Lois Smith has been making her mark on the screen and stage for seven decades. The celebrated actress is set to receive the Golden Key Award for Career Achievement at the Key West Film Festival, a press release has announced.
“East of Eden,” “Fried Green Tomatoes,” “Dead Man Walking,” “Tumbleweeds,” “Twister,” and “Please Give” are among Smith’s film credits. She’s been earning raves for her latest offering, “Marjorie Prime.” Based on the Pulitzer-nominated play of the same name, the Sundance hit is set in the near future and sees Smith playing Marjorie, a former violinist in the middle stages of dementia. She maintains a close relationship with her late husband via interacting with a holographic projection of him (Jon Hamm, “Mad Men”).
Smith’s small screen credits include “Grace and Frankie,” “True Blood,” and “ER.” She’s worked extensively in theater and received Tony nods for her roles in “The Grapes of Wrath” and “Buried Child.”
“The prolific career of a national treasure such as Lois Smith must simply be honored at this monumental juncture in her career, with her indelible performance in Michael Almereyda’s ‘Marjorie Prime,’” said Michael Tuckman, Director of Programming of The Key West Film Festival. “Smith is a bridge to some of the greatest films to grace our screens spanning three generations, including ‘East of Eden,’ ‘Five Easy Pieces,’ and the extraordinary contemporary films in which she continues to star.”
“As I’ve gotten older, it’s not as though the parts have fallen away,” Smith has said. “Just the opposite. I’ve been busy in more ways in the past year that I don’t think I could have fit in anything else.”
The Key West Film Festival will run through November 19. Smith will receive her honor November 18 at an awards ceremony. A discussion with the audience will follow.