Concept and Creation
The inspiration for Martha Logan was Martha Beall Mitchell, the wife of United States Attorney General John N. Mitchell during the Richard Nixon administration. Mrs. Mitchell was a key whistleblower who contacted the press to disclose facts about the Watergate scandal, and for a time her statements were discredited because people believed she had a mental illness. Nixon said that "Watergate would have not occurred without Martha Mitchell."
Howard Gordon, the executive producer of 24, said that, during character development, they "wanted an actress that had the strength and intelligence to be a first lady, yet have the unpredictability of never knowing when she might snap." Jean Smart was their first choice. Smart later told The New York Times that she decided she was eager to play the role after reading the character's introductory scene, and commented that in her almost 30 years of acting she had come across few roles that offered the possibilities that this one did: a character that is sexy, mysterious, and powerful, yet is mentally unstable and has lost her trust and respect for her husband.
Smart also said of the opening scene that:
| “ | It encapsulates that character in one moment and says so much about her impulsiveness. We could not have accomplished that with a dozen speeches. When I saw it in the script, I thought "this is great, this lady is going to be fun to play." | ” |
On her first day on set, Smart was shocked to learn the producers wanted to cut the scene, a decision she felt was a mistake.
| “ | They had done this brilliant thing and now they were going to undo it. They were just being practical. They said, "It would be hours to get you back, your hair, your make-up." | ” |
Smart spoke to the hair and makeup artists and guaranteed producers they could get it right in two takes; they did it in one, and the scene stayed in.
Both Jean Smart's character and Martha Mitchell were labeled "unstable." Although the real Martha Mitchell was not mentally ill, the fictional Martha Logan is, and with Smart's input the writers enhanced this aspect of the character. Smart has said of Martha that she is an impulsive, powerful, and capable woman, and that she is intelligent, but has some "chemical problems".
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