Without a doubt, Henrietta "Hetty" Lange is one of the biggest draws on the long-running
crime procedural NCIS: Los Angeles.
While we can't shed too much light on this secretive special agent, we can delve into
why the character temporarily disappeared from the show.
Let's get on the case together.
When NCIS: Los Angeles returned for its tenth season in Fall 2018, it was supposed to be
business as usual.
But right before the season began, the writers were forced to address some off-screen concerns,
namely, the absence of a certain Hetty Lange, which was due to the sudden unavailability
of actress Linda Hunt.
"Oh no.
Oh, was that a secret?
I'm so sorry."
According to TMZ, Hunt was driving an SUV in Hollywood on July 2nd, 2018 when she reportedly
hit a car and then ran into another SUV while attempting a left turn.
The other drivers suffered minor injuries, but Hunt was hospitalized.
The next day, she issued a statement to People magazine:
"I’m pleased to report I’m recovering well and have no serious injuries.
Thank you for all the well wishes!
I’m looking forward to starting production on NCIS: Los Angeles later this summer.”
But when Season 10 of NCIS premiered, there was no sign of Hetty whatsoever, and fans
were left to wonder why.
Then, in November 2018, Hunt updated her followers:
"Though I had hoped to return to playing Hetty at the start of the season, I had to take
some additional time to recover.
I look forward to returning later this season."
Well, guess what?
In March 2019, Hetty returned to NCIS: Los Angeles as only she can, by crashing through
a wall and triumphantly saving the day.
That's so Hetty.
"I can't leave you damn kids alone for one minute."
Although Linda Hunt's character was characteristically cagey about the reason for her absence, Linda
Hunt's co-stars and crew turned out to be a bit more forthcoming.
In an interview with TV Insider, co-star Daniela Ruah revealed,
“I started crying when I saw her.
We have not set eyes on her or spoken to her in a year."
Eric Christian Olsen said he couldn't stop hugging her upon her return, and LL Cool J
was effusive in his praise, gushing that
"[Hunt] brings a fragile toughness.
I know that is an oxymoron, but that's what she brings, a toughness, a centeredness, a
balance, and a level of experience that just makes everybody feel good."
Executive producer Scott Gemmill said that
"We were waiting for her to feel well enough where she was comfortable [returning].
Linda knew we were going to do the wedding and she really wanted to be the officiant...Even
though she was maybe still on the road to recovery, she did not want to miss that wedding,
for our show family it was pretty special and everybody wanted to be there.
She soldiered on and came."
Hunt made several more appearances throughout the end of the season, even appearing in the
Season 10 finale.
She's fully expected to return for Season 11.
Linda Hunt won an Academy Award in 1982 for The Year of Living Dangerously, a film in
which she portrayed a male photographer who is part Asian and part Australian.
It's a casting choice that most certainly wouldn't fly today, considering the fact that
Hunt is Caucasian, American, and a female-identifying individual.
Despite that major win, Hunt remained something of an obscure character actress who would
pop up in small roles in various films and all over TV.
However, she evidently felt that many of the roles she was offered were rather beneath
her.
As she told the Daily Beast in 2011,
"I began to get some pretty boring stuff for a while: children's films, family films, which
I never felt comfortable with.
I never knew what I was really playing.
I was just there for some kind of…'Oh, let’s get Linda Hunt.
She'll do anything.'"
Although she didn't name names, a glance at her credits suggests she might have been talking
about her work in the likes of Kindergarten Cop with Arnold Schwarnegger.
In fact, Hunt tells the Daily Beast she was semi-retired when NCIS: Los Angeles came along:
"I wasn't looking for anything...At this time in my life, that this has come along, feels
just like a gift.
The heavens opened up and just handed me a little something to get me into my 70s."
"Ooohhh.
It's about bloody time!"
As you're probably well aware, the NCIS franchise is extremely popular, and while it's never
won a major Emmy Award, the NCIS: Los Angeles iteration has regularly cleaned up at the
Teen Choice Awards.
Between 2010 and 2013, the show was nominated for "Choice TV: Action" four times and lost
only once.
Rather surprisingly, Linda Hunt has proven to be a huge favorite among teen voters.
She won the "Choice TV Actress: Action" Award both in 2011 and 2012.
In her late sixties at the time of her second win, Hunt is one of the oldest Teen Choice
winners of all time.
Who knew Hetty was so hip?
"You should probably get a haircut."
"Oh don't worry.
Next time I'll wear a helmet."
Linda Hunt is openly gay, and she's been in a long-term relationship for over two decades.
In 1994, she spoke to The Advocate about the dearth of gay female storytellers and stories
about gay women, remarking that,
"I don’t think gay women have broken through yet in the world of theater or film.
There hasn't been a female Tony Kushner yet; there hasn’t been the great lesbian play.
Or a popular success, like Philadelphia, with lesbian subject matter."
In 1987, Hunt co-starred as Alice B. Toklas, the partner of legendary 20th century poet
Gertrude Stein, in the film Waiting for the Moon.
As fate would have it, she moved in with her girlfriend, the psychotherapist Karen Klein,
that same year.
The couple eventually wed in 2008.
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