Prior to landing the role of Hetty on “NCIS,” Linda Hunt had never enjoyed the kind of career that Hollywood superstars have. At least, many of the now-classic crime series’ viewers undoubtedly believed that. Despite having a challenging upbringing, Hunt has a long career in show business. Because of her physical and mental retardation, she was institutionalized, but that didn’t stop her from pursuing her goals.
Linda Hunt was honored with the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1983. But many viewers definitely wouldn’t be able to identify her from the period when she played the part, which ended up becoming a great classic. On April 2, 1945, Linda Hunt was born in Morristown, New Jersey. Elsie and Raymond Hunt, her parents, raised her in Connecticut. However, when Linda was just six months old, her parents became concerned about something they had seen. Linda’s parents took her to a hospital in New York to get help because her motor skills weren’t improving at the expected rate.
What doctors found wasn’t exactly the news Linda’s parents wanted. As The Bulletin reported in 1991, examinations showed she was suffering from a form of cretinism – a condition of severely stunted physical and mental growth – which would likely eventually lead to Linda being institutionalized.
Linda Hunt – early life
Elsie and Raymond, however, were not going to let hope fade. Instead, they were determined to support their beloved Linda and used books and theater to encourage her and help her develop. By the time Linda started school, her motor skills were pretty much on par with that of an average child her. Sadly, she struggled due to her learning difficulties and short stature.
“I was totally alienated by school almost from the first day, I had a bad experience with a teacher and was made to feel stupid. I felt bad that I didn’t fit in,” Hunt said.
Speaking to The Bulletin, Linda explained that she had always loved acting and theater. Her most significant source of inspiration came when she was eight years of age after her parents brought her to see the Broadway musical Peter Pan.
“I’m lucky that I’ve always known what I wanted to do,” she told the newspaper. “[Mary Martin, who played Peter] was astonishing in her belief in the world she was creating, and that was fascinating to me. She had the power to make others believe what was in her mind.”
“It was bigger than life. And that in some sense, I longed to be bigger than life because I wasn’t,” she explained to CBS.
At that point, Linda devoted her life to acting and theater. She explained that she wanted to become a “high priestess of theater.” She got a private acting coach in high school and was sent to an excellent boarding school. Linda’s parents resolved to do whatever they could to see their daughter achieve her dreams.
“I was so lucky my parents were encouraging on every level,” she said.
Linda Hunt was diagnosed with hypopituitary dwarfism
Although Linda’s parents encouraged her to pursue a career as an actress, they were also concerned that she lacked a fallback option. Because of this, her father, Raymond, pushed her toward a teaching degree in case things didn’t work out. He also encouraged her to study directing.
Fortunately, they did. Linda Hunt was identified as having hypopituitary dwarfism when she completed high school. The disease prevents the body from releasing growth hormones at their normal rate. As a result, Linda is considerably shorter than the usual woman (4 feet 9 inches tall).
Of course, Linda wasn’t about to let any diagnosis stop her. After studying at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan and the Theatre School of DePaul University in Chicago, it was time for Hunt to reach for the stars. So she moved to New York City, where her passion for working in the theater only grew. When she arrived in the “Big Apple,” she didn’t know what to do or where to begin.
“I moved into a shoebox-sized apartment in the city when I was in my early 20s with my father’s help,” Hunt recalled.
“I was very young and very lost, I didn’t even attempt to act professionally. That would have meant getting an agent and going to auditions. I wasn’t capable of doing any of that. It was truly emotionally beyond me.”
Linda made her Broadway debut in 1975 as the lead in Ah, Wilderness. She eventually got her first role on camera as a result of that. She starred in the movie Fame in 1978, and four short years later, Hunt made history.’The Year of Living Dangerously’ featured Linda Hunt as a male.
Alongside Mel Gibson, Linda played Billy Kwan in the movie The Year of Living Dangerously. Hunt was honored with an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress when the movie was a smash hit. She was the first individual to ever receive an Oscar for portraying a cis-gender figure who was the opposite sex. And many viewers won’t even recognize her at the Oscars ceremony.
Mel Gibson and Sigourney Weaver were already on board thanks to producer Peter Weir’s casting efforts. However, he struggled to locate an actor who could portray photographer Billy Kwan. At originally, Australian dancer David Atkins had been cast in the role of the charming figure, who was to play a crucial part in the movie.Sadly, Atkins had to depart because Mel Gibson didn’t enjoy his personality. They started shooting before the character was cast, but at that point a member of the casting team made the suggestion of another actress: Linda Hunt.
“The sets were being built in Manila and time was of the essence,” Weir told The New York Times in 2019. “The casting agent said he had a possible Billy Kwan called L. Hunt. Later it was revealed she was a woman. We were desperate, we gave her a shot and it was brilliant.”
At that point, Linda Hunt had already had a great career in the theater. It’s safe to say she was shocked when the phone rang.
“I didn’t quite understand what I was there for; I talked to the casting director about it and he just said, ‘This would be a part that you would play as a man,’” she told The Daily Beast. “I said, ‘Holy shit,’ and laughed.”
Linda Hunt was unrecognizable as Billy Kwan
At first, Linda Hunt wanted Weir to change the script to suit her as a woman. But that was out of the question. Instead, the producer simply asked Linda if she could play a man.
“I said this would change the entire story and there was a silence,” Weir recalled. “‘Could you play a man?’ I asked her and there was a longer silence. ‘Only if you believe in me,’ she replied.”
Linda Hunt was told to wear a wig, pieces of rubber over her eyes to make her more “oriental,” and a mustache. The rubber part was indeed quite controversial, at least today. Linda looked herself in the mirror – and asked them to take all “this shit off.” The NCIS star wanted to do it her way if she was to do it at all.
“I didn’t try to pass myself off as a man; the movie wasn’t about that,” Hunt told the New Straits Times.
For the film, Linda really wanted the crowd to believe she was a man. Therefore, she decided to dye her hair, cut it short, and shave her eyebrows. According to reports, when she went out for dinner, waiters even called her “sir,” although she wore a dress. Linda Hunt did a fantastic job as Billy Kwan in The Year of Living Dangerously. Still, to this day, it is the only time the academy has honored a woman for playing a cisgender man.
“It seemed crazy, but it totally worked, and that’s why she won, Turner Classic Movies host Dave Karger told the New York Times.
Pete Hammond, a film critic and awards columnist for Deadline, added, “She totally immersed herself in that character. It was impossible to ignore.” In her Oscars speech, Linda Hunt thanked her parents, who were in the audience.
Linda Hunt as Hefty on ‘NCIS’
Hunt stated in 2011 that “He survived the Academy Awards and passed away from a stroke about 18 months later.” “The fact that he was able to attend now means a lot. My father was overjoyed when I received that honor. His response was, “You know what? I suppose she’s correct. She’ll be fine, I promise.”
Linda Hunt’s career has since experienced incredible success. She has appeared in a stunning 281 episodes as Operations Manager Henrietta “Hetty” Lange over the course of the past ten years, making her a true celebrity on NCIS Los Angeles.
Things have been pretty quiet regarding Linda after she missed season 12 of the show due to COVID-19 concerns. She only made a handful of appearances last season, including one in the finale, and the series’ fans have speculated whether she will come back. Fortunately, news about her future seemed promising indeed.
“Linda had both her vaccines, she was feeling great, and she came back. And she was so happy to be back. She had been gone for so long and hadn’t really interacted with anyone, so she was just so thrilled to be back on set,” NCIS showrunner R. Scott Gemmill told TV Insider in 2021.
Luckily, in May last year, Gemmill gave fans a new update on the Linda Hunt rumors, hinting that she might return. The catch? She wouldn’t resurface as Hetty until next season.
Linda Hunt — net worth, NCIS salary
In January of 2023, Hunt appeared in a three-way crossover special between NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, and NCIS: Hawaii. It’s not the first time Linda has been absent from NCIS Los Angeles. In July 2018, she was in a car crash, which luckily only left her with minor injuries. Still, it resulted in her missing almost the entirety of the 10th season and most of the 11th season.
It is unknown if Linda will take up further endeavors while she is not busy shooting NCIS Los Angeles. She has previously loved performing in other acting projects, such as voice acting for movies and video games. She reportedly has a net worth of over $12 million, so she needn’t worry about going broke if she takes a few months off. Hunt reportedly makes $80,000 every NCIS Los Angeles episode, according to Celebrity Net Worth.