Diminutive character actress Linda Hunt scored an Academy Award in only her second film, as doomed Chinese-Australian photojournalist, Billy Kwan, in Peter Weir’s “The Year of Living Dangerously” (1982). Hunt’s win for Best Supporting Actress marked the first time ever in Oscar history that an actor won an award for playing a character of the opposite sex. Distinguished by her tiny 4-foot 9-inch stature and her deep resonant voice, Hunt was a well-respected stage actress prior to stepping before the cameras.
Born on April 2, 1945, in Morristown, NJ, Hunt moved to Westport, CT with her family while still an infant. Burdened with a host of health problems since birth, Hunt was misdiagnosed with cretinism at six months of age. While in her teens, she was then diagnosed with hypo-pituatary dwarfism (a condition in which the pituitary gland does not release enough growth hormone). Ironically, or perhaps consequently, Hunt grew up an unusual overachiever, undaunted by her condition. She took her first stab at acting at age 12 while performing in a production of “Flibbertigibbet” at Westport’s famed Silver Nutmeg Theater.
Hunt moved to New York in the mid-1960’s, where she found work in summer stock theatre. Concerned that her unusual physical type would limit her future as an actress, Hunt initially focused on becoming a stage director. But the lure of acting proved too powerful to resist, however; so in 1969, Hunt returned to Westport to study acting under dramatic coach, Robert Lewis. In the early 1970’s, Hunt began a long-time association with the Long Wharf Theater in New Haven. Her one-woman show based on the life of Joan of Arc won the actress rave reviews and even flickers of interest from Broadway. A year later, Hunt went to New York and made her off-Broadway debut as the Player Queen in the New York Shakespeare Festival’s production of “Hamlet” in Central Park. This led to Hunt’s first major role as the Irish maid Nora in a 1973 production of Eugene O’Neill’s play, “Ah, Wilderness!” Originally directed by Arvin Brown for the Long Wharf Theatre, the play eventually moved to the Big Apple – specifically, Broadway’s Circle-in-the-Square Theatre – where it was taped for airing on PBS’s “Theater In America” special (PBS, 1976).
Hunt’s screen career began in the late 1970’s. Her television debut was in a “Hallmark Hall of Fame” presentation of Arthur Miller’s “Fame” (CBS, 1979). Adapted for the screen by the playwright himself, it was noteworthy that that Miller specifically created Hunt’s role of Mona with her in mind. The following year, Hunt made her official big-screen debut in Robert Altman’s bloated star-studded musical, “Popeye” (1980). Cast in a small supporting role as the feisty Mrs. Oxheart, Hunt’s appearance was but a forgettable cameo lost in a even more forgettable film starring Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall.
Hunt’s next film, however, would permanently change her career. Tapped to co-star in the controversial 1982 drama, “The Year of Living Dangerously,” Hunt joined hot young actors Mel Gibson and Sigourney Weaver in director Peter Weir’s complex drama. Based on a novel of the same title by Christopher Koch, “The Year of Living Dangerously” told the complicated tale of an Australian journalist caught at the center of a foreign country’s political overthrow. Based on the real-life events of the attempted 1965 coup of Jakarta by Indonesia’s Communist Party, “Dangerously” won Hunt an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Eurasian photographer, Billy Kwan. The first actor to ever win an Oscar for playing a role of the opposite gender, Hunt’s record stood untouched until 1999, when Hilary Swank won an Oscar for “Boys Don’t Cry.” In her portentously ironic acceptance speech, Hunt proudly declared her victory a victory for all unconventional looking actors in Hollywood. For those, like her, who might never have thought it impossible to pursue their dreams, Hunt triumphantly declared, “…the sky is the limit!”
An unlucky overstatement, as the case later turned out to be. Unfortunately, despite all her formidable talent, Hunt hit a proverbial glass ceiling. Though the actress remained consistently employed on stage – even winning two Obies and a Tony nomination in the 1980’s and 1990’s – the pedigree of her film work slipped a tad. Still, Hunt’s presence in movies endured throughout this period. Among Hunt’s higher profile roles were supporting turns in such critical faves as “Silverado” (1985) and the blockbuster Arnold Schwarzenegger comedy, “Kindergarten Cop” (1990). In 1993, Hunt briefly returned to television, starring in the ill-fated space opera, “Space Rangers” (CBS, 1993), which was cancelled after just six episodes.
After a relatively lengthy dormancy in the mid-to late 1990’s, during which time she appeared in only one major film – the 1997 horror dud, “The Relic” – Hunt’s career underwent something of a renaissance at the dawn of the millennium. Specifically, on television. In 1997, Hunt created the role of Judge Zoey Hiller on David E. Kelly’s long-running legal dramedy, “The Practice” (ABC, 1997-2004). A favorite recurring character of viewers, Hunt reprised the role more than two dozen times before the show finally adjourned its run. In 2003, Hunt joined the cast of the HBO drama “Carnivale” (HBO, 2003-05) for a 10-episode run as the mysterious voice of Management.
In 2005, actress Hunt added an unlikely new credit to her resume: video game icon. As the resonant, authoritative voice of the Narrator in the smash hit, award-winning “God of War” video game series, Hunt gained a whole new generation of fans unfamiliar with her acting work. So well received was Hunt’s contribution to the original game, that she was re-hired for the 2007 sequel, “God of War 2.”
After a long vacation away from features, Hunt finally returned to the big screen in 2005 with the blended family comedy “Yours, Mine, and Ours” starring Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo. While Hunt’s role was hardly much of a challenge for an actress of her formidable talents, the movie did at least allow Hunt a rare opportunity to flex her comedic muscles – an opportunity she made the most of. Her next project continued in the same vein, as Dr. Mittag-Leffler in director Marc Forster’s twisted comedy, “Stranger than Fiction” (2006) starring Will Ferrell and Emma Thompson.