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If there’s one thing June Squibb has always known, it’s that she wanted to pursue a career in acting on her own terms. She’s the first to admit that she’s stubborn, but it’s a trait that has served her well over the past seven decades as she transitioned from local theater to Broadway to television and film. Her trajectory has been so singular, in fact, that Squibb didn’t land her first leading role until age 92, when writer-director Josh Margolin approached her to play the titular part in Thelma, a hilariously heartwarming action(ish) flick about a grandma who seeking vengeance on her scammers.
Margolin wrote the role with Squibb, now 94, in mind, but had no idea how to get the script to her. It was thanks to a mutual friend, Beanie Feldstein, who worked with Squibb on the 2021 family drama The Humans, that Thelma arrived in Squibb’s inbox. It’s only been in the past decade, since earning a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nod for Alexander Payne’s film Nebraska (another family drama of sorts, albeit colored through Payne’s gimlet-eyed humor), that Squibb has found herself sought after by directors.
“That’s one of the big perks of an Academy [Award] nomination,” Squibb says, speaking by Zoom from her home in Los Angeles. “I auditioned my life away before. After that, you don’t audition anymore — you get offered things.”
In Thelma, Squibb plays 93-year-old Thelma Post, a character based largely on Margolin’s own grandmother. After Thelma falls victim to a phone scam, she decides to track down the perpetrator by any means necessary, including enlisting the help of fellow retiree Ben, played by the late Shaft legend Richard Roundtree. In the spirit of Mission Impossible, at a slightly slower pace, Thelma journeys across Los Angeles on mobility scooter and on foot, endeavoring to stand up for herself no matter what.
“I felt I understood her before I went in to shoot it,” Squibb says. “I knew who she was and what she was about and why she was doing what she was doing and what she wanted. I’ve had so many people come up to me and say that they were scammed or their parents were scammed or somebody they knew. It’s just a scourge.”
Squibb turned 93 on the set (Roundtree surprised her with two dozen red roses) and insisted on doing most of her own stunts during the seven-week production. Despite centering on the very real plight of people being scammed, the resulting movie is uplifting and wildly funny. It was a vibe Squibb experienced while making it. “It was a wonderful group of people,” she says. “And I think you feel that in the film. There was a lot of joy and a lot of just loving each other.”
Thelma is one of several films Squibb has shot over the past year. She also voices Nostalgia in Disney Pixar’s Inside Out 2, a small but pivotal role recorded before and after the actor’s strike. Somehow, she’s got more momentum and energy than actors half her age, with no current plans to retire.
“If I have things I want to do, I want to continue,” Squibb says. “If roles come up that are interesting or I can work with people who are interesting, I would love to do it. Physically, I have to think in terms of what I can and can’t do. And if what I can’t do is fine with the director or the producers, then we’ll do it.”
How did it feel to be offered a lead role in a movie this far into your career?
I never thought that much about it. The script was so great and for me that’s what’s exciting, to read a script and say, “Oh, boy, there’s something here I really want to do to be a part of.” I never thought in terms of being a leading role. I dealt with it the same way that I do everything. I really study the script a lot, for hours and hours and hours, so when I go into it I know the script very well. That’s what I did with this. I really did nothing different.
What struck you most about Thelma?
Her determination. For me, it wasn’t even [about] age. This woman is determined. She could be 16 and she would be this determined to get her due. She was not going to let this go by. The age is interesting. Josh wrote it with this age [in mind] and it is his own grandmother that he’s writing. But I think that it could be any woman and she would go out and get her money back.
How does Josh’s grandma feel about the film?
She’s got such a sense of humor. I met her the other day. I had talked to her before, but we had never met, and it was just wonderful. I walked in and I said, “I am Thelma Post.” She said, “No, I am Thelma Post.” We just laughed uproariously. We thought we were the funniest things going. She gets nervous, though, about the crowds [and attention]. She was interviewed by CBS Sunday Morning and she was nervous going into it, but Josh said the minute she started talking she was fine. I’m 94 and people are always saying, “Oh my God, your mind is so great at 94.” She’s going to be 104 in July! She could outdo me. She’s funnier and everything.
How did you prepare for this very physical role?
I was already doing Pilates. My assistant and I had been doing Pilates for about a year and a half before Thelma. And that helped. But nothing other than that. Just the fact that we kept up with our classes before I started shooting. I have always been very physical. I danced for years. And then I had a trainer [when I lived] in New York and I swam every day in New York and also out here in California. I’ve always used my body a great deal. I began to feel I needed to do that again — I couldn’t just let it go. I couldn’t just stop everything.
Had you ever done an action movie before this?
Not really. I did one horror film, Would You Rather, but not an action film. But I wanted to do the action. When I read about the motor scooter I thought, “Oh, what fun, my God.” And they thought, “Well, she won’t be doing that. Her stunt double will do all the motor work.” No. I got on that thing and they couldn’t get me off of it. I loved it. We had a stunt coordinator and they were very careful, but he would tell me what to do and how to do it. He said I got so good at stopping it I was better than any of his people. I could just stop on a dime.
How fast did it go?
They slowed it down. I think it would go as much as 40 miles per hour, or something like that. It would go an amazing amount, and they cut it down so I couldn’t do that. I think they cut it down to like 15 or 20. I don’t really know because they didn’t tell me they were cutting it down. Or I would have said, “Oh, no, let me do it at high speed.” I just felt I could do all of it. But they were a little more serious with things than I was. They had a stunt woman who was there to do all of it and I kept saying, “No, I think I can do it.” So most of it was me.
What was the most challenging stunt you did yourself?
Believe it or not, walking up those stairs [in Thelma’s house]. I’m serious! Stairs were hard and those were not easy stairs. It was an old house that we were shooting in. And they wanted it to look belabored. They didn’t want me to run up. They wanted me to look like it was taking its toll. And it was taking its toll! I didn’t have to act too much of that one.
You also have a small cameo in Inside Out 2. What’s your character like?
I play Nostalgia. She comes too early, because the girl is a teenager. Pixar is great fun to do. I enjoy doing voiceovers. They’re fun. You’re usually dealing with crazy characters and they push you farther than most scripts do. And I like working for [Pixar]. They’re good people and the directors are good. It’s all just a very positive experience.
Did you get to see what the character looked like before you recorded the lines?
You usually do. They showed her to me. So I know what she looked like, but I didn’t see [the animation] while I was recording. And they expanded my role a little. They told me they had a [test] screening of [a rough cut] and [the audience] loved Nostalgia, so they added another scene for me.
You seem to always have something going on. How much are you shooting in a given year?
Well, I’ve had 51 credits in 10 years. I’m busy. I shoot quite a bit. This year I had Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead, Inside Out 2, American Horror Story, Lost & Found in Cleveland, Thelma, and then I have a new one, Eleanor the Great, that I shot in New York with Scarlett Johansson.
In 2013, you were nominated for an Oscar for Nebraska. When you made the movie, did you have a sense it was something special?
Yes, we all did. We truly all knew that something very exciting was happening. We went to Cannes. That was our first festival and we got a 10-minute standing ovation, and we didn’t know what to do. None of us did, even Alexander. We were all crying and hugging each other and hanging on to each other, and we just didn’t know what to do. But we did know it was something special. I don’t think you [always] get a company feeling the way you did with Nebraska. Because it wasn’t just one person. Everybody, all the crew, was just so excited about it.
Did you notice a shift in your life after the Oscars?
Yeah. You’re accepted into an echelon of actors that are equipped to do things. I don’t know how else to explain it.
How many years did you spend auditioning before appearing in Nebraska?
I started auditioning when I went to New York. I was 24 or 25. I had spent five years at the Cleveland Playhouse and I didn’t really audition there. They just told you what you were going to do. But in New York I started auditioning. I was also working as a musical theater performer, so I sang and danced a few times. So, well, from my twenties to my nineties is about 70 years. So I spent 70 years auditioning.
And you never wanted to quit?
Auditions are interesting. Sometimes it can be fun. And I got to the point where I would go in and do ridiculous things if I felt like it. It didn’t bother me that this was the job. I think that probably saved me too from getting burned out with the whole thing. For this one audition I was asked to come in by a director I worked with before and it was to sing. It was a new musical. I went in and I have no idea why, but I decided to sing “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” facing the side. I never looked at the director. He came out afterwards and said, “What in the F were you doing out there?” I said, “Well, I was doing my audition.” He said, “You had the job before you came in to audition. Now you don’t have it.” But it didn’t bother me. I mean, it wasn’t life or death or anything. I had fun. That’s what I wanted to do.
At this point, what are your criteria for saying yes to a role?
If the script is overwritten that’s one clue that I’m leery of. Because a film script should never be overwritten. Its very nature should be sparse and just what you’re seeing on camera. And I want something that interests me and certainly something that perhaps I haven’t done before. That’s another big clue as to whether I would do it or not.
What’s something you haven’t done before that you want to do?
A Western. I’ve never done a Western. I think I would be good in a Western.
You could do your own horseback riding stunts.
I used to ride when I was quite a bit younger. But I don’t know if I still could or not. Once they got me on I’d be fine.
You’ve played such a wide array of roles. Are you pretty much game for anything?
I was [scheduled to be] shooting a film in New York and it was a long shoot. It was like 27 days of shooting. And then I was offered this script for one of the American Horror Story [shows]. It was one day shooting in New Jersey. I thought it was to play a vampire, but it turned out to be a leprechaun that drank blood. So I said, “I’ve got to do this.” My assistant said, “We can’t go to New Jersey, come back [to California] and then fly to New York the next week.” I said, “Yes, we can. I’ve got to do this.” So we did it. We flew to New Jersey so I could shoot for one day. For some reason it was really important for me to do that. I don’t always know why, but I knew it was important that I do it.
How was it playing a blood-drinking leprechaun?
I loved it. It was great fun. It was three short scenes. It was insane that I did it and especially since we were going to be traveling again. But I had a good time. And I had never done anything like it.
What’s another role you felt you just had to do?
Believe it or not, Hubie Halloween. I really felt there was something important about doing it. The script was fun. It had been written by Adam [Sandler] and a lot of his comic friends. Maybe it was the thing with everybody in costume at Halloween. I’m drawn to dress-up, fantastical things, but Nebraska certainly isn’t that. And when I read that script I thought, “Oh my God, this is brilliant.”
Do you think about your age when you take on these roles?
It doesn’t matter. I think about it if something is physically difficult for me. In Eleanor the Great I used my cane. At this age, a year makes a difference in physically how you’re able to handle things. But I don’t feel it’s been a hurdle. I just came out [to California] and was offered jobs. I auditioned those early years here, but I got so much work so I never thought of it in terms of the age thing. I know it and I’m aware of it. And I think it’s changing [in Hollywood]. I think we now have leading ladies who are in their sixties and that would never have happened before. The fact that I’ve just shot two films that were written for a 90-year-old—I don’t think that would have happened before. And we’re aging. The population is aging.
Did playing Thelma change you at all?
I think a role like Thelma really changes me. I really think that I take certain things from her and they become a part of me. With Thelma, it was her thing about “I can do it.” That is me — that was before Thelma, too. I always felt I could do anything. But that really reinforced it because that’s who she is: “Don’t tell me I can’t do something.” That reinforced a feeling I’ve always had. That’s one of the things that has put me in a good stead through the whole journey I’ve had.
