Oscar-nominated for 2013's Nebraska, an action hero for the ages in 2024's Thelma, and back on Broadway at the age of 96, June Squibb is the A-lister who took the long road to success. After decades treading the boards, her film career began when she was in her 60s. Thirty-plus years later, she remains one of the most in-demand stage and screen veterans.
Having worked with Martin Scorsese on The Age of Innocence, Todd Haynes on Far from Heaven, and Alexander Payne on About Schmidt and Nebraska, Squibb's latest film, Eleanor the Great, sees her in the lead role for a first-time director - Scarlett Johansson.
In one of the year's best performances, Squibb's no-filter Eleanor is at the centre of a misunderstanding that becomes a lie and then gets very, very out of hand. You can't overstate how life-affirming it is to watch the Illinois native going through the gears of the comedy-drama like someone half her age, and when RTÉ Entertainment talked to her on Zoom in November, she more than lived up to her top billing.
Harry Guerin: I think Eleanor the Great is your best performance. Is it the one you're happiest with?
June Squibb: I think it is. I think it's the most complete woman that I've even seen in film in a long time. (Laughs) No, I enjoyed doing it tremendously.
Even though Eleanor makes a terrible mess of things, we're always on her side - or I am anyway - to sort things out and make amends. Is that what drew you to the character?
Well, I think, yes. Because I kind of believe, yes, you can lie, and if it helps somebody, then it's not so bad. I just felt she was such a full woman. What Tory (Kamen, screenwriter) wrote was so... I mean, she had every emotion possible that you would want in a human being. And I loved this, and we don't always find it in a film script.
Eleanor the Great is Scarlett Johansson's first feature film as a director. What surprised you about her as a first-time director?
How secure she was. She was terribly secure! I've worked with a lot of first-time directors - some really brilliant directors that were first-time when I worked with them - but sometimes you can sense that they're a little nervous the first few days. She had none of that. She was very secure in what she was doing. I think she felt it was time. 'This is my time to do this and I should do it.'
Was the friendship between you there straight away or did it take a little bit of time?
Well, I think we liked each other. We did a Zoom call and I felt, 'My God, she's honest, she's straightforward. This is something I can really relate to.' And I think she felt the same way. So, I think we started off on a good level, and then as we met each other, I think we kept finding out things about each other. It just got deeper and deeper. Our feelings, our understandings - I sort of began to know [what she was thinking]. We had a shorthand because she was directing me as an actress, too, with her background as an actor.
Aside from the humour in Eleanor the Great and also its examination of grief and loneliness, there's a lot about a young person trying to find their way in the world and carve out a career for themselves. You took the long road to success. What advice would you have for young people who think, 'Should I roll the dice and try to break out and try to do something different than what I'm currently in?'?
The arts are hard. I think all of the arts are hard to be successful in them. I think if this is what you know you have to do, then you keep at it. You just simply keep at it, no matter what happens. And I think that, in doing that, you will learn and you'll learn ways of getting better. And you will learn how to deal with everything, because it is terribly hard.
Eleanor never comes across as her age in the film - and neither do you in real life. What age are you in your own head?
I always say that I'm 35!
Eleanor the Great is in cinemas now.
