Sigourney Weaver Shares Who Suggested She Play the ‘Really Awful Woman’ in Holes

Sigourney Weaver, ‘Holes’.
Credit:

RGR Collection / Alamy Stock Photo

Key Points

• Sigourney Weaver credits her then-8-year-old child as the inspiration for her role in Holes.
• In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, she revealed her child, Shar Simpson, was reading the book in school.
• Weaver recounted her child’s words: “There’s a really awful person, and you should play her, Mom.”

In an unexpected twist, it was not a casting director or producer who prompted Sigourney Weaver to join the cast of Holes, but her own child. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Weaver shared the story of how her daughter, Shar Simpson, introduced the idea to her after reading the book at school.

Weaver explained, “Holes is funny because my daughter, who was about 8, was given Holes to read in school. One day, she came up to me and said, ‘Mom, there’s this really awful woman in my book, and you should play her.’ ”

Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight, Shia LaBeouf in ‘Holes’.

Phil Bray/Buena Vista Pictures/THA/Shutterstock

Reflecting on her daughter’s insight, Weaver noted, “I remember being very proud of her that she was able to separate from the book and be able to say to me, ‘There’s a really awful person, and you should play her, Mom,’ because I think she knew I would enjoy it.” Weaver, who has been married to theater director Jim Simpson since 1984, shares one child, 35-year-old Shar.

Once the film adaptation was released in 2003, Weaver took on the role of The Warden, who oversaw Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention camp where teens were made to dig for buried treasure rumored to be hidden in the area.

Of her casting, she expressed gratitude, stating, “It was incredible to me to actually end up in the movie, you know, directed and I think produced by Andy Davis, with Louis Sachar writing the script, and such an amazing young cast,” Weaver conveyed to Vanity Fair.

Holes is based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Louis Sachar. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Patricia Arquette, Tim Blake Nelson, and others.

Weaver characterized her character, The Warden, as “quite a creation,” stating that she is “really nightmare-ish, especially from a children’s point of view.” She also noted the complexity of The Warden’s character, describing how her traumatic past led her to continue searching for treasure, paralleling the boys’ experiences at the camp.

Weaver added that in the final scene, she insisted to director Andy Davis that her character needed to see the treasure found by the boys before she could “rest,” a sentiment that emphasized the depth of the character she portrayed.

Holes is currently available for streaming on Disney+.