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Jack Smart

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(He/Him)
Los Angeles
As seen in: People, MSN, MSN Canada, MSN Ireland, MSN Singapore, Yahoo Entertainment, Yahoo Life, MSN Malaysia, MSN Philippines, Yahoo Canada, Yahoo News and
Covers:  Film, television, Hollywood awards, LGBTQ+ culture, talent interviews, pop culture criticism
Tree hugger, writer, @People person, all things actresses @CriticsChoice, GALECA, formerly @TheAVClub @Backstage created @InTheEnvelope 🏳️‍🌈 he/him, kamaʻaina
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The A.V. Club's favorites from the 2023 Sundance Film Festival

The A.V. Club's favorites from the 2023 Sundance Film Festival

The A.V. Club — A special screening of CODA put a, well, coda to the end of a successful hybrid 2023 Sundance Film Festival this week, returning to in-person screenings in Park City, Utah, after two years of virtual programming. As with that eventual Oscar Best Picture winner, the illustrious indie fest this year produced plenty of features worthy of distribution and critical acclaim.
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Anna Kendrick embraces her "really complicated" side

Anna Kendrick embraces her "really complicated" side

The A.V. Club — Anna Kendrick isn't one to shy away from candor or vulnerability. It's part of what makes her one of Hollywood's most relatable celebrities off-camera, even as the Oscar-, Tony-, and Emmy-nominated star continues to wow on-camera.
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David Harbour makes Violent Night a nicely naughty (sleigh) ride

David Harbour makes Violent Night a nicely naughty (sleigh) ride

The A.V. Club — Candy canes may be sweet and cutely reminiscent of Christmas, but it turns out they make a great shiv if you suck on one in just the right way. That's just one of the delightful details that makes , the latest action-comedy from Dead Snow director Tommy Wirkola, worth a trip to the cinema this holiday season.
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Sebastián Lelio and Florence Pugh contemplate miracles in The Wonder

Sebastián Lelio and Florence Pugh contemplate miracles in The Wonder

The A.V. Club — If a crisis of faith is a journey from belief to doubt, the opposite could be referred to as a come-to-Jesus moment. Writer-director Sebastián Lelio's (in select theaters November 2 and November 16) is an example of the latter, the tale of a skeptic who's tempted into seeing the light while investigating a miracle.
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What is the state of trans representation in pop culture today?

What is the state of trans representation in pop culture today?

The A.V. Club — Like many of today's trailblazing transgender activist-artists, Scott Turner Schofield wears many hats in Hollywood. As an actor, he became the first out trans man to earn an Emmy nomination, for Studio City; he's written autobiographical shows for stage and screen, including Becoming A Man In 127 EASY Steps ; he counts Billy Porter directorial debut and the upcoming Peacock slasher film among his producing credits; and he has on the hit HBO drama as well as The Craft: Legacy and Zombies 3.
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Michael Keaton Wouldn’t Give Up His Approach to Batman—So He Left Instead

Michael Keaton Wouldn’t Give Up His Approach to Batman—So He Left Instead

Backstage — Michael Keaton sticks to his guns as an actor, whether he’s playing an everyman or a larger-than-life superhero. When he starred as renowned crime fighter Batman in Tim Burton’s 1989 film and its 1992 sequel, “Batman Returns,” Keaton was committed to his take on the character. So when he was asked to change his approach once director Joel Schumacher took over the franchise, the actor walked away from the role.
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Nicolas Cage’s Advice for Actors: ‘Go as Big as You Want, as Long as It’s Honest’

Nicolas Cage’s Advice for Actors: ‘Go as Big as You Want, as Long as It’s Honest’

Backstage — https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/nicolas-cages-pig-advice-podcast-interview-74408/
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Jessica Chastain + Oscar Isaac Are So Close, They Know Each Other’s Audition Horror Stories

Jessica Chastain + Oscar Isaac Are So Close, They Know Each Other’s Audition Horror Stories

Backstage — Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac go way back—to the halls of the Juilliard School of Drama, in fact. “We read each other’s minds,” says Chastain, while Isaac nods solemnly. When asked for their worst audition horror stories, she begins reciting his without hesitation. (It involved Josh Brolin, he reveals. “I can’t believe you said his name,” she laughs.)
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This Year’s Oscars Begs the Question: Who Should Have Really Won?

This Year’s Oscars Begs the Question: Who Should Have Really Won?

Backstage — What did we think of Sunday’s 93rd Academy Awards? Where to even begin assessing or reacting to the first Oscars of the COVID-19 era? Like most of the preceding awards shows, these Oscars established its own particular brand of weirdness, this time with Los Angeles’ Union Station the backdrop to that by-now-familiar ricocheting between recognizable ceremony traditions and bizarre glimpses into the yawning, existential abyss.
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Lead vs. Supporting: A Closer Look at the Oscars’ History of Category Fraud

Lead vs. Supporting: A Closer Look at the Oscars’ History of Category Fraud

Backstage — What, to you, is a true supporting screen or stage performance? It’s a question we at Backstage ask ourselves especially when assessing the Screen Actors Guild Awards and other such contenders, and we end up at our usual cheesy-inspirational conclusion, that acting is a group activity and any great performer’s contribution is made in support of the story.
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Maya Rudolph Finds 'Goofy Joy' in All Her Characters-Even Kamala Harris

Maya Rudolph Finds 'Goofy Joy' in All Her Characters-Even Kamala Harris

Backstage — “I think so many actors, when you talk about it, will admit to this imposter syndrome,” says Maya Rudolph. “We all kind of feel like we don’t belong, we don’t know what we’re doing, we don’t fit in, we’re not good enough.” She rolls her eyes. “Blah-bitty-blah-bitty-blah.”
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Chris Evans Always Reads Between the Lines

Chris Evans Always Reads Between the Lines

Backstage — Before Chris Evans became Chris Evans, superhero and superstar, he made a habit of asking scene partners the question every starry-eyed artist wants to ask: "What's your process?"
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Eddie Murphy, the One-Audition Wonder

Eddie Murphy, the One-Audition Wonder

Backstage — How many actors can say they've only had to land one audition ever? "That's got to be some kind of record," says Eddie Murphy, who at age 18 booked a career-launching gig on "Saturday Night Live," then, at 20, earned a Golden Globe nomination for his film debut.
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'In the Envelope' Podcast: Natalie Portman Almost Never Books Jobs Through Auditions

'In the Envelope' Podcast: Natalie Portman Almost Never Books Jobs Through Auditions

Backstage — Actor, producer, director, and activist Natalie Portman is one of Hollywood's brightest talents. The Oscar winner joins Backstage's "In the Envelope" podcast to chat "Annihilation," "Vox Lux," and advice for child actors.
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'In the Envelope' Podcast: John Krasinski Bares It All

'In the Envelope' Podcast: John Krasinski Bares It All

Backstage — John Krasinski may be forever known for his Jim Halpert on the SAG Award-winning "The Office," for which he's more than grateful—as he says on the "In the Envelope" podcast, he's been "shot out of a cannon," career-wise.
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Barry Jenkins, KiKi Layne, & Stephan James Can Stare Right Into Your Soul

Barry Jenkins, KiKi Layne, & Stephan James Can Stare Right Into Your Soul

Backstage — Barry Jenkins did not invent the close-up. But watching actors gaze directly into his lens, it sure feels like he did. "If Beale Street Could Talk," the writer-director's adaptation of the beloved James Baldwin novel, is peppered with moments of wordless, direct-to-camera emotion. Jenkins' stars are often center-frame, bathed in otherworldly light, staring.
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Forget EGOT—Here's Everything You Need to Know About ESOT Winners

Forget EGOT—Here's Everything You Need to Know About ESOT Winners

Backstage — For years now, the term "EGOT"—a title bestowed on individuals who have claimed Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards—has been hailed as the most coveted honor in show business, the grand slam of any entertainer.... Backstage is proposing adding a different ingredient to the pinnacle of a performer’s career: the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
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'In the Envelope' Podcast: Allison Janney Goes for Gold in 'I, Tonya'

'In the Envelope' Podcast: Allison Janney Goes for Gold in 'I, Tonya'

Backstage — "In the Envelope" checks in with someone who has more acting statuettes than she knows what to do with—and for good reason. Allison Janney makes the process of crafting intricate characters look easy.
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TDF Stages: Getting Schooled in Education Inequality

TDF Stages: Getting Schooled in Education Inequality

Theatre Development Fund — Why directing Pipeline is so personal for Lileana Blain-Cruz: Dominique Morisseau's new play "Pipeline" explores the school-to-prison pipeline phenomenon, which disproportionately impacts young male students of color.
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The Continued Education of Viola Davis and Denzel Washington

The Continued Education of Viola Davis and Denzel Washington

Backstage — Viola Davis and Denzel Washington have figured out the so-called "Oscar curse." "People talk about the curse-there's no curse," says Davis of the belief that winning an Academy Award can mean fading into obscurity. "What happens is you get the gold statue and then you get precious, because you think that statue means something.
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Leslie Odom Jr. Risks It All in 'Hamilton'

Leslie Odom Jr. Risks It All in 'Hamilton'

Backstage — How does an actor, crooner, a triple threat in bloomers lead a Founding Fathers musical into the future? Peculiar, to be sure, to play Broadway as Aaron Burr-but not if you're as talented as Leslie Odom Jr.
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Ramin Karimloo: The Body That Jean Valjean Made

Ramin Karimloo: The Body That Jean Valjean Made

Broadway Style Guide — Ramin Karimloo is in his element at the Columbus Circle Equinox as much as he is on the Imperial Theatre stage in Les Misérables. Strolling into the gym in gray bike shorts and a matching tank, he moves with confidence but never cockiness - a kind of combined authority and humility that lends itself well to playing the heroic Jean Valjean eight times a week.
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Emily Blunt Takes Us 'Into the Woods'

Emily Blunt Takes Us 'Into the Woods'

Backstage — The Baker's Wife of Rob Marshall's eagerly anticipated big-screen adaptation of the iconic musical relished discoveries big and small in the magic of Stephen Sondheim's lyrics and working with Meryl Streep again—and makes the case for why happy endings are overrated.
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