WandaVision's Agatha Harkness Taught Kathryn Hahn to Stand in Her Own Power
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When Kathryn Hahn earned her second Emmy nomination a few weeks ago, she celebrated in Greece with an Aperol Spritz. She’s currently abroad filming Knives Out 2, but she took a moment to relish in her supporting actress nod for her role as Agnes/Agatha Harkness on WandaVision. She received the news on the way home from work, and by the time she got back, the quintessential summer drink was already made for her.
“So I had an Aperol Spritz, and I was able to start a big group text chain with everybody from the show. And we were just so moved,” Hahn tells BAZAAR.com, soaking in the Grecian summer rays in a white blouse and signature side part from her end of our Zoom call. “This was a big one, this show; it meant a tremendous deal to me on a lot of levels. And this group of people is a beautiful group of humans. And so it was a lot to celebrate.”
For Hahn, who was last nominated in 2017 for Transparent, the most exciting part this time around was that people all across the WandaVision production were acknowledged for their work. Marvel's Disney+ series earned 23 nominations total, including lead acting nods for Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany, and nominations for outstanding limited series, directing, writing, hairstyling, and music supervision.
Hahn is “still pinching [herself]” over the feat. “That is something that I never expected in a million years for this particular show,” she adds. “And I was so overwhelmed by the company that I was in and that I’m in, in my category.” Her fellow contenders in the limited series/movie race include Mare of Easttown’s Julianne Nicholson and Jean Smart, Hamilton’s Phillipa Soo and Renée Elise Goldsberry, and The Queen’s Gambit’s Moses Ingram.
After a socially distanced Emmys in 2020, the procedures for this year’s awards ceremony on September 19 are still unclear, but Hahn is ready to hit the red carpet “if it’s done really safely,” she says. “I think it would be really, really fun, especially to be able to celebrate together in some capacity with this group and with those incredible humans that are also nominated.” Plus, she’s over the virtual meetings anyway. “As much as it’s a pleasure to see your face,” she admits, “I am so sick of fricking Zoom.”
During the pandemic, Hahn also partnered with the brand 9 Elements, a line of vinegar-based cleaning and laundry products (without the strong smell) that battle “hard water” stains and consist of nine simple ingredients. The brand, run by women scientists, was a no-brainer and a lifesaver for the actress, especially in a period when we all spent more time at home. “I was just at the point, like all of us, where cleaning was—I mean, I hate it so much,” she admits defeated. “There was no joy. I could not find my meditative state with cleaning.”
That changed after she ditched her bleach-based cleaning agents and edited down her supplies to only 9 Elements goods, including detergent and bathroom cleaner. She even brought some products with her to Greece. “I don’t have a dryer here. I’m using the laundry detergent, and the clothes are drying so softly on the line outside,” she laughs.
While playing Agatha, one of the most powerful witches in the Marvel canon, Hahn “learned how freeing it is to stand in your own power, and gained so much confidence in myself as a performer,” she wrote in her official nomination statement. Elaborating on our Zoom call, she explained, “There is something about this character, about the size that she is allowed to be, and the scale that she just has to be, where performance-wise, even if you just start there, she’s so big. As an actor, it’s sometimes a little bit embarrassing to be that big; you have to kind of shrink it down.”
The larger-than-life performance marked a departure for the comedic actress, whose expansive résumé includes Bad Moms, HBO’s Mrs. Fletcher, and Amazon’s I Love Dick. “I had been playing these kind of neurotic women, these small-scale women for a chapter, who I loved so madly and I will go back there in a heartbeat and I will [play them] again and again, but there was something so freeing about getting to let loose and be big, and not worry about size, and just not feel like I was being judged or not feeling embarrassed about being that size and just be huge.” That approach can be applied “to any aspect of your life, especially … for us as women too,” Hahn adds.
Though it’s rumored Agatha will return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Hahn has no idea where she could see the character going next. “It would be fun to see what universe she could pop up in. They are so tight-lipped, who knows?” she says of the notoriously secretive superhero studio.
Her theatrical take on Agatha resonated with viewers—not only the Television Academy, but also Marvel’s very dedicated, very online fan base. “It’s very, very trippy and also, wow, what passionate humans,” she says of the fans. “And it’s very sweet, and it’s hard to believe it’s reality. It’s all very surreal.” Hahn isn’t on social media, but she still sees the emotional WandaVision reactions and memes when someone else sends them to her. As someone new to the MCU, this is all new to her. “It is so loving, and I’m so touched by it. And it is also very surreal, and I was prepared for it somewhat by Lizzie [Elisabeth Olsen]. [The cast] had just said, ‘I can’t believe you don’t get to go to Comic-Con, because you would not believe it.’ I haven’t even experienced any of that stuff, because it’s been the pandemic. So I have no idea what happens there. I have no idea! I’m still like, ‘What?’”
The online love for Hahn is no joke. The song “Agatha All Along,” which she recorded for her big, kitschy character reveal in WandaVision, even graced the iTunes chart. She, however, has not had the jingle on repeat in her own home—though she’s open to it. “I don’t think I’ve listened to it as much as maybe other people. I think I would be really delighted to hear it, ’cause I just really haven’t played it on a loop, and I don’t think my kids would ever have played it on a loop.”
Though she can’t share details about the top-secret Knives Out 2 (“I literally can’t say anything”), she does gush over who she’s most excited to work with in the A-list cast, which includes Ethan Hawke, Edward Norton, and Janelle Monáe. “They’re all so awesome,” she says. “I mean, I was very excited to reunite with Kate [Hudson] again after all these years. She was the star of the first movie I ever did, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. It was really, really sweet to see her again. And I just think Daniel Craig is a phenomenal actor, so I was excited to meet him.”
At this stage, the release date for Rian Johnson’s sequel is still unknown, but best believe when it hits theaters, we’ll pregame our viewing with an Aperol Spritz.
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