After decades of memorable television and movie performances, two Hollywood veterans could add very different milestones to their careers at the 2026 Primetime Emmy Awards. Jean Smart enters the ceremony with a chance to complete an extraordinary run for Hacks, while Harrison Ford could finally take home his first Emmy.
According to Reuters, the potential Harrison Ford Emmy moment feels especially remarkable considering the 84-year-old actor’s long career. Ford has spent decades playing some of cinema’s most recognizable characters, yet television’s biggest prize has remained out of reach. Smart, meanwhile, could turn her acclaimed portrayal of Deborah Vance into a record that no performer has achieved before.
Harrison Ford’s Emmy Win Would Set an Age Record
Ford earned a supporting comedy actor nomination for playing psychologist Paul Rhoades on Apple TV’s Shrinking. If he wins, he would become the oldest actor ever to claim that category and would collect the first Emmy of his career. The Television Academy also nominated Ford for the same role in 2025, making this his second Emmy nomination.
That possibility adds another chapter to a career that already includes Han Solo in Star Wars and the adventurous archaeologist at the center of the Indiana Jones films. Now, instead of outrunning boulders or traveling across galaxies, Ford has found fresh acclaim through television comedy. Winning at 84 would make the moment as much about career longevity as the trophy itself.
Jean Smart Could Complete an Unprecedented ‘Hacks’ Run
Smart has an equally striking piece of Emmy history within reach. She has already won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series four times for her performance as veteran comedian Deborah Vance on Hacks. A fifth victory would make her the first performer to win the category during every season of a television show’s run.
The achievement would place an impressive finishing touch on a series that helped introduce Smart to another generation of viewers. Her career stretches back decades, but Hacks gave her a role built around experience, reinvention, and refusing to fade quietly from the spotlight. That makes the possible record especially fitting. Whether Smart completes her sweep or Ford finally hears his name called, the 2026 Emmys could deliver two memorable reminders that some of Hollywood’s most exciting career milestones arrive long after the first big break.