Linda Hunt (Actor)

"There's something about Linda that's profoundly unashamed, and I have a theory that people who have that quality have known shame. During that time when she was unable to get work, and was scorned, she formed an opinion of good behavior and bad behavior. She brings that black-or-white quality onto the stage with her, and it's vivid and hot. Yes, she's cast in those judgmental roles, but she also brings out the moral aspect of those parts in her work." - Austin Pendleton quoted in The New Yorker, July 30, 1990

Diagnosed with hypopituitary dwarfism (a condition in which the pituitary gland does not release enough growth hormone) in her teens.

On her aura of authority Hunt has said: "That's what I developed to survive. To survive what I was - how I was different from everyone else. I had this perception in the air around me that there was something wrong with me, and I knew that what was wrong with me wasn't wrong with anyone else. And I saw that if you talk in a loud voice people will think you have something to say, so I cultivated a loud voice. And I learned to say all my vowels and consonants. I developed grandeur at a very early age. Say, four. I saw my parents as safe and secure, and I realized that if I could only get to be a grown-up I would be safe and secure, too. But I knew that for me it wasn't going to be enough to be a grown-up. I was going to have to be a duchess." - Hunt quoted in The New Yorker, July 30, 1990