‘Hacks’: Tony Goldwyn on Romancing Jean Smart & Hitting the Golf Course for Max’s Comedy

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Hacks Season 3, Episode 6, “Par for the Course.”]

Hacks welcomed a handful of glitzy guest stars in its latest Season 3 episode, “Par for the Course” as Deborah (Jean Smart) and Ava (Hannah Einbinder) attended the American Television Affiliates Golf Tournament as their campaign for late night continues.

Hoping to schmooze the affiliates who could help her land the gig, Deborah is particularly taken with Bob Lipka (Tony Goldwyn), the CEO of the conglomerate that owns the network Deborah’s show would be on. Turning her attention mostly to him, she dumbs down her golf game to let him win and does all she can to sway things her way, but when she learns that Jack Danby (Luke Cook) is poised to take the late night host gig, she drops the facade and lets Bob get a taste of her real golf game.

“She gets very thorny and kicks my ass on the golf course,” Goldwyn tells TV Insider, “Which Bob finds much more interesting than the obsequious Deborah Vance that I was with before. And then sort of sparks fly between the two of us as a result of that,” he adds. As viewers who tuned into the episode saw, despite Deborah essentially losing out on the job, she and Bob take their chemistry to the bedroom where they have a one-night stand.

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Deborah regrets it in the morning as she vowed to never be “the other woman” after her own husband cheated on her in the past. Regarding his guest role, Goldwyn admits, “It was just such a lovely surprise. I was such a huge fan of the show and… It was really fun to see the way that they all work as a team,” he remarks, referencing showrunners Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky. “It’s just a highly affectionate and free environment and it’s really lovely to drop into a show like this where everyone’s so happy and the caliber of the work they’re doing is so good.”

“I met Jean when I was like 25 or 26 years old, so it was fun to work with her however many decades later,” Goldwyn continues. He also relished working with Einbhinder, gushing, “She’s so great. And her character’s gotten so rich over the years and, then to find out that Christina Hendricks was another guest star… It was really fun. And Chris McDonald was really fun and he’s so hilarious and I just think he’s a fantastic actor.”

When it came to golfing, that was a little more challenging than collaborating with his costars. “I literally never played golf in my life,” Goldwyn admits. “So when they said, ‘Do you play golf?’ I just said, ‘No, this is one I cannot fake. You need to have a golf pro.'”

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Ultimately, it was fine as Goldwyn notes, “We faked it. And one of the pros showed me how to swing and said, ‘You probably give a good swing.’ So I have no idea what’s actually in the show. But there was a double that resembled me enough.”

As for whether or not viewers will see Bob again, Goldwyn says, “As far as I know it was a one-time deal. I haven’t been told anything else, but if they have other plans we’ll talk about it. I’d be open to it. It just would depend on what they were thinking to do with it.”

What did you think of Goldwyn’s role in Hacks? Let us know in the comments section, below, and stay tuned for more guest star surprises as Season 3 unfolds.

Hacks, Season 3, New Episodes, Thursdays, Max