🎧 June Squibb: 94 and Unstoppable

The 'Thelma' star shares her 70-year journey to late-career stardom. Plus: The ties that bind the Oscars and politics

SQUIBB GAME ‘I think it's one of the most relaxed sets I've ever been on in my life,” Squibb says of shooting Thelma with first-time director Josh Margolin. “And I think the film shows it.” (Photo illustration by The Ankler; Gregg DeGuire/WireImage)

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Climbing a flight of stairs may not seem like the same kind of challenge as a tap-dance routine, or performing one of the bawdiest songs Stephen Sondheim ever wrote. But for June Squibb, the 94-year-old star of this summer’s breakout hit Thelma, overcoming the physical challenge of a steep, rickety flight of stairs came down to the same physical skills she first honed as a Broadway dancer in the 1950s.

“I think your body has a memory of all that,” Squibb tells me on this week’s one-day-early edition of the Prestige Junkie podcast (something big is happening tomorrow in case you hadn’t heard). “I’ve been told that by teachers and trainers, that because of all those years of dancing, that my body retains knowledge of all that work. ”

Doing nearly all of her own stunts and taking on her first-ever leading film role, Squibb is an absolute marvel in the Magnolia Pictures release Thelma, playing a woman who falls prey to a common phone scam and goes on a mission to recover her lost money. She stars opposite Richard Roundtree, in what turned out to be one of his final performances, as well as Fred Hechinger, who has become one of her closest friends since filming.

Squibb lives on her own in a neighborly apartment complex in Sherman Oaks, not far from where Thelma was filmed. Although she built her career in New York and on Broadway, she describes herself as “a proud Valley person now.”

A dark horse contender in a remarkably crowded best actress race— she would be the oldest nominee ever, in any category—Squibb is an inspirational figure not just because she’s still working well into her 90s, but because her first film role didn’t come until she was in her 60s. She swears she just has a knack for knowing the right people to work with, Thelma director Josh Margolin included. “The set is so much driven by the head, and that’s usually your director — sometimes the star, but mostly the director,” Squibb says. “For Thelma, Josh was wonderful and he was the leader.  That sets the tone.”

Also, in this special early edition of the podcast, you’ll hear my conversation with Tyler Coates about the election. Specifically we talk about the ways the Oscars and politics have always gone hand in hand, and why we might not understand the impact of the election on this year’s Oscars race until many years into the future. 

I’ll be back Thursday with a regular edition of the newsletter, and if you have any theories in the meantime about what the election will to do upend this year’s awards race, drop me a line: katey@theankler.com

I also suggest that if you’re early in your Hollywood career you consider applying to The Ladder, our invitation-only program for the industry’s next generation of leaders. Membership gets you access to a curated feed of paywalled news and analysis from The Ankler, of course, as well as to our members-only private discussion group on Substack, live events, and exclusive access to top Ankler talent. Learn what everyone in Hollywood is talking about now — and meet who we’ll be talking about in 10 years.