Jean Smart has been receiving widespread acclaim for her starring role on the HBO comedy “Hacks,” which has earned her two Primetime Emmy wins already. But Smart has been in the business for quite a while longer than her role as Deborah Vance.
Case in point: in the early 2000s, Smart had a noteworthy (and Emmy-winning) guest-starring arc on “Frasier.” Smart was first introduced in Season 7, Episode 14 — “Big Crane on Campus” — as Lorna Lynley (later renamed Lana Gardner), a former classmate of radio psychiatrist Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) who he used to have a crush on. Much to his surprise, Frasier soon finds himself dating his former crush — only to learn that Lorna is a bit more brash and loud than he expected. The two end the relationship amicably at the end of the episode, but that turns out to not be the last of Smart’s time on “Frasier.”
From a viewer’s perspective, it’s easily one of the most memorable guest arcs on the sitcom — and, as it turns out, it was a memorable and enjoyable time from Smart’s perspective as well.
Smart calls Frasier one of her favorite roles ever
In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Jean Smart discussed her most notable roles over the years, “Frasier” included. When it came to the sitcom, Smart had nothing but high praise for the series, declaring, “One of my favorite roles ever.” She went on to explain that, at the time, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to take the part — until she read the script. Smart c ontinued, “So, I read it and I said, ‘Oh dear god, where do I sign?’ You know, it was just one of the funniest things I had ever read. Truly one of the best sitcoms ever, ever, ever.”
Smart then went on to describe how much fun she had being on set with the “Frasier” cast. She said, “Such a delightful cast and they all adored each other. It was just one of the most fun sets to work on. To work with Kelsey [Grammar] and David Hyde Pierce was just heaven.”
The veteran actor also had many positive things to say about her character, who she ended up playing for a total of seven episodes across three seasons, as well as the smart writing of the series. Smart said, “It was such a fun character. She had anger issues, but she could just be really sweet and charming and funny and kind of sexy and then she would just go off on people, from zero to sixty. And it was a lot of fun.”
