Jean Smart is within striking distance of entering an elusive club. All the “Hacks” star has to do is win at the upcoming SAG Awards and Critics Choice Awards (which Gold Derby is easily predicting she will do) and she will become the fifth person to sweep all five television prizes in the same season. For those keeping track at home, this funnylady has already claimed the Emmy, Golden Globe and Television Critics Association prizes for her role as veteran Las Vegas stand-up comedian Deborah Vance on the HBO Max comedy.
Who are the four actors who brought a broom to awards season? Scroll through our photos above to see more info on the record-breaking TV awards actors sweeps of the Emmys, Globes, SAG Awards, Critics Choice and TCAs.
Sarah Paulson in 2016 for “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story” (FX)
Paulson played real-life prosecutor Marcia Clark on the first installment of Ryan Murphy‘s anthology series. After previously being nominated for “American Horror Story” and “Game Change,” this marked Paulson’s first victory at the Emmys and other awards shows, though the actress had previously prevailed at Critics Choice for both “AHS: Asylum” and “AHS: Freak Show.”
Phoebe Waller-Bridge in 2019 for “Fleabag” (Amazon)
The first season of Waller-Bridge’s short-lived TV comedy was virtually ignored by trophy shows, aside from a sole actress bid at the Critics Choice Awards. Flash-forward to the second (and final) season and almost every awards group under the sun seemed to fall in love with “Fleabag,” anointing her with wins for acting and producing. (Perhaps Hot Priest is to blame.)
Michelle Williams in 2019 for “Fosse/Verdon” (FX)
While Williams hasn’t had much luck at the Oscars (four nominations and counting), she hit it big on the TV side thanks to her award-winning role as actress/dancer Gwen Verdon. Her co-star Sam Rockwell almost went home empty-handed for playing love interest/legendary choreographer Bob Fosse, but then he took home the SAG Award at the end of that awards season.
Catherine O’Hara in 2020 for “Schitt’s Creek” (Pop)
O’Hara and the rest of the cast were virtually ignored for much of the Canadian series’ six-season run, until the old episodes dropped on Netflix and introduced it to an entirely new audience. “Schitt’s Creek” made Primetime Emmys history by going 7-for-7 in the comedy categories, and then O’Hara just kept winning until there were no more awards shows left to give her any statues. It’s fitting, then, that her character Moira Rose once called “awards” her favorite season.
