A review by David Borzo
Helen Hunt (image by Jack Guy/Corbis Outline)
They don’t get much bigger than Helen Hunt in Hollywood. The Academy Award-winning Actress, Director and Writer has seen huge success and acceptance with both critics and the public. From her earliest work as a child actor and high profile television jobs in the 1970’s, to Broadway and then the heights of prime time television and Hollywood, Hunt has been the consummate artist. On the final night of the 2010 Smart Talk Connected Conversation in Des Moines, Helen Hunt–artist and mom–shared some secrets behind the public face.
For many, Hunt’s fame began in the early ‘90’s with her starring role in Mad About You, opposite actor Paul Reiser. The show was a great success, playing for seven years while earning Hunt four Emmy wins and four Golden Globes. But greater fame was yet to come, as Hunt appeared some of the biggest movies of the ‘90’s, and in to 2000, including Twister, Cast Away, What Women Want, and As Good as It Gets, earning Hunt the Academy Award for Best Actress. (Fascinating to learn that she put together that powerful performance while also filming the regular season of Mad About You, working day and night).
And the roles are still coming; Hunt just finished filming the movie Soul Surfer in Oahu, Hawaii, set for release in 2011. Add to this stellar career: motherhood at age 40, and successful screenwriting and directing by 46.
Unlike many Hollywood superstars, you don’t see her name splashed across the
tabloids. She is a private person who keeps her life personal. “I haven’t done anything controversial. I just live my life as if it’s private,” Hunt said in a recent interview with the Des Moines Register. During her well prepared Connected Conversation, Hunt shared that she’s not much for the Hollywood gatherings and wrap parties either, impersonal events where she gets “…bored after 45 minutes.” If she is going to spend time with people, she wants to “…be with those who know secret things.” Otherwise, she would just rather spend time alone.
So, determined to make the evening interesting, Hunt shared some “secret things”
by connecting them to her acting roles over the years. In reflecting on the vibrant and complex characters she has portrayed, she revealed touching aspects of her personality and values. Career, life, family and work are all parts of the authentic characters that she has portrayed, giving us insight into the deeply emotional, yet exacting, Helen Hunt. The unassuming star spoke poignantly of what she brought to those characters, and what they in fact brought to her. That just may be the vital definition of art.
Speaking of her directorial debut in the film “Then She Found Me,” Hunt clearly
takes to the director’s role naturally. Her courageous direction, writing and acting in that 2007 film may be a sign of things to come–Helen Hunt may ultimately find the most acclaim and success as a director. It’s the demanding levels of control over the process (and sharing secret things) that a consummate professional like Hunt craves. Wrapping up the 2010 Smart Talk Series in Des Moines on a professional and affecting high note, Helen Hunt displayed talent and integrity. There’s no doubt that we’ll be hearing from her again soon.
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