“Thelma” had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where it received enthusiastic reviews for Academy Award-nominee June Squibb’s performance, her chemistry with other members of the cast, and portrayal of showing how even in her 90’s, Tom Cruise isn’t Hollywood’s only action star. Now a Gotham Award and Film Independent Spirit Nominee for her performance in Josh Margolin’s feature directorial debut, Squibb was kind enough to talk to us again about her work on the film, which you can read below. Her raved-about performance is up for your consideration for the 97th Academy Awards for Best Actress.
*This review has been edited for clarity*
Hi, June. How are you?
Hi. I’m good.
What a pleasure to chat with you. Thank you so very much for your time today.
You’re welcome. I’m thrilled to talk to you.
I know you have been a very, very busy woman these last few weeks and few months. So, it makes me even more thrilled to get just a few moments of your time.
It has been a busy time. Yeah.
I mean, you kind of are the woman of the hour. How have you been feeling?
Well, it’s been wonderful. It’s just I get really tired after a while, you know. But I stopped and rested, and then I was fine again.
I get that. You know what? That’s kind of the story of my life, too. Always a little tired. Hahaha
Is it?
Yes. Haha.
Haha.
Well, I’ve had the privilege of watching your film, “Thelma,” a couple of times, and you just constantly put a smile on my face. So I’m so thrilled to dive into this story with you and, of course, look back at some other moments of your career.
Yes!
I was looking at just the last few years, and you’re on TV one day, you’re voicing a film, you’re in an animated film, you’re starring in a film; I mean, you just kind of have been all over the place.
I have been. Yeah. It all came together at the same time.
Yeah. I would just kind of love to know, what really excites you about the roles that you are playing today and kind of dipping your toes into.
Yeah. Well, I read everything that’s given to me, and I never accept something unless I really feel this is something I want to do. It’s something important, something that will be fun to do. So all of those things go into it. I really pick and choose pretty much. I mean, you want to have fun doing what it is you’re doing but also make something out of it that makes a statement that I believe in.
As you kind of look back on your career, as I said, I was looking through all of the credits, and every single credit is something new. I never know what to expect. Is that how it felt throughout your career, too? Do you just not reallyknow what the next thing is?
Well, I never think of it, no, I never think of it like that. I really just think of each individual script as I receive it. And if, again, it’s something that appeals to me and that I think I will enjoy doing, my mind will be in it and want to work on it.So it’s all those things.
Would you say that the passion that you had at the start of your career has continuously been more and morefueled as you found new projects to work on?
I feel I still have the same passion that I had when I was 16. When you just thought about potentially pursuing a career in film or television, whatever it might’ve been. It’s funny because when I think back on it, I always felt I was an actress. Or I will be someday or something. Yeah, I always just felt I was. And it just meant trying to find a way to make it all come true. You know, to make it really happen for me. And I managed to do that. I went to the Cleveland Playhouse first. And that was probably very good for me because I think it would have been so much harder for me in New York City if I had gone right there before having the experience of working in a theater like Cleveland. It eventually led to a number ofsupporting turns, including an Oscar nomination.
And then, you didn’t stop just there. You kept going, and now you’re leading a film.
Yeah.
I’m sure maybe even you kind of stop and think to yourself, “Wow, I really made it. I really did this whole thing.”
Well, I never did think that. It’s funny because it just seems the most natural thing in the world for me to be doing is what I’m doing. So that’s wonderful. And I never think in terms of, “Oh, I’ve accomplished something” or “Something has happened.” It never occurred to me that that could be a thing.
I would like to dive a little bit into “Thelma” with you. I first have to ask you if you have any crazy stories that would make Thelma, your character, proud.
Well, I don’t know if I have any stories, but I think I’ve always stood up for myself and other people who couldn’t stand up for themselves. I think my father gave me that. He always said, “You know, everybody is the same. You have to treat everybody the same.” There was no them and us in his world; it was “we.” We were all together. So I just think I grew up with that, and so I kind of lived my life, and when I was young, I would jump into anything. And in any circumstance, if I felt somebody was being wrong, I’ve tempered that a bit as I’ve gotten older. I’m not quite as harebrained about it as I was when I was young.
But you did what you had to do. And I mean, I feel like, as you said, you know, standing up, not only just for yourself but for others; I’m sure that even just doing so allowed you to flourish even more so in your career, too, knowing when you would say yes.
Yeah. And I also have a thing of yes or no; it’s easy for me to say yes or no. I mean, I know when I’ve dealt with something, it just is simple for me to do that, And I know that that’s difficult for a lot of people. I have friends that it’s very difficult for so I understand the strength of that, you know, just being able to make a quick decision on things and going by living by it.
I mean, you’re Thelma, and really, how you’re describing yourself to me right now, I do have to say I saw my grandmother in this character because she is a funky Eastern European woman who will handle herself, no matter what the situation may be, even if it might get her a little bit into trouble. Did you find that type of kinship with Thelma yourself, or at least a connection to other people, maybe in your family, loved ones, or whoever it may be?
I think when I read it, I recognized things that I knew, people and myself. I think that the script was so beautifully written that he captured this sense of age so beautifully. I feel that it was a no-brainer in terms of, “Oh God, I’ve got to do this,” and I felt that immediately when I read it. I felt I must do this film. I felt that kindness as well toward elderly peoplebecause a lot of people think the world is just for the young, and once you reach a certain age, you just really aren’t important anymore, but I felt like Josh, in his way, to kind of honor his grandmother through this film showed the type of agency that is still with people, no matter what age they may be. And it felt so truthful. It just felt like this beautiful homage to the kind of people we can thank for a lot of different things in our world, too.
I think he did an amazing job, with an amazing script he wrote, and just an amazing first film overall. It’s touched so many people. I know you’ve talked a little bit about all of the work that you’ve done on this. You do all your ownstunts in this film. I love all those comparisons to “Mission: Impossible.” And I mean, it is true. Sometimes, once you reach a certain age, those everyday tasks can be quite difficult for people. Like I said, I see my grandmother in this film and some of the daily struggles that she has to face. Did you feel some type of pressure, so to say, or did it just feel fun from the first moment?
No, it was relaxed. There’s something very relaxing about Josh himself. And I did meet him early on, and he brought Richard around to meet me, and he brought Fred to my apartment to meet me. So we had lunch together, and I had been with Josh quite a few times. There’s something very relaxing about that man. You sense you’re in good hands. You feel like, yes, he could do this. And so I just never questioned it, to be honest with you. It was a very relaxed set. Richard and Fred, who are with most of my work, were both such great scene partners and wonderful actors, and it was a joy to go to work every day.
Yes, and I know Richard unfortunately passed away earlier this year or sometime last year, so I know that this is kind of a very special moment as well.
Yes. We met all of his children at Sundance, and they told us that he loved doing the film. It was very important to him, and he loved every minute of it. So we all feel that if this had to happen, thank God we were with him in the last film, you know? Yes, it is a special one.
Just the way this film honors a certain generation of people, for yourself. I think that there are a number of really fabulous gags in this film, of course, the scooter being the getaway vehicle and just so many of these intricate ways that you get to use some of the tools that elderly people have in their lives. Do you have one of those tidbits or things that were put in the script that really made you think, “Wow, this is just so creative? I never would have thought of it in this way.”
I have to tell you, you know, the walker, the red walker that I push around.
Yes.
In the film, we named it Johnny Walker. Now, that tells you something about where we all were. Our sense of humor was taking over immediately. So everybody would yell, “Get Johnny Walker! Get Johnny Walker!” And they wanted to spread Walker.
I like that a lot. I guess, in general, how do you describe just the makings of this film compared to some of the other films that you have in your filmography? Was this one that stood out and was unique in its own way, or could you maybe compare it?
I feel this and “Nebraska” have been the high points in my career. And I feel from the standpoint of what the film ended up becoming, what it was saying, and the making of the film, it was interesting because with “Nebraska,” we knew we were doing something very important. We knew this, and we had no idea what the film would do or be. And the same kind of thing happened with this; it was different because it was new. Josh was a first-time director and writer. So, you had a lot of firsts, and you don’t know, but there was something very special about it. We knew this. We all did. And I thinkthen when Richard, Fred and I, you know, when we were together, it just became a very special kind of film. So I thinkI’m lucky. I think I’ve hit the jackpot twice.
You have. With things that were above and beyond what most films ever become. Yes, you’re entirely right. You’re lucky to strike lightning if it strikes once, but you have had it with these two fabulous films.
Yeah, I feel it has struck twice for me.
I guess, since it has been a couple of months since this film has been out, I’m sure that you’ve heard from just a number of people all around the country just telling you their thoughts on the film. What have you been hearing from people who may be of similar age as yourself, or maybe some people who are younger? What are some of those comments that stick out for you?
I was surprised at how many young people were seeing the film. We are really getting a young audience in, and a lot of it has to do with their mother and grandmother. They see them in the film, but we also have older people watching it. So they’re coming in their delight. The older women are absolutely delighted by what they’re seeing. I think the older men enjoy it, but the older women really see themselves, you know, like she’s capable. They could do it if she can. One woman came after a screening, and she was going through the machinations of driving a motorcycle. Oh! She was just so involved with that scooter and, you know, she was, Oh, rah, rah, and going through the whole thing with it, with her scooter. And, I mean, this was wonderful to see. I mean, she was just so involved in it.
That is so sweet. I mean, that’s what you hope at the end of the day with any film, right?
Yeah, you hope that it touches people in the way this film really has touched people, both young and old.
Well, June, I don’t want to take up too much more of your time, but I just want to ask you one final question. And that is, you’ve been showered with praise for this film. I certainly hope that this is not the end of your film adventures. Do you have more things that you’re looking forward to or want to do?
I do. I have a film called “Eleanor the Great,” and it’s Scarlett Johansson’s first directed film. She’s never directed a feature before, and we shot it last year, last January, February, and March in New York, and it’s coming out next year. I think itwill be a very special film.
Oh, well, I’m very excited to see it. So I’m very thrilled about that. And I just looked and saw Chiwetel Ejiofor is also your cast member, so it seems like this will be a very good film.
Yes, no, it really is. I’ve seen, seen it twice now, rough cuts of it, and I think it’s going to be really great.
Oh, well, I am very excited about this. June, I just want to thank you so much for your time. It’s been an absolute pleasure to speak with you.
Well, thank you. I’ve enjoyed it.
Thank you so much, and I wish you nothing but the best and hopefully, our paths get to cross again.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you so much.
“Thelma” is now available to watch digitally and on physical media from Magnolia Pictures and is up for your consideration for this year’s Academy Awards for Best Actress
You can follow Ema and hear more of her thoughts on the Oscars and Film on X @ema_sasic
