After praising June Squibb’s performance in Thelma in a piece I did for Chasing the Gold, InSession Film was contacted by June Squibb’s team to see if I would be interested in a Zoom interview with her. Of course, I said, “Yes!” What follows is a delightful conversation I had with June Squibb about Thelma, her process, and the ever-present specter of awards buzz. Enjoy!
Zach Youngs: Well, should we jump right in?
June Squibb: Sure.
ZY: What was the casting process like for Thelma?
JS: Well, Beanie Feldstein and I had done The Humans together. Josh [Margolin, writer/director of Thelma] and Beanie have been long-time family friends. She was at their house, and they were talking about Josh’s new script. So she said, ‘Who do you want to do it?’ And Josh said, ‘Well, I’d love June Squibb, but I don’t know how to get the script to her.’ And Beanie said, ‘I’ll get a script to her.’ So she texted me saying, ‘I’m going to send you a script,’ and I texted back, ‘O.K.’ And that was it! [laughs]. Literally, that’s how the script came to me.
When I read that script, I knew I had to do it. It was like, ‘This is something I’ve got to do.’ And when Josh and I finally talked he said, ‘We thought we’d have to talk you into this.’ Instead, he picked up the phone, and I said, ‘O.K. I’m in. I’ll do it.’ [laughs]. That’s how it all happened.
ZY: Do you find that you have to do many auditions at this stage of your career?
JS: I don’t audition, and that happened after the Oscar nomination [for 2013’s Nebraska]. It’s just all at once; everybody calls you, and you don’t have to audition anymore.
ZY: How much of Thelma was on the page, and how much did you intuit and bring to the character?
JS: I think it was really almost all on the page. [Josh] wrote a really wonderful script. And every actor that signed on said the same thing, ‘I read that script and felt I had to do it.’ I think there was not one of us that didn’t say that. And I think we all brought quite a bit to it. Not lines, the script was really [well written].
ZY: Was it hard to convince people that you could do your own stunts for the film?
JS: It was. Because I had to show them. They went into it feeling I wouldn’t do any of it, like driving the scooter or any of the physical things. And I said, ‘Well, let me try.’ So they let me on the scooter, but they were all scared to death that I was gonna kill myself. And the stunt coordinator [Ryan Sturz] ran along beside me the first time I was on the scooter. But I got pretty good at it and they realized I could do it, and the same with the physical stunts, too. The bed rolls and getting through the antique store and all of that. They realized I could do it, so they let me do it.
ZY: What was the emotional journey like for you to get into Thelma’s head and really embody the character?
JS: Well, I just felt when I first read it that I knew who this woman was. And I spend hours on a script before I start shooting. I really do. I learn that way, and take a long process if I have the time. And I just read the script over and over. I just know the script so well before I start shooting. And so Josh and I didn’t talk that much. He sent me pictures. He had taken short movies of his grandmother, Thelma [the real-life inspiration for the character], doing things like going to the store, at a birthday party, in the car. You know, different things like that. And I saw all of those, and that certainly gave me a feeling for her. And we started shooting in her apartment, her old Brentwood condo, which she had moved out of during the pandemic. And I learned an awful lot about her being in her apartment, I’ll tell you that [laughs].
ZY: Was there any redecorating of the set or did it stay as it was when she was there?
JS: No, they left it very much as she had left it. They added things like photos that made it more about us. But basically, [the place] had so many books. I cannot tell you, wall after wall of books. So you knew she and her husband, who died a few years before, they must have read constantly. So things like that you just knew by being in her apartment.
ZY: What’s it like to be mentioned alongside and compared to older, male action stars?
JS: [laughs] I laugh a lot, I’ll tell you. They had me doing some short, short, short films about, ‘I’m gonna kick your [expletive]!’ We did it with Arnold Schwarzenegger, and we did it with Glen Powell and… I forget who all we did it with, but it was funny, and people laughed at it. They thought it was funny.
ZY: Do you feel like you have more action movies in your future?
JS: I don’t know that I have action movies [laughs]. I think I still have work in my future. In fact, I’m pending one right now, and you know I have things coming out. And I’m going to be a [regular on a cartoon show] after the first of the year. So I still have things I’m doing. I don’t think any action… [laughs] I don’t think I’ll be doing too many more action films.
ZY: Let’s talk awards season. You’ve been through it before with Nebraska [nominated for Best Supporting Actress]. How do you feel about it this time? Do people want you to do some campaigning and things like that?
JS: Yeah, we are for Thelma, we are campaigning. The script has also been mentioned in the awards situation. So I think both with my performance and the script, Thelma could be included in the awards. God knows if or which one [laughs]. Certainly, from doing it before you realize it’s a very iffy situation.
ZY: It’s a long process, too! Everything started right around Sundance for Thelma
JS: It does. They were talking about [Thelma] at Sundance. We weren’t, but people were talking to us about it. ‘Well, this will be up for the Oscars,’ or ‘You’ll be up for the Oscars.’ This or that and, you know, I hope we are, but you just don’t know.
ZY: You’ve had such a long career. Do you still focus on awards or are you onto the next job?
JS: Well, I try to do both because number one, the [rankings], I read those. If they’re in my face, I’m aware of it. And actually I’m closer to the end with this than I was with Nebraska. ‘Cause I started [with low odds for a nomination] I think with Nebraska. And came up all the way. So, I enjoy it. I mean, it’s not something I don’t enjoy. I realize when I say I’ll do it, what it means. Time. You just go from one thing to the other with it. But I think it’s worth it. I think it’s worth it for the film. I’m very proud of Thelma. I really am.
ZY: It’s a film that really surprises you and grabs you in a different way. Both of my grandmothers have passed on, but I saw a lot of them in Thelma. I saw my parents too. It’s a film that speaks to a lot of people, I think.
JS: Yeah, I think on so many different levels. I think we have enough comedy that if you’re in for a comedy, you’re going to get the laughs, but also I think we make a lot of statements about things that not a lot of films do.
ZY: Yeah, especially about the aging process and how you have to rely on people in certain situations.
JS: And that’s important, I feel.
ZY: Yeah, absolutely. Well, thank you so much, June!
JS: Well, you’re welcome, Zach.
ZY: It was an absolute blast.
JS: [laughs] Good!
