AT 30, June Squibb debuted on Broadway as a stripper in Gypsy. At 84, she was Oscar nominated for Nebraska. Now, at 94, she’s got her first lead, in Josh Margolin’s highly entertaining Thelma (in theaters June 21), about a scam victim’s quest to get her $10,000 back.

“It’s based on Josh’s grandmother Thelma Post,” says Squibb. Post was fooled by a phone scammer. Inspired by Tom Cruise, 61, in Mission: Impossible, Squibb’s Thelma grabs the scooter of a friend (the late Shaft star Richard Roundtree) and sets out to reclaim her money. Like Cruise, she did her own stunts. “We had such fun riding around L.A.,” she says.

Not all scam victims are old, Squibb notes. “Everybody has weak moments. Older people are capable of more than anyone realizes.” She’s nabbed more than a dozen on-screen roles since turning 90, and stars in Scarlett Johansson’s upcoming Eleanor the Great. She’s also bonded with the real Thelma. “I’ve had the grit that Thelma has, and that has been good for me.” —T.A.