VIDEO: Melora Hardin Talks About Thunder, Hunter, & Me, Trauma, Dancing with the Stars, and Body Positivity

Written by Casey Hersch, LCSW
January 18, 2022

Melora Hardin, actor, speaks with me about her perspectives on Body Positivity and aging and relates her time on ABC's Dancing with the Stars. She takes us behind the scenes of her upcoming docuseries Thunder, Hunter, & Me and explores her views on trauma, healing, and human connection. This is the full interview.

About Melora:
Melora Hardin is well known for her portrayal of ‘Jan Levinson,’ Steve Carell’s rigid, former corporate boss and love interest, on the critically acclaimed NBC series “The Office.” Additionally, Hardin was Emmy nominated in 2016 for her recurring role of ‘Tammy Cashman’ on Amazon’s Golden Globe-winning comedy “Transparent.” Last year she wrapped the fifth and final season of the Freeform series “The Bold Type.” Hardin starred as ‘Jacqueline Carlyle,” a strong but nurturing editor-in-chief at a high-end women’s magazine, inspired by the life of Joanna Coles of Cosmopolitan. Most recently, she competed in the 30th Season of ABC’s long running “Dancing With The Stars” series and made it to the Semi-Finals with her professional dance partner Artem Chigvintsev. She also recurs on the ABC series “A Million Little Things.”

Hardin starred in back-to-back No. 1 weekend theatrical box office features as the adult female lead and love interest to Billy Ray Cyrus in “Hannah Montana: The Movie," as well as the film “17 Again” opposite Zac Efron. Her other feature film box office successes include “Thank You for Smoking,” “Absolute Power” opposite Clint Eastwood and Gene Hackman and “27 Dresses” with Katherine Heigl.

In addition to acting, Hardin has been singing and dancing since childhood. She has sung in films including Disney’s “The Rocketeer” and “Tower of Terror,” and has released two CDs of original songs. Hardin most recently recorded the live album “All The Way To Mars,” her third outing, but the first with a studio-release. The album features songs from Broadway, standards, pop and a few originals. Hardin starred on Broadway as ‘Roxie Hart’ in Chicago in 2009. She played the lead role of ‘Fantine’ in the sold-out Hollywood Bowl production of Les Miserables in 2008.

Hardin made her directorial debut with the independent feature YOU, which was released in May 2009. She directed Paula Cole’s music video for the 20th anniversary of “Where Have All The Cowboys Gone” and in 2019, she directed an episode of “The Bold Type” that was nominated for a 2020 Women’s Image Award. She most recently directed the docu-series “Thunder, Hunter & Me.”