Kathryn Hahn Talks the ‘Agatha All Along’ Tribute to ‘Mare of Easttown’
[This story does not contain major spoilers for Agatha All Along.]
Kathryn Hahn’s introduction into the Marvel Cinematic Universe took the form of an intrusive 1950s neighbor to Wanda Maximoff and Vision on WandaVision. At the time, yours truly reminded Hahn that her role as Agnes was reminiscent of Milly Campbell, her previous ‘50s neighbor character in the Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio-led Revolutionary Road (2008). Of course, Agnes turned out to be a cover identity for a powerful witch named Agatha Harkness, and between the overall popularity of WandaVision and the conniving character’s chart-topping single, “Agatha All Along,” Agatha warranted an even deeper dive by way of a spinoff series that’s also titled Agatha All Along.
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Created by WandaVision boss Jac Schaeffer, last night’s two-episode series premiere begins with Agatha still stuck in the Scarlet Witch’s (Elizabeth Olsen) all-encompassing spell that she punished Agatha with in WandaVision’s conclusion. But instead of another tribute to classic sitcoms like its predecessor, Agatha All Along finds Agnes, not Agatha, in a Mare of Easttown-inspired prestige crime drama called Agnes of Westview. Thus, Hahn delivered her own take on Winslet’s detective character of Mare Sheehan, creating a more direct homage than WandaVison’s unintentional overlap with Revolutionary Road. (The very first teaser trailer for Agatha All Along provided a healthy look at Agnes of Westview.)
“I had binged Mare of Easttown when it came out, and I was obsessed with it,” Hahn tells The Hollywood Reporter. “So [Agnes of Westview] was definitely a love letter to that genre of show, for sure.”
Below, during a recent conversation with THR, Hahn also discusses her unexpected journey to becoming a title character in a Marvel Studios project.
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When I spoke to you for WandaVision a few years ago, I pointed out how you were back in Revolutionary Road mode as a 1950s neighbor, and so I wasn’t surprised that you were in Kate Winslet territory once more with Agnes of Westview. Since Agatha clearly binged Mare of Easttown, did you do the same during prep?
I had binged Mare of Easttown when it came out, and I was obsessed with it. I loved it so much. I love — and so does [creator] Jac [Schaeffer] — a prestige crime drama that’s led by a strong woman who’s got a past. There’s a lot of templates in place for that show. I also love Broadchurch. I love so many of those. So this was definitely a love letter to that genre of show, for sure.
Jac admitted to me that she overlooked this possibility, but was there any Evan Peters talk on set since his WandaVision actor character, Ralph Bohner, could’ve played a version of his own Mare of Easttown character? (Aubrey Plaza’s character ultimately stands in for Peters’ Mare character as the visiting detective.)
Oh, fun! I don’t recall hearing any conversations about that, but there are definitely conversations about him. He’s so good.
You turned what could’ve been a standard general meeting into an integral role on a hit show in WandaVision and now your own show in Agatha All Along. Have you been able to contextualize what this all means to you and your career at this point?
First of all, based on my dear career leading up to this, I never would have seen this in my future. This is just an area that I thought was not open to me. I just thought it was something that I wouldn’t find myself in. And so, when I heard that she was a witch and that WandaVision was going to be new territory for the MCU and that it was going to be a departure and break so many molds, I was so excited. I was just giddy. And Agatha really is always the main character in her mind, so it felt very natural to, of course, be the main character in this other show. It felt weirdly natural, and it’s natural that she goes from a solitary witch to a witch who, despite her feelings, needs a coven.
In the premiere, an unclothed Agatha runs outside to have a very funny chat with her neighbor. Are you shocked that you were able to do that in the MCU?
No, because that was my idea. (Laughs.) That was the first or second day of shooting, so we ripped the Band-Aid off. It just felt really important to see her at her most powerless at that moment.
Character wise, did you have any requests for Jac and her writers’ room?
Jac and I are pretty simpatico when it comes to who Agatha is and how she behaves. A lot of the time, I felt like I was Jac Schaeffer and that I was channeling her Agatha and the way she saw this world. So I felt very connected to her.
Were you glad that you were able to shoot on Blondie Street one last time before Warner Bros. Ranch was torn down?
Agatha’s house is the Bewitched house, and I got to shoot in front of it. I actually forgot that they tore it down, which is really sad.
Well, congrats on Agatha All Along, and thank you for teaching me what a “jade egg” is. I had no idea what Agatha was talking about until my research took me to Goop.com.
(Laughs.) Oh, you are very welcome! There’s controversy, I guess, about how safe they are, but I can’t get into that.
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Agatha All Along’s two-episode premiere is now streaming on Disney+.
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