Holly Hunter loves to explode expectations—about women, morality, aging and the need to always be in control. In the July/August issue of MORE, Saving Grace’s wild woman reveals everything from the chaos of raising twins to playing the toughest, lustiest cop on TV. Here are some excerpts from Hunter's interview with Amy Wallace; read more in the issue on newsstands June 30.
About those steamy Saving Grace scenes: “That’s something that I love—the iconic female in the act of surrender.” As she sees it, surrender is part of sex “for any female, unless you are a dominatrix. What’s interesting is to see someone go, god, I want to go off the cliff. Grace says yes to situations that are not about being a control freak. It’s the primitive versus the civilized. The raw versus the polished...Grace loves dealing with chaos.”
How she feels about chaos: “Well, you know, I’ve got plenty.” Her famous Georgia twang gets almost growly, and when she laughs, it’s a low, mischievous chuckle. “I’m at home in it. I could weep with how at home I am in it.”
About having creative freedom with her role in Saving Grace: “My idea of entertainment is also a lot about provocation. We live in highly moralistic times, and I revel in the glory of Grace—somebody who’s exercising an elemental muscle that is not politically correct. Grace feels like a release culturally for me, and I want to express that!”
What she has in common with Grace: “Grace has made a lot of errors—some that she’s paid dearly for. The struggle of how to forgive one’s self, how to forgive other people, how to ask for forgiveness—these are things I can certainly relate to. That remains an active, volcanic process that we all—that I—go through."
The benefits of a long career: “After you’ve done it 25 or 30 times, then you’re laughing. And you can approach it with a bit of humility about yourself. That’s a nice dividend to getting older.”
Read the complete interview with Holly Hunter in MORE's July/August issue, on sale June 30.
