Linda Hunt won a Best Supporting Actress award in 1983 for her performance in “The Year of Living Dangerously”. It was a unique situation because she played Billy Kwan, a male character. This was a first for Academy Awards.
Although a male actor was originally cast in the role, director Peter Weir felt the dynamics with the film’s star Mel Gibson weren’t working. He auditioned other actors, but became intrigued with Linda Hunt when he saw her photograph. He asked her to audition, and she got the role.
“I never would have started out looking for a woman… But from the moment I saw her test, I knew she was appropriate."
I don’t fault Hunt for accepting the role. Until then, Hunt worked primarily in the theater. She was only then transitioning to work in film. Due to hormone deficiency as a child, she never grew taller than 4’9”. And, considering her age at the time (37), getting roles in film would be challenging.
(But the director casting Hunt is an example of racism that was common in that era - Yellow Face, the casting of white actors in Asian roles, is just as offensive as Black Face, the casting of white actors in African roles.)
With her talent, Hunt carved a niche for herself in movies, in roles in diverse films as David Lynch’s Dune, Kindergarten Cop with Arnold Schwarzenegger, and providing the voice of Grandmother Willow in two Disney Pocahontas films. Her husky voice is puts her in demand to narrate documentaries and commercials.
Hunt is also well known for her work on television. In particular, her roles as Judge Hiller in The Practice (1997 to 2002) and Hetty Lange in NCIS: Los Angeles (2009 to 2023).
Linda Hunt never formally came out to the public as a lesbian. But she didn’t overtly hide it either. She met her partner, Karen Kline, a psychotherapist, in 1978. The two were married in 2008 and have been together nearly 50 years.
