Jean Smart Details Rushing to ER From the ‘Hacks’ Set Before Getting Heart Surgery

As the cast of Hacks prepares to say goodbye to the Emmy-winning series, Jean Smart is opening up about one of her scariest on-set experiences.

Back in February 2023, news broke that the HBO comedy had halted filming on its third season after Smart underwent a heart procedure. “I am fortunate to have excellent professional care and support from family and friends while I continue to recuperate,” Smart shared via Instagram. “Please listen to your body and talk to your doctor- I’m very glad I did!”

No specifics about Smart’s health condition were shared at the time. However, in a new interview with Variety published on Wednesday, April 8, Smart revealed that her undisclosed heart procedure was actually a triple bypass surgery.

Smart told the outlet she began to feel unwell while filming the Season 3 episode “Yes, And,” which features her character, Deborah Vance, doing a keg stand. “After several takes, I was like, ‘Did you get it? Was that enough?’ I was feeling a little tired. But I didn’t think anything of it,” she recalled. “I had gotten used to feeling a little pressure, like if I’d go up a couple of flights of stairs. But it would always just go away. And I would always think, ‘Jean, you’re in such crappy shape.’ It didn’t ever occur to me that it might be anything other than the fact that I needed to exercise more.”

The actress still didn’t feel well upon returning to set the following week and decided to call her cardiologist. “I left her a message, since it was after hours. I said, ‘I know I probably can’t get in to see you this week, but maybe I should do a stress test or something,’” Smart shared. “Her service called back instantly and said, ‘Yeah, you’re gonna go to the nearest emergency room right now!’”

HBO Max

Smart had her driver take her straight to the hospital after that day’s filming, where she ran into her costar and Hacks co-creator, Paul W. Downs, who was there because his mother was undergoing ankle surgery.

“I often wonder how much Jean remembers because it was so stressful. Her children had just lost their father, and I think she didn’t want to scare them, so they weren’t there,” Downs told the outlet. “Obviously, her husband wasn’t there. I think she was waiting for her brother to fly in. And so I was there with her as she was talking to surgeons and hearing them say, ‘You can’t get a stent. You have to get a triple bypass.’” (Smart’s husband, Richard Gilliland, died of a heart condition in March 2021.)

Smart said she consulted with three different doctors before selecting who would perform her surgery. “I wasn’t really scared until I woke up the next day, and I’m thinking about what they had to do. You start to feel so fragile,” she noted.

Related

Review: 'Hacks' Final Season Stages One More Triumphant Comeback

Smart received support from her Hacks family throughout the health scare, including Hannah Einbinder, who was in Smart’s hospital room when she woke up from surgery. Einbinder described Smart as “the most durable woman in America,” adding, “I tell her this all the time. And for how much she injures herself, she is genuinely the clumsiest person I’ve ever met! Bing, bang, bong, running into a work truck, banging her head on some pole. She is constantly getting hurt and constantly pushing through it.”

Hacks Season 3 resumed filming in March 2023 and premiered its third round of episodes the following year. The series will celebrate the beginning of the end of its run this month when Season 5 premieres on Thursday, April 9.

Though Smart is sad to say goodbye to the show, she told Variety that she’s happy it will conclude with a “perfect” final season.

Hacks, Season 5 Premiere, Thursday, April 9, 9/8c, HBO Max