Like Glenn Close in Damages and Cherry Jones in 24, major actress Linda Hunt will lend acting cred to the cast of a primetime television series. She plays Hetty Lange, a quirky M-type character, on NCIS: Los Angeles.Hunt, a lesbian, is beloved in the queer community, or should be, for playing Billy Kwan in 1982's The Year of Living Dangerously, a role for which she won the Oscar for best supporting actress. This was the first Academy Award won by someone portraying a member of the opposite sex. It's important to distinguish that her character was not in drag, like Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie or Barbra Streisand in Yentl. She played a serious male role, and her performance was complex and deeply touching.
According to her bio on CBS.com, Hunt has been with her spouse, Karen, for 22 years. They have three dogs. It's also interesting to note that Linda Hunt is 4'9" and, therefore, may qualify as a "pocket gay."
