Jean Smart on "24"


Before signing on to play Martha Logan, the whistle-blowing wife of President Charles Logan, Smart had never seen an episode of "24". But she soon learned why audiences loved it.

“When they offered me the job, I got this huge box of videotapes. I sat down to watch with my son and husband and I was instantly hooked — we started watching a few every night,” she says.



Her onscreen husband was played by Gregory Itzin, with whom Smart had done a play years before. “It was nice to reunite,” she says. “We’d sing show tunes between scenes. People don’t know that he’s a bit of a song-and-dance man.”

Critics loved her portrayal, and Smart names this role — particularly when Martha was off her meds — as one of her all-time favorites.

http://ew.com/tv/2017/02/08/jean-smart-role-call/

"I loved playing Martha, one of my all-time favorite roles.

I remember telling the producers partway through the season, ‘Since she’s back on her meds she’s kind of boring and preachy, can we get her off her meds again?' And they went, ‘Yeah, you’re right.’ So she got a lot more unstable again and it was a lot more fun, a lot more interesting.



Gregory Itzin, who played my on-screen husband, I have known for like forever. We had actually worked together years and years before doing a play. He's an incredible actor.

I would talk to Keifer Sutherland all of the time in the hair-and-make-up trailer, but we never shared any time on-screen."

https://ew.com/tv/2018/09/14/jean-smart-24-couch-surfing/