The NY Times Magazine has a profile of Jean Smart, the lead on the HBO show Hacks, that just started its third season. It’s one of the best things on television, and if you’re not watching it, you should. Here’s the trailer for the first season:

The most memorable scene for me in the show was a scene in the second season where Smart’s character crashes a funeral and manages to come out a hero. It doesn’t seem to be available on YouTube, but it turns out it was something special:

In the episode they were filming, Ava’s father has suddenly died, and Deborah crashes the funeral and gives a speech that brings the house down. When the time came to get in front of the camera, Smart started shaking. It had been only a few days since her own husband’s death. She wasn’t sure she was going to make it. She recalled taking a deep breath (and an Ativan) and jumping into the scene. Deborah asks the mourners to share a memory of the deceased when he was drunk. Aghast — and titillated — they allow themselves to be goaded into unruly stories, which she tempers by sharing a rare gem of praise for her protégée. Smart remembers it as cathartic.

Until Murdur Durdur Mare of Easttown, Smart was one of those actors who was always greeted with a ‘where have I seen her before?’ in my house. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that acting is hard work:

They gave Smart a few pointed notes, which she metabolized quickly, speed-cycling through a spectrum of emotions on command. Smart is a maestro of microexpressions: She can adjust the lines on her forehead to convey pain or arrogance. Her voice is an ember that can smolder or burn red-hot; her laugh can sound coquettish or sharp, like the cries of an exotic bird.

The piece is great, even if you haven’t seen the show. Check it out (NYT gift link).

---