Jean Smart to Receive THR Trailblazer Award at Seattle Film Festival

Seattle native Jean Smart will return to her hometown to receive The Hollywood Reporter’s Trailblazer Award at the 50th installment of the Seattle International Film Festival next month.

The Hacks star will also chat onstage with THR contributing editor Stacey Wilson Hunt about her career and share with the audience an unaired episode of the Emmy-winning Max comedy, the third season of which premieres May 2.

THR’s Trailblazer Award, whose recent honorees include David Oyelowo, Matt Bomer, Niecy Nash-Betts, Eva Longoria and America Ferrera, is given to artists whose work and careers illuminate stories and characters who have been traditionally marginalized in Hollywood.

Smart is a five-time Emmy winner who graduated from the University of Washington and started her acting career at Seattle Repertory Theater and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

She broke out on television in 1986 in CBS’ Designing Women and has appeared in dozens of critically acclaimed comedies and dramas, including FX’s Fargo, HBO’s Watchmen and HBO’s Mare of Eastown. She’s earned a total of 12 Primetime Emmy nominations and won twice for guest-starring on Frasier; for supporting actress in ABC’s Samantha Who?; and twice for lead actress for playing comedian Deborah Vance in Hacks – making her one of only two actors in TV history to score wins across all three comedy acting categories. Her notable film roles include Zach Braff’s 2004 indie Garden State and Damien Chazelle’s Babylon in 2022.

Smart’s potency as a performer is equaled by that of her advocacy for the LGTBQ+ community, for which she was honored by the Human Rights Campaign in March. At the Los Angeles ceremony, Smart’s Hacks co-star Hannah Einbinder offered praise for her friend’s championing of queer visibility onscreen, particularly Smart’s trailblazing Designing Women role and the series’ milestone 1987 episode landmark spotlighting the AIDS epidemic.

Smart mused at the event about being “a gay icon,” saying: “If I’m in the company of Judy and Liza and Betty and Joan and Bette and Cher, then I’m thrilled. … They told you exactly what they thought and didn’t give a crap, but always looked fabulous doing it.”  

The Seattle International Film Festival will take place May 9-19 at venues across Seattle and feature 261 films representing 84 countries/regions.

The opening-night film will be Magnolia Pictures’ Sundance breakout Thelma, starring June Squibb, followed by a Q&A with writer and director Josh Margolin. Additional screening highlights include Focus Features’ Sundance award-winner Dìdi (弟弟), the directorial debut from Oscar nominee Sean Wang (SIFF 2023 Grand Jury winner for live-action short); Neon’s Babes, written by and starring Ilana Glazer and directed by Pamela Adlon; and a new 4K restoration of Wim Wenders’ iconic Wings of Desire, among other special events. The festival will close with a screening of A24’s Sing Sing, followed by a Q&A with director/co-writer Greg Kwedar and select cast members.

Tickets are available at SIFF.net starting April 17 to SIFF members and to the public on April 18.