazy powers and his family not knowing about that is a wonderful place to begin the second movie.
Q Your first role was in 1981’s The Burning. Looking back on it, has the journey from that film up to now been everything you had hoped it would be?
A Well, that’s kind of a charming question. My career has defied my expectations. I think when I was doing The Burning what I most wanted to be was a New York City actress. I most wanted to make my living as an actress on the stage. That was where my ambitions ended. I said, ‘That’s what I want to do with my life. I want to act.’ Now I’m 60, and I’m still acting. That’s pretty good. So in a lot of ways, I defied my own expectations.
Q If you had to pick a few movies of yours you’d want people to see, maybe lesser-known titles, what would some of those be?
A I loved this movie I did called Thirteen with Catherine Hardwicke, who is a wonderful female director. I said female just now because we need more of them. I loved the character that I did for a movie called Living Out Loud. And I did this movie that Kiefer Sutherland directed and I loved that character, too. It was called Woman Wanted and it didn’t really see the light of day. Sometimes I just think about movies in terms of the character I got to play and how much I loved her. Of course I love Broadcast News and I love The Piano, but these other ones I just mentioned didn’t get the kind of exposure that those two did.