Getty Images, WireImage
How Helen Hunt Got Salman Rushdie to Give Her a Sonogram
Helen Hunt’s new movie, Then She Found Me, is full of stars like Bette Midler and Matthew Broderick (whom she used to date), so when her character in the film visits an obstetrician’s office, we had high hopes for who’d be playing doctor. Would it be Matthew Perry or Russell Simmons? (Both were at last night’s screening at Cinema Society.) We liked the idea of it being a real-life ex-boyfriend, so maybe Hank Azaria? Alas, the man in the lab coat was Salman Rushdie. Wait, what?
Admittedly, he played the part well, but we couldn’t stop thinking about Grimus or Padma Lakshmi while he gave Hunt a sonogram. So, we cornered her during dinner at Nobu 57 after the screening: Why Rushdie? “There is scene with a prayer, and I wanted to introduce the possibility that everyone was praying to someone different. I thought that character should be played by someone Indian, so we can’t necessarily assume who everybody is praying to.” Was M. Night Shyamalan not available? “That somehow led to Salman hearing about it and wanting to audition. He got the part, and suddenly this novelist was my obstetrician. He sought me out, and I thought he was wonderful.” —Amy Preiser
How Helen Hunt Got Salman Rushdie to Give Her a Sonogram
