Holly Hunter Filmography

Whether she’s in a workplace rom-com or Jane Campion’s period drama The Piano, Oscar winner Holly Hunter is a powerful and versatile actress. She’s also shown great skill in a variety of genre films including Jodie Foster’s Home for the Holidays and 1995’s thriller Copycat. The smart, sensual performer made her mark on film after a lengthy career on the stage.

Broadcast News (1981)

The year 1993 proved a high mark for Hunter, who won an Academy Award for her vivid rendering of mute Scottish pianist Ada McGrath in Jane Campion’s period drama The Piano. Alternately delicate and defiant, Hunter’s performance was one of the most praised of its time.

Unfortunately, the movies that followed did not quite measure up to her talents. Aside from an Oscar-nominated turn as Gary Busey’s secretary in Sydney Pollack’s The Firm, “Copycat” and “Home for the Holidays” were unremarkable thrillers and comedies, respectively. Fortunately, television brought her more interesting work.

The Burning (1981)

The Burning is a 1981 American horror movie directed by Tony Maylam. Holly Hunter has consistently taken on powerful and challenging roles throughout her career. Her ability to fully embody the emotional core of each character gives her performances tremendous depth and dimension.

After earning rave reviews for her work in The Piano, she starred opposite Richard Dreyfuss in Steven Spielberg’s Always and the made-for-TV docudrama Roe vs. Wade. She then switched to television, starring in the drama Saving Grace for three seasons. It was here that she found her niche as a dramatic actress. The series was a perfect showcase for Hunter’s range and talent.

Swing Shift (1984)

After winning an Academy Award for The Piano, Holly Hunter took on several movies — and some were better than others. The actress was nominated for Broadcast News, The Firm, and Thirteen.

In this 1984 drama, Jack Walsh (Kurt Russell) enlists in the Navy after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and his wife Kay signs up to work at an armaments factory during World War II. The film also stars Christine Lahti and Fred Ward. Director Jonathan Demme made this one of his earlier films. Rent Swing Shift online.

Raising Arizona (1987)

After her one-two punch of Oscar-nominated turns in Broadcast News and Thirteen, Hunter returned to television for a series of well-received dramas. She also acted in Danny Boyle’s serial killer thriller Copycat and worked with David Cronenberg on the crime drama Crash.

A wry, dark comedy that’s funny even when it tackles subjects like kidnapping and bounty hunting, Raising Arizona offers a showcase for Hunter at her finest. She shares top billing with fellow Coen brothers alum Frances McDormand in this film about a pair of bounty hunters on the run from their pasts.

Always (1989)

After earning critical acclaim for her roles in the Coen brothers’ Raising Arizona and Broadcast News, Holly Hunter took a more restrained turn for Steven Spielberg’s Always. She and co-star Richard Dreyfuss lack chemistry in their initial scenes, but Hunter blossoms as her character’s struggle with memory and new love Brad Johnson evolves.

A reworking of the 1943 Spencer Tracy film A Guy Named Joe, Always is a charming and compelling drama that finds great tension in the air and charm on the ground. It may be one of Spielberg’s most sickly sentimental films, but it’s also highly entertaining.

Once Around (1991)

The slickly packaged romantic comedy Once Around arrived at Sundance in 1991 with a fat-cat studio (Universal), a lauded Swedish director (Lasse Hallstrom of My Life as a Dog) and a cast featuring Oscar nominees Richard Dreyfuss, Danny Aiello, and Gena Rowlands. Despite its recognizable ingredients, it still felt out of place.

After a few made-for-TV movies, Hunter landed her big break in the Coen brothers’ Raising Arizona and Broadcast News. She continued to build her resume with films like Richard LaGravenese’s Living Out Loud, starring alongside Danny DeVito and Queen Latifah.

Living Out Loud (1998)

After winning an Academy Award for her portrayal of a mute piano player in the 1993 drama film The Piano, Hunter starred in a string of unremarkable films. She proved to be a reliable choice for television, scoring Emmy nominations for her roles in Roe vs. Wade (1989) and The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom (1993).

But it wasn’t until she took on the role of a recently divorced New Yorker in Richard LaGravenese’s Living Out Loud (1998) that Hunter truly reclaimed her status as one of our most accomplished actresses.

Home for the Holidays (1995)

Jodie Foster takes a somewhat formulaic family-get-together-at-the-holidays story and makes it fresh and enjoyable thanks to the fine performances of Hunter, Downey, and others.

In addition to her acclaimed work on screen, Hunter has received numerous awards and nominations for her television roles. She starred in the telefilm Harlan County War and narrated the documentary Eco Challenge New Zealand. She also starred in Catherine Hardwicke’s drama Thirteen and voiced Helen Parr (Elastigirl) in the animated movie The Incredibles (2004) and its sequel Incredibles 2.

She won an Oscar for her role in The Piano.

Copycat (1995)

Holly Hunter and Sigourney Weaver star in this thriller about a psychologist and her police partner tracking copycat murders that seem modeled on notorious serial killers. Jon Amiel directed.

After a supporting role in O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Hunter appeared in a series of television movies and a starring turn as Ada in Jane Campion’s period drama The Piano (also 1993), earning Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations.

She was outstanding in a role that could have been stale and boring, but she and the rest of the cast helped Copycat overcome its less palatable elements.

Crash (1996)

After winning a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination for her performance in The Piano, Hunter had a series of largely unremarkable film roles, including Sydney Pollack’s legal thriller The Firm and the thriller Copycat. But her turn as a jaded car crash survivor in David Cronenberg’s controversial Crash earned raving reviews, and established Hunter as a willing participant in challenging films.

James Spader and Holly Hunter star as two disaffected urbanites who develop a sexual relationship built around the eroticism of car crashes. Stylish and provocative, the film reminds one of Luis Bunuel’s classic Belle de jour (1967). It’s also disturbing and frightening.