Holly Hunter: No age limits on TV

“Television is really impressive these days,” says Oscar winner Holly Hunter, who reunites with Piano director Jane Campion for Top of the Lake, a miniseries premiering Monday on the Sundance Channel. As the title character on TNT’s Saving Grace, she was part of the wave of high-profile movie actors finding success on the small screen.

TV is a “very democratic medium,” she says. “Everybody watches TV, so it’s not just young kids watching. ... People are interested in seeing people of their own experience living their lives in a fictional show. And there is no cutoff age.”

She's Watching: Hunter, who turns 55 Wednesday, enjoys these TV leading ladies: Downton Abbey’s Maggie Smith, 78, Nurse Jackie’s Edie Falco, 49, and Damages’ Glenn Close, who also has a birthday this week; she’s 66 Tuesday.