“Thelma” star June Squibb, 94, is our next big action heroine

There aren’t many people who have a flood of headlines and articles written about them, all with the word “kick ass” in front of their name.

“I love it,” Oscar-nominated actress June Squibb tells The Daily Beast’s Obsessed of her new nickname. “I told people I was going to kick their asses.”

If you were among those who helped make the new film Thelma If you watched Squibb’s work become an indie box office hit over the weekend – or if you even watched Squibb’s work in the film’s trailer – then you believe her promise: “Oh, I could do that. Yes.”

At 94, Squibb is an unlikely action hero – and yet an undeniable one.

The actress, who received her first Oscar nomination in 2014 for Alexander Paynes Nebraska, stresses that she was actually 92 years old (and turned 93) when she filmed ThelmaThe film, written and directed by Josh Margolin, is inspired by his own grandmother’s experience of being defrauded out of thousands of dollars by scammers who called her and pretended to be him in order to raise bail for his arrest.

In the film, Thelma is mortified when she learns that she was targeted because of her age and was easily duped. “Oh, I’m so embarrassed,” she moans to her dead husband, needing comfort after this horrific incident. Her family uses the incident as an excuse to coddle her because of her age, insisting that she can no longer take care of herself. When the police tell her that there is no hope of getting her money back, she takes matters into her own hands.

What follows is Squibb’s own version of a Impossible missionIt was her first foray into action film as a leading actress after six decades in the industry, and she reinvigorated the genre as a grandmother on a quest for revenge.

She hijacks an electric scooter and speeds through the city streets like it’s a hot rod. (The film’s clever poster makes her look like Tom Cruise, with a serious expression and aviator sunglasses, and the film’s title and tagline are written in needlepoint.) She breaks into a friend’s house, steals her gun, finds the con artists in the back of an antique shop, climbs over fallen lamp stands and ducks under low-hanging chandeliers like they’re security laser beams in a bank vault. At one point, she walks away from an explosion in slow motion.

With the film already a box office hit, we spoke to Squibb about finding dignity in old age, performing her own stunts at 92, defying expectations, and being busier now than she’s ever been in her entire career.

I seen Thelma at Sundanceand witnessed the instant enthusiasm that the film received there. Did you know when you were filming that this film had the potential to become a movement that supported people in this way?

I don’t think so. I think we knew it was a very special film. I think we were all very proud of it and had a lot of fun making it. But until Sundance – and we were all there – I don’t think any of us ever dreamed that we would get so much love from the people who saw the film. It was just incredible. I’ve never experienced anything like it in my entire career.

What is really special about this film is that, in addition to the funny action film elements, it also deals with a very serious topic: fraud against the elderly.

I think when you make a movie today, you have to have some kind of cheating story that you want to take seriously. You want to talk about it and make an impact. I think we reveal the cheating story and people get it. And then I just think the action is hilarious. I love it. I just think Josh was so clever, and his script and his ideas for this woman. (Laugh) I think she’s an action hero.

Magnolia pictures

One aspect that makes this character so successful is her pursuit of dignity, even though what happens to these betrayed people can be so undignified.

I could relate to her when she said to her late husband, “Oh, I’m so embarrassed, Teddy, I made a mistake.” I think you do. You feel stupid. You wonder, how did they do this to me? And the truth is (these scammers) are very clever. Now they have AI technology that can call you and make it sound like you’re someone they know. I think we need to get over that. I think we need to get over our embarrassment and do something about it instead. And hope that the police do something about it, or the phone network, whoever. Zuckerberg. (Laughs)

When you first read the script and saw how much action it would contain, were you excited or nervous?

It excited me. The whole scooter thing excited me. I thought, this is going to be fun to shoot. Just being on the scooter, I thought that was a great idea. I don’t think I thought about what it would entail physically at first: the sleeping bags (rolling over a mattress like an action star sliding over the hood of a car), going through the antique shop, you know, things like that. But once we started filming, I just thought, “Yeah, I can do that.” And I did most of it.

How did it feel for you when you actually did these stunts, for example with the sleeping bags?

It was a great feeling. You say, “I think I can do it,” but you’re not sure. I said, “Let me just try.” Like the sleeping bag, both of them. And they were both different. It wasn’t the same sleeping bag every time. But I just felt like I understood what they wanted and that I could do it. So I just went for it and did it. The second one in particular was very impressive to the crew and everyone around me.

The film has been compared to Impossible missionwhich would probably make you Tom Cruise.

Yes! I think so. I love that (spy sequence with the hearing aids). And then when Richard (Roundtree) and I walk away from the (exploding) antique shop with the flames at our backs, I just think it’s hilarious. I still laugh every time I see that.

When I wrote about the film at Sundance, I put your age in the headline, as did many others. Some people wrote to me saying they thought that was ageist. How do you feel about your age being such a big part of the plot of this film and people’s interest in it?

I’m not embarrassed. I think it’s OK. Sometimes I feel like if someone says I’m 94 again… (Laughs) I was actually 92 and 93 when I made the film. But it’s a film about aging. I think people would be remiss if they didn’t mention that, because that’s the whole concept of the film: that being that age doesn’t destroy your life.

It is difficult to find the balance between a realistic and humorous portrayal of aging and a demeaning portrayal or the use of degrading cliches. What is the trick to achieving this in a film like Thelma?

I think if you do it honestly, it’s OK. That’s one thing Josh did. He never laughed at her or anything she did. But we looked at it with humor. That’s life. I think if we all didn’t look at our lives with humor, we’d be pretty damn sad. It would be a lot harder to go through life if you didn’t have a sense of humor.

Paramount Pictures

How does it feel to be at a stage in your career where you seem to be receiving mostly role offers?

This is wonderful, and this actually happened after Nebraskaafter the Oscar nomination. For some reason, it’s like when you get an Oscar nomination, you stop auditioning. Sometimes you meet somebody. Maybe you meet a director or a star. But you get scripts sent to you. People ask, and that’s kind of wonderful – especially when you’ve been auditioning your whole life.

It seems that as an actor who gets so many offers, you’ve also been working a lot lately. Do you feel like you’re incredibly busy?

Yeah. It’s funny. I was offered a one-day shoot for a TV show and I wanted to be there. My assistant said, “We’re not going to fly to New Jersey and do this and then fly back (to LA).” And then we had to fly to New York the next week to start shooting. I said, “I want to do this.” And we did it. It was crazy. I knew it was crazy, but I read the script and said, “I have to do this.” So that’s how I feel about what I do or don’t do.

Disney/Pixar

I saw Inside Out 2 recently, and all the kids in the audience were laughing so hard when your character Nostalgia came out. What’s it like to be part of something that will be indelible for so many kids?

I love doing this. I really enjoy doing voiceovers. It’s a lot of fun. And I like Pixar. I like working for them. I had Toy Story 4this was my first big post that they do. It’s very exciting. And everyone loves them. They talk about how they get the toys at McDonald’s. It’s great fun.

Whenever I see a Pixar movie, like Inside Out 2I’m the grown man who starts crying in the middle of it. Did you have an emotional reaction to the film when you saw it?

No, I didn’t cry. I was kind of amazed. I always watch these movies and I’m like, “How do they do it?” The animation is so intricate and so beautiful. We saw it at the premiere, which kind of made it even more intense. I walked the red carpet and stuff. So there was a lot going on. But it was fun just to sit there and watch the movie. I always enjoy that.

Do you enjoy walking the red carpets, attending the big premieres, giving interviews, attending talk shows and all that?

Yes, I enjoy it. I get tired. The older I get, the sooner I get tired. But it’s good for me.

What do you think people will learn from this? Thelma and watch a woman her age taking her destiny into her own hands?

Oh, I just hope that people realize that there are no laws about age. You can still do so many things. And people my age are so different. I know other 90-year-olds who do different things to me. You just shouldn’t let it stop you. That’s the most important thing.

This is a lesson for people of all ages. I take it to heart.

I’ve always felt that way. I think I’ve always broken rules. I just don’t know how to live any other way.