Oscar nominee Judd Hirsch on being the 'alien' of The Fabelmans
Judd Hirsch may win come March 12, but even if he doesn't, he's already made Oscars history.
His span between nominations — 42 years since 1980's Ordinary People — is the longest of any acting contender in history, an honor that speaks volumes to Hirsch's durability over decades. And his eight-minute supporting performance, short but explosive, as The Fabelmans' life-changing Uncle Boris ranks as one of the briefest to ever make the final bracket.
But in Hirsch's eyes, his character is one we've seen before in many Spielberg movies.
"Steven likes to say that this is one of his only films that doesn't have an alien in it," Hirsch recently told EW's Awardist podcast (you can listen to the entire episode below). "Or an animal or a robot or whatever, a dinosaur. And I said, 'No — I'm that! It does include one.'"
Merie Weismiller Wallace/Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment Judd Hirsh in 'The Fabelmans'
The Fabelmans, nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Picture, is one of its director's most literally personal works, expressly autobiographical and set in the American West of Spielberg's 1950s and '60s boyhood. But Hirsch's Boris, a shady Eastern European (Russian? Persian?) figure from his family's past — an ex-circus performer and silent-movie-era survivor — sweeps into the household like a force of nature and leaves a young boy changed for good.
"I'm going to play an oracle," Hirsch says, "a man who is somehow brought in. You don't even know why or how or when. He's brought in to do something to Steven Spielberg as a child, as a teenager, and then leave."
Boris sees in young Sammy (Gabriel LaBelle) a kindred spirit, another person crazed and obsessed with making art. Hirsch's says his costar Michelle Williams identifies that as the theme of the movie: the impulse that makes a person leave home to follow their heart.
"She is not limited to her role as his mother," Williams tells EW about her character, Mitzi. "She is a woman in her own right. And that's what blew me away: What a feast they had written for her."
You can hear our full interviews with Hirsh and Williams below, along with our thoughts on The Fabelmans, the tight race for Best Director, and the state of Oscar campaigning as we head into the final month.
Check EW's The Awardist, featuring exclusive interviews, analysis, and our podcast diving into all the highlights from the year's best in movies.
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