Holly Hunter has been entrusted with playing an array of real-world women, from tennis great Billie Jean King to a cheerleading mom gone astray to her latest role, a federal prosecutor caught in the maw of politics.
In Showtime’s “The Comey Rule,” the Oscar-winning actor ("The Piano") was cast as Sally Yates, whose decadeslong career imploded along with that of FBI director James Comey and others serving in the Trump administration.
For Hunter, the project’s main draw was playing Yates, “who has enormous integrity, and brought an incredible positive, ethical energy and intellect to the Justice Department," she said. The two-part drama debuts 9 p.m. EDT Sunday and Monday.
This image provided by Showtime shows Holly Hunter, left, as Sally Yates and Jeff Daniels as James Comey in a scene from "The Comey Rule." Hunter plays former federal prosecutor Sally Yates in Showtime’s two-part drama, debuting Sunday and Monday, Sept. 27 and 28. (Ben Mark HolzbergCBS Television StudiosShowtime via AP)
In Yates’ 2017 Congressional testimony on Russian election interference, she came across as poised and exacting, befitting a lawyer who reached the level of deputy U.S. attorney general (and, for 10 days, acting attorney general, until she was fired after refusing to enforce a travel ban on Muslims).
As Hunter became more versed in Yates’ role in events surrounding the 2016 presidential campaign and the election of Donald Trump, her respect grew — even more so after meeting her fellow native Georgian.
“She’s got a great sense of humor. She’s very, very real, very down-to-earth," Hunter said. “She's an enormously optimistic woman. ... I think that there are a lot of people in government who are incredibly optimistic and have real hopes, real dreams about things that they want to accomplish.”
Comey, played by Jeff Daniels, and Brendan Gleeson’s Trump occupy center stage in the drama from writer-director-producer Billy Ray, an Oscar-nominated screenwriter for “Captain Phillips” and “Shattered Glass.” Ray adapted Comey’s book, “A Higher Loyalty,” supplemented by interviews.
Yates, who is briefly mentioned in Comey's account, gets her say here. In one scene, she recalls her work on a lawsuit in which an all-white jury found for an older Black woman whose land was at risk of being taken.
“I had never tried a case before. I didn't even know where to stand. ... But that jury did right,” Yates tells a young aide. “You remember that, next time somebody tells you this country can’t be its best self or the law doesn’t matter.”
Actors can become attached to the fictional characters they play, but Hunter has developed bonds with some of the real-life ones. That includes King, whom she portrayed in the 2001 TV movie “When Billie Beat Bobby,” about the 1970s battle-of-the-sexes tennis match between King and Bobby Riggs (Ron Silver).
Hunter received an Emmy nod for the role and won the trophy for a pair of other TV movies, 1993's “The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom” and 1989′s “Roe vs. Wade."
“In a way, the greatest thing I got out of playing Billie was Billie as a friend,” Hunter said. It also made playing her more difficult, “because I was afraid I was going to completely screw her up.”
She is also “steadfast friends” with Susan Zirinsky, the inspiration for the driven TV news producer in 1987's “Broadcast News.” Hunter said she and the journalist, who was an associate producer on the film, became close after it was made.
"I was at such a different place in my career, which is to say at the beginning," Hunter recalled. “I wasn’t worried about offending Susan or not bringing Susan to life. I was just worried about myself. I was worried about, like, ‘Wow, am I actually going to be able to do this?'”
The film earned seven Emmy nominations, including one for Hunter.
In 2019, Zirinksy became the first female president of CBS News, and Hunter surprised her at a party with a one-of-a-kind congratulatory gift: A silver plaque from “Broadcast News” given to Hunter's character, Jane Craig, after she was promoted to Washington bureau chief.
“She just completely lost it," Hunter said of Zirinsky.
“The Comey Rule,” originally set to air after the Nov. 3 general election, was moved up after creator Ray expressed disappointment about the post-election timing in a letter that became public.
Hunter said she can't predict how “The Comey Rule” might be received in these polarized times. She’s a Democrat who calls herself “defiantly anti-Trump,” but isn't politically active and said she prefers to keep a low profile in every regard.
“I think it's my profession. I like being an actress and being somewhat of a blank slate," she said. “I have never, ever talked about my personal life. It's just not my thing.”
Lynn Elber can be reached at lelber@ap.org or on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lynnelber.
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a Russian missile strike that smashed a prominent skyline television tower in Kharkiv was part of the Kremlin’s effort to intimidate Ukraine’s second-largest city, which in recent weeks has come under increasingly frequent attack.
The strike sought to “make the terror visible to the whole city and to try to limit Kharkiv’s connection and access to information,” Zelenskyy said in a Monday evening address.
The northeastern Kharkiv region straddles the approximately 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line where Ukrainian and Russian forces have been locked in battle for more than two years since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The front line has changed little during a war of attrition, focused mostly on artillery, drones and trenches.
Since late March, Russia has stepped up the pressure on Kharkiv, apparently aiming to exploit Ukraine’s shortage of air defense systems. It has pounded the local power grid and hit apartment blocks.
On Monday, a Russian Kh-59 missile struck Kharkiv’s 250-meter (820-foot) -high TV tower, breaking it roughly in half and halting transmissions.
A Washington think tank said Russia may be eyeing a ground assault on Kharkiv.
“The Kremlin is conducting a concerted air and information operation to destroy Kharkiv City, convince Ukrainians to flee, and internally displace millions of Ukrainians ahead of a possible future Russian offensive operation against the city or elsewhere in Ukraine,” the Institute for the Study of War said in an assessment.
The expected arrival in Ukraine in coming weeks of new military aid from its Western partners possibly has prompted Russia to escalate its attacks before the help arrives, the ISW said, adding that trying to capture Kharkiv would be “a significant challenge” for the Kremlin’s forces.
Instead, the Russian military command “may attempt to destroy Kharkiv City with air, missile, and drone strikes and prompt a large-scale internal displacement of Ukrainian civilians,” it said.
The U.S. Senate was returning to Washington on Tuesday to vote on $61 billion in war aid to Ukraine after months of delays. Zelensky said U.S. President Joe Biden assured him the aid would include long-range and artillery capabilities.
“Four priorities are key: defense of the sky, modern artillery, long-range capacity, and to ensure that packages of American aid arrive as soon as possible,” Zelenskyy said.
Also Tuesday, Britain pledged 500 million pounds ($620 million, 580 million euros) in new military supplies for Ukraine, including 400 vehicles, 60 boats, 1,600 munitions and 4 million rounds of ammunition.
The shipment will also include British Storm Shadow long-range missiles, which have a range of about 150 miles (240 kilometers) and have proven effective at hitting Russian targets, the British government said.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke with Zelenskyy on Tuesday morning to confirm the new assistance. He was due to announce the aid later Tuesday during a visit to Warsaw where he was meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Less cheering news came from the European Union, however. EU countries that have Patriot air defense systems gave no clear sign Monday that they might be willing to send them to Ukraine, which is desperately seeking at least seven of the missile batteries.
Ukraine’s army is also heavily outnumbered in the fight, and expanding the country’s mobilization has been a delicate issue.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Tuesday signaled that authorities plan to clamp down on young men of conscription age who have moved abroad, with details of the specific measures to be made public soon.
“Staying abroad does not relieve a citizen of his or her duties to the homeland,” Kuleba said on the social media platform X.
Meanwhile, Russia launched 16 Shahed drones and two Iskander-M ballistic missiles over Ukraine’s southern and central regions, the Ukrainian air force said Tuesday morning. It said all but one of the drones were intercepted.
In Odesa, an overnight attack injured nine people, regional Gov. Oleh Kiper said. Among those injured were two infants and two children aged nine and 12, Kiper said. City mayor Hennadii Trukhanov said 58 apartments in 22 buildings were damaged.
In other developments:
A Russian missile strike near Dnipro, Ukraine’s fourth-largest city, injured four people who were admitted to hospital, regional Gov. Serhii Lysak said.
Russian forces dropped a guided aerial bomb in Kostiantynivka, a city in the eastern Donetsk region, injuring five people who were riding in a car, police said. Two of them were in critical conditions.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
In this photo provided by the Mayor of Odesa Hennadii Trukhanov in Telegram, residents gather outside of an apartment block after a Russian drone attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. (Mayor of Odesa Hennadii Trukhanov via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, a search dog with its handler look for survivors after a Russian drone attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Mayor of Odesa Hennadii Trukhanov in Telegram, a view of the damage after a Russian drone attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. (Mayor of Odesa Hennadii Trukhanov via AP)
In this photo provided by the Mayor of Odesa Hennadii Trukhanov in Telegram, a view of the damage after a Russian drone attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. (Mayor of Odesa Hennadii Trukhanov via AP)
In this photo provided by the Mayor of Odesa Hennadii Trukhanov in Telegram, firefighters work on the site of a damaged building after a Russian drone attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. (Mayor of Odesa Hennadii Trukhanov via AP)
In this photo provided by the Mayor of Odesa Hennadii Trukhanov in Telegram, firefighters work on the site of a burning building after a Russian drone attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. (Mayor of Odesa Hennadii Trukhanov via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency service psychologist, right, comforts women at the scene of a building that was damaged by night Russian drone attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency service psychologist, left, comforts a woman at the scene of a building that was damaged by night Russian drone attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
This photo, provided by head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration Oleh Kiper, firefighters work on the site of a damaged building after a Russian drone attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. (Head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration Oleh Kiper via AP)
A view of the television tower broken in half after it was hit by a Russian missile in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Monday, April 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)
A view of the television tower, broken in half after it was hit by a Russian missile in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Monday, April 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)
People look at fragments of the television tower which was broken in half after it was hit by a Russian missile in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Monday, April 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)
