Holly Hunter

An accomplished pianist, she actually performed all of the piano music for her Oscar performance in Das Piano (1993). Film makers selected pieces for her that matched her talent.
Hired a sign language interpreter to help her create her own sign language for her role in Das Piano (1993).
Lived in the same house as Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Frances McDormand and Sam Raimi in 1985 in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 30, 2008.
Was director James L. Brooks' first choice to play the female lead in Besser geht's nicht (1997), but reportedly demanded too much money upfront and was passed over in favour of Helen Hunt. Hunter had previously collaborated with James L. Brooks on the 1987 film, Broadcast News - Nachrichtenfieber (1987).

Acting, for me, is the last vestige of doing something that I would like to feel really naive about. - Interview, November 1995.
[on the importance of rehearsal for Dreizehn (2003)] : I mean, some movies I walk in, "Hi, nice to meet you", we get in bed and we do a love scene. And that does happen. That happened with me with Billy Crudup on Jesus' Son (1999). Actors talk about that a lot, but it's not uncommon. And we could not have done Dreizehn (2003) that way. It would not have worked.
I always feel that I am the advocate for my character. More than anyone else on the set, including the director. I'm there to protect my character, in a way.
I often get asked to direct and I've never taken anyone up on it. It would be very interesting and I would learn so much. But it's a very confrontational job - I mean, directors are forced to confront themselves, and I don't think there's really a way to prepare for the pressure of directing. And I have seen quite a few good people crash and burn at the job. Nervous breakdowns, crying, screaming fits - people buckle, so it's always scared me. But it's intriguing.
It just seems that abortion rights never ceases to be a hot topic. It's a shame. It feels to me an anachronism. I mean, why are we still talking about this? Why is this not just a woman's right, period? I find it boring and very frustrating that it remains such a high profile subject.