West Side Story

The Architecture of a Nonagenarian Icon In an industry obsessed with the ephemeral, June Squibb remains a defiance. At 95, she carries the aura of someone who has not only survived the shifting tectonic plates of Hollywood and Broadway but has done so with a meticulous, quiet discipline. In a deep-dive conversation with Amy Poehler, Squibb reveals that her longevity isn't the result of some mystical secret or genetic lottery, but rather a rigid adherence to the craft and a refusal to acknowledge the expiration dates society places on women. Squibb’s career, which has recently seen a resurgence with her leading role in Thelma and her voice work in Inside Out 2, serves as a masterclass in professional endurance. What makes Squibb particularly fascinating to the modern critic is her rejection of the "wise elder" archetype. She doesn't offer platitudes or lofty life lessons; she offers technical details about memorization and script analysis. She views her work not as a legacy project, but as a current, ongoing labor. This pragmatism is perhaps her most radical trait. When Will Forte describes her as having an entire script memorized before the first day of shooting on Nebraska, he isn't just praising a colleague; he is identifying the foundational work ethic that keeps an actor relevant across seven decades. Manhattan in the 1950s and the Birth of a Performer To understand Squibb’s contemporary sharpness, one must look back to her arrival in New York City during the post-war boom of the 1950s. This was the era of the "original" Broadway—a time when West Side Story and The Music Man were fresh, experimental works rather than established classics. Squibb lived in a duplex in the Village, an apartment later inhabited by playwright Edward Albee, and immersed herself in the grueling world of musical theater and cabaret reviews. This environment demanded versatility; she wasn't just an actress, but a dancer, a singer, and even a comic who performed in an ape head and a frothy blue dress. This period was also marked by a different kind of survival. Squibb candidly reflects on the "Me Too" movement by looking back at her own history, acknowledging that while inappropriate behavior was rampant, she and her peers developed a sharp, internal compass for when to say no. This resilience was forged in the fires of the 1950s theater scene, where actors were expected to be both highly disciplined and thick-skinned. Her memories of Ethel Merman in Gypsy offer a glimpse into this vanished world—a place where the lead actress told dirty jokes behind a scrim while the supporting cast literally wired their own light-up costumes, complete with heavy batteries. The Technicality of Character Acting Squibb’s philosophy as a character actor is rooted in a specific type of egalitarianism. She treats a single-scene appearance with the same weight as a leading role, operating under the belief that whatever character she is playing is the most important person in the film at that moment. This approach is evident in her breakout performances in About Schmidt and Nebraska. She doesn't wait for direction to find the character; she brings a fully realized, memorized version to the set, then allows the director to shave off the edges. The Power of the Audition Tape One of the most revealing anecdotes in her recent history involves the casting of Nebraska. Despite having worked with Alexander Payne on About Schmidt, both the director and the casting director initially believed she was wrong for the role of Kate Grant. They saw her only as the "little lady" from her previous film. It was only through the persistence of her agents and a undeniable audition tape that she won the role. This highlights a persistent reality for even the most established actors: the need to constantly re-prove one's range to avoid the trap of typecasting. The Collaborative Spark Squibb’s ability to find chemistry with a diverse array of scene partners—from Jack Nicholson to Philip Seymour Hoffman—stems from her lack of ego. She recalls Nicholson making her feel like a true peer on set, a gesture that allowed her to perform without the weight of his celebrity. Similarly, she spotted Hoffman’s burgeoning stardom during the filming of Scent of a Woman, noting that he never pushed for attention but was always intrinsically part of the scene. This observational skill—the ability to see the talent in others—is what makes her an exceptional ensemble player. The Midwestern Engine and Modern Vitality There is a "stick-to-itiveness" that Squibb attributes to her Midwestern roots in Vandalia, Illinois. It is a philosophy of no complaints and total reliability. This cultural background informs her physical health as much as her career. She maintains a routine of Pilates, weight work, and constant movement, refusing to succumb to the sedentary lifestyle often associated with her age. Her vitality is not just physical; it is intellectual. She remains a fan of current comedy, citing Saturday Night Live and performers like Colin Jost and Michael Che as sources of inspiration. Her personal life has been defined by similarly intense connections. Her late husband, acting teacher Charles Kakatsakis, was her most rigorous critic and supporter. Squibb recounts a poignant moment where, shortly before his death in 1999, he refused to help her with an audition, telling her she finally knew what she was doing. It was a final act of "pushing her out of the nest," a move that forced her to rely entirely on her own instincts after decades of his guidance. This independence has defined her work in the twenty-first century, allowing her to take on roles that are increasingly bold and idiosyncratic. Finality and the Future Outlook As Squibb nears her centenary, her outlook remains decidedly unsentimental. She is not a nostalgic person; she is perpetually focused on the next project, the next script, the next meal. In her role as Nostalgia in Inside Out 2, she ironically portrays the very emotion she avoids in her personal life. For Squibb, the past is a repository of training and experience, but the present is where the work happens. Her career serves as a vital reminder that for an artist, the passage of time is not a process of fading, but of refining. As long as she is "doing her light bulbs" and memorizing her lines, June Squibb remains one of the most formidable forces in the industry. The future for Squibb isn't about looking back at a legacy; it's about what happens when the camera rolls on the next scene.