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Jean Smart Says She Got Watchmen Role After Sigourney Weaver Said No

June 20, 2021 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas
Watchmen - She Was Killed By Space Junk Jean Smart Laurie Blake

Jean Smart earned an Emmy nomination for her work in HBO’s Watchmen series, but she has revealed she was the second choice for the role. Smart played Laurie Blake, the seconds Silk Spectre, in the series, which was a sequel to the original graphic novel. Speaking with Variety for an interview about her role in the HBO Max hit Hacks, Smart revealed that the role was originally offered to Sigourney Weaver.

“I was sort of shot from guns because they hired me two days before I started,” she revealed. “I’ll be really honest: I had Sigourney Weaver to thank for turning down the role. So, thank you, Sigourney.”

She continued on, saying, ” I knew nothing about the graphic novel. I knew nothing about the story at all. I started reading the pilot, and I said, ‘Oh, my God, this is amazing.’ I’d never really done that science-fiction genre, and the fact that Damon was able to use that tragic part of our history that almost no one knew about — that was what was so shocking, that I had never heard of the Tulsa massacre. That’s why I think he said no when I asked him to do a second season because I think he put everything into that.”

Smart was one of 26 nominations that the series received between Primetime and Creative Arts Emmys, the most that year. It won 11 including Outstanding Limited Series, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie (Regina King), Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special (Damon Lindelof and Cord Jefferson). As Smart noted, Lindelof — who created the show — has said that he’s not not interested in a second season.