'Horizon' star Ella Hunt on taking on the role of 'SNL' icon Gilda Radner
Ella Hunt stars as Gilda Radner in the upcoming movie about the premiere of "SNL" and had to do some careful studying for the part.
"Horizon" star Ella Hunt spent time with two different icons in two different ways this year.
The British actress stars in part one of Kevin Costner’s Western epic, in theaters now. But when she wasn’t working on that, she had to prepare for her role as Gilda Radner in "SNL 1975."
"I honestly just had a wonderful four months, sat at home with my cats watching funny videos of Gilda and trying to copy her, channel some of the spirit," she told Fox News Digital.
"I had wonderful conversations with friends of hers, and just tried to get silly," she added.
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Ella Hunt will be playing Gilda Radner in the upcoming movie "SNL 1975." (Patrick McMullan/Fotos International)
Hunt plays Radner in the film, which tells the story of "Saturday Night Live’s" premiere episode on October 11, 1975, almost 50 years ago.
The film has no release date yet, but Hunt said, "We’ve shot it, it’s done, it’s in the can."
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Jason Reitman directed, and co-wrote the script with Gil Kenan, and cast some other up and comers as well as established stars to recreate the history-making night.
"Teen Wolf" alum Dylan O’Brien plays Dan Akroyd, "New Girl" star Lamorne Morris plays Garrett Morris, Cory Michael Smith plays Chevy Chase, Kim Matula plays Jane Curtin, and Broadway star Matt Wood plays John Belushi.
The season one cast of "Saturday Night Live" included Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Michael O'Donoghue, Gilda Radner, Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman, and Garrett Morris, circa 1975. (NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
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Kaia Gerber plays Jacqueline Carlin, Chevy Chase’s ex-wife who occasionally made appearances on the series, and Cooper Hoffman, son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, plays NBC exec Dick Ebersol.
Radner appeared on the first five seasons of "SNL," creating memorable characters like Roseanne Roseannadanna, Lisa Loopner, and Baba Wawa, a parody of Barbara Walters.
The comedian died in 1989 at age 42 from ovarian cancer, with her second husband, Gene Wilder, by her side.
Hunt also had a major task in taking a role in Costner’s "Horizon," playing Juliette Chesney, one of the many characters who journey westward in the pre- and post-Civil War era.
Ella Hunt, with co-star Tom Payne, in a scene from "Horizon." Hunt said she had read diaries of women traveling west to prepare for the role, telling Fox News Digital, "Their journeys are extraordinary." (2024 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc)
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"I had a lovely time reading the diaries of women traveling west on the Oregon trail. . . . And their voices are strangely familiar. Their journeys are extraordinary. It’s just so fascinating to me to hear about the boredom of the journey and the struggle, and the things that women had to do on the trail," the 26-year-old said.
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She continued, noting, "Like women gave birth on the trail! And were taking care of small children and finding ways to cook with very limited supplies."
The "Dickinson" star also worked closely with Costner on her character in the film series, which is set to have four parts.
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Hunt said, "It just meant so much to me to get to play a character like her and to get to build her with Kevin [Costner]." (Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images for Warner Bros.)
"The other thing I did was just try to map out, with Kevin, Juliette’s journey, because she does evolve pretty drastically over the course of movie one and movie two, and especially across the second film. It just meant so much to me to get to play a character like her and to get to build her with Kevin," she said.
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"Horizon: An American Saga-Chapter 1" is in theaters now, with "Chapter 2" set for release on August 16.
Through his deal with FOX Nation, Costner is set to release a new project in 2025 for the platform and previously hosted "Yellowstone: One Fifty," a series that explores the origins of the national park.
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