Kathryn Hahn, a scene-stealer chameleon. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Kathryn Hahn performances that blew us away — as well as the ones that went underappreciated at the time.
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00:00I've been having a lot of dreams about you.
00:02Really?
00:04Like what kind?
00:06Ones where I stab you over and over again.
00:10Welcome to Ms. Mojo,
00:12and today we're counting down our picks
00:14for the Catherine Hahn performances that blew us away,
00:17as well as those that went underappreciated at the time.
00:20I'm going back to bed.
00:22I have no reason to live.
00:24Sun's out.
00:25Oh.
00:26Okay, just.
00:27Now.
00:30Cashmere?
00:34Number five, Alice Hough,
00:36Stepbrothers, Stole the Show.
00:38All right, all right, Alice, let's go.
00:39♪ Reminds me of a warm safe place ♪
00:42Flat, it's so flat, I can't even,
00:44I don't even know,
00:45you don't even look good while you're singing.
00:47Early in her career,
00:48Hahn was often pigeonholed and typecast
00:51as one-dimensional wives, sisters, friends,
00:54and associated supporting characters.
00:57This didn't give her a chance to paint with a full palette,
00:59and put her now-obvious comedic skills to use.
01:02Thankfully, Anchorman and Talladega Nights director,
01:05Adam McKay, saw what she was really capable of,
01:09casting her as the deeply quirky,
01:11deeply erratic Alice in Stepbrothers.
01:14Hi, I'm Alice, I'm Derek's wife.
01:18Is it true that you struck Derek in the face
01:19and he fell from the treehouse?
01:21Yeah, he asked me to.
01:23Oh, that's the most amazing thing I've ever heard.
01:24A bored, repressed housewife,
01:27Alice sees John C. Reilly's immature Dale
01:29as an exciting alternative to her jerk husband,
01:32Adam Scott's Derek.
01:33Their one-sided affair resulted
01:35in some of the funniest moments of either actor's career,
01:39and made audiences take note
01:40of Hahn's considerable talent and range.
01:43It's just me.
01:44Oh my God.
01:45Hi.
01:46This is the men's bathroom.
01:48Happy anniversary.
01:50It's our second date.
01:51What?
01:53Number five, Bristol.
01:54The holiday might not have realized.
01:57Is this a bad time?
01:58No, no, I'm just flipping out a little bit.
02:00Oh, okay.
02:01When we say that Hahn was often pigeonholed
02:03into the supportive friend role,
02:05this is kind of what we're talking about.
02:07And to be clear, that's not a knock on the holiday,
02:09a modern day Christmastime rom-com classic,
02:12which pays loving homage
02:14to screwball comedies of the 1940s.
02:16I'm all right.
02:18Hi.
02:21What's up?
02:23Ben needs you.
02:24How could we deny the holiday's earnest warmth
02:26as well as its cast's binding charm?
02:29In any case, Hahn plays Bristol,
02:31an employee of Cameron Diaz's Amanda,
02:34a talented but lonely editor of Hollywood movie trailers.
02:37Although Hahn doesn't get much to do,
02:39she proves that there are no bit parts.
02:41And hey, is that John Krasinski?
02:43Hey, you know, let's just take off for a few weeks.
02:47Yeah.
02:48What do you mean, yeah?
02:49I'm not kidding.
02:50You always say that this is our busiest time.
02:53I need to get out of town.
02:55Number four, Eve Fletcher.
02:57Mrs. Fletcher stole the show.
02:59I'm sorry.
03:00I, you know, you just scared me.
03:01I thought it was something bad.
03:03It's not good, George.
03:05I mean, you have to understand,
03:07the craft ladies were beating bracelets
03:10while your father was watching porn.
03:12This sorely underrated HBO miniseries
03:15allowed for Hahn to simultaneously flex her comedic
03:18and dramatic acting muscles.
03:20Created by Academy Award nominee, Tom Parada,
03:23and directed by a superstar rotation of female directors,
03:27Mrs. Fletcher finds Hahn's Eve Fletcher
03:30undergoing a transformative midlife crisis.
03:33Earth to Brendan.
03:34Yeah, what?
03:35I don't know what you want me to do with all this crap.
03:40Oh.
03:41Okay, so like this.
03:42Take it or leave it.
03:43The New York Times' Margaret Lyons
03:46praised Hahn's performance by noting that quote,
03:48she has played Eve-like roles before,
03:51and she is again wonderful here,
03:53a walking sad secret with pretty hair,
03:55playing the silliness and the anguish
03:57of Eve's horny season.
03:59Mrs. Fletcher lets Hahn interrogate, subvert,
04:02and navigate the inner life of the type of character
04:05she'd been relegated to playing in the past.
04:08I can't do exactly what I want,
04:11but I did sign up for a class.
04:13Oh God, are you making pottery?
04:14It's called the personal essay at Eastern Community.
04:18Number four, Edie Fitzgerald,
04:20We're the Millers, might not have realized.
04:23Hey, this will be a hoot.
04:25I'll even watch your little one
04:26so you and your man can have some grown-up snack time.
04:28You don't have to do that.
04:29No, no, no.
04:30Oh, Edie, please don't.
04:30Nonsense, I am so good at fakes.
04:31Nonsense.
04:32Oh, give it back.
04:33Give it back.
04:35Although this raunchy family comedy
04:37was a colossal sleeper hit at the time of its release,
04:40grossing $270 million on a $37 million budget,
04:44you'd be forgiven for forgetting
04:46Catherine Hahn's supporting role.
04:48As part of a murderers' row cast
04:50that includes Jennifer Aniston, Jason Sudeikis,
04:52and Parks and Rec star Nick Offerman
04:55as Hahn's fictional husband,
04:57one would worry that she'd fade from view
04:59amongst the film's stars.
05:01You just have to understand something.
05:05We have never done anything like this
05:07with another couple before.
05:09Thankfully, this is Catherine Hahn we're talking about.
05:12As her career progressed,
05:14it became clearer and clearer
05:15that Hahn excelled at exaggerating,
05:18heightening, and deepening
05:19a very particular suburban mom archetype.
05:22We're very flattered by this,
05:24but right now, in the middle of the night,
05:26I'm just not, I'm not sure I'm really,
05:28I'm ready for it.
05:30Oh, Don.
05:31Got it.
05:31Totally understood.
05:32We misread it.
05:33Number three, Claire DeBella,
05:35Glass Onion, A Knives Out Mystery,
05:37stole the show.
05:39What's this?
05:40I don't know.
05:41I've got the CNN thing, I'm like, now.
05:44Amy, come on, hook a line, hook it, please.
05:46On a 10, he's leading you in now.
05:48Okay.
05:49After the runaway success of WandaVision,
05:51don't worry, we're getting to it,
05:53Hahn found herself on the precipice of a new career era.
05:56One such role she accepted in that time
05:58was that of fictional Connecticut governor
06:00turned Senate hopeful, Claire DeBella.
06:03Rian Johnson's first Knives Out film
06:05had featured a superstar cast,
06:07and the pressure was on for its sequel
06:09to deliver the goods once again.
06:11Did you two stay at the hotel last night?
06:13I didn't see you.
06:14No, Brittany, we clearly just arrived.
06:17Johnson didn't disappoint,
06:17casting up-and-comers like Hahn
06:19in addition to Hollywood mainstays
06:21like Edward Norton and Kate Hudson.
06:23As a career politician who's deathly concerned
06:26with her public image,
06:27Hahn plays to her strengths
06:29in bringing the tense DeBella to life.
06:31Are we allowed to hug after the whole men in black thing?
06:34We can hug.
06:34Oh, God, look at it.
06:36Oh, you're allowed to hug.
06:38Oh.
06:39Number three, Millie Campbell,
06:41Revolutionary Road, might not have realized.
06:44When did you make this decision?
06:49About a week ago.
06:49It's hard to remember.
06:51We just suddenly decided to go, that's all.
06:53About a week ago.
06:54You tell us now.
06:55Nevermind not realizing that Catherine Hahn
06:58plays a fairly major supporting role in Revolutionary Road,
07:01you might be hard-pressed to remember
07:03that this movie exists, period.
07:05And that's despite the fact
07:06that it literally stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet
07:09reuniting for the first time since Titanic
07:12a decade earlier.
07:13Here we go.
07:15Just a little something.
07:18Ooh, those grapes, starving.
07:21April, I can't get over it.
07:25You look like the cat that ate the canary.
07:27Unfortunately, all Revolutionary Road
07:29really had going for it was its cast,
07:32including an Oscar-nominated Michael Shannon
07:34in a breakout role.
07:35Otherwise, Oscar winner Sam Mendes' film
07:38received lukewarm reviews,
07:40with Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter
07:42commenting that, quote,
07:43"'Subtlety' is not one of Mendes' strong suits."
07:46Funnily enough, Hahn is paired with another actor
07:49who had a protracted journey to fame,
07:51future Stranger Things star David Harbour.
07:54Oh, you better get changed.
07:55They'll be here soon.
07:58So what you wearing?
08:00Don't you like it?
08:02Yeah.
08:04Oh, you look great though.
08:06Number two, Rachel Biegler, Private Life, Stole the Show.
08:10Relax, don't obsess.
08:13I'm not obsessing, I'm cold.
08:13While Hahn clearly has great taste in scripts,
08:16it's a legitimate shame that general audiences
08:18weren't hip to her abilities until WandaVision.
08:21Director Tamara Jenkins' Private Life,
08:24a bittersweet indie dramedy
08:25that co-stars Oscar nominee Paul Giamatti,
08:28is a perfect example of this.
08:30Okay, you've got to try this.
08:31I'm obsessed.
08:33I drank it all summer.
08:34Oh, no thank you.
08:37Really?
08:38It's Prosecco.
08:39I'm not a Prosecco person?
08:40Oh no, I am, I love it.
08:40I just, I can't.
08:43Hahn shines as Rachel,
08:45a frustrated middle-aged professional
08:47who, along with her husband Richard,
08:49is desperate to bear a child.
08:51Once again, Private Life works
08:53as a tremendously well-suited showcase for Hahn's acting.
08:56And it's a disappointing surprise
08:58that her performance didn't make the Academy
09:00stand up and take notice.
09:02What would this entail exactly?
09:06Well, technically you would just go through
09:09pretty much what I just went through
09:10with IVF minus the transfer.
09:13Number two, Michelle Rubin,
09:15How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,
09:17Might Not Have Realized.
09:19Good morning, sunshine.
09:22Okay, get dressed.
09:23Get dressed.
09:24Staff meeting, 15 minutes.
09:25Let's go.
09:27This is the kind of movie moment that makes you go,
09:29wait, that was Catherine freaking Hahn.
09:31One of the first in a line of thankless
09:33plain best friend roles for Hahn,
09:35it can't be argued that the veteran performer
09:38imbues Michelle with a depth and humanity
09:40that likely didn't come across on the page.
09:42I'm going back to bed.
09:45I have no reason to live.
09:46Sun's out.
09:47Oh, okay.
09:48Just.
09:49Oh.
09:50Now.
09:53Cashmere?
09:54Placed in sharp contrast
09:56to Kate Hudson's glamorous Cosmo writer, Andy,
09:58you might not have realized that Hahn played
10:00such a substantial role in this now classic rom-com.
10:03That said, we can all agree that when she's on screen,
10:06Hahn definitively steals the show.
10:09Hey, guys.
10:10What?
10:11I think I got one.
10:13He was married.
10:14No, not him.
10:15It's the guy by the door.
10:16But don't, don't look.
10:17No, guys!
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10:34Number one, Agatha Harkness, WandaVision, stole the show.
10:38Hello, dear.
10:39I'm Agnes, your neighbor to the right.
10:41My right, not yours.
10:43Forgive me for not stopping by sooner
10:45to welcome you to the block.
10:46My mother-in-law was in town.
10:48See?
10:48We told you we were getting to it.
10:50In the role that finally made her a household name,
10:52Hahn received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award
10:55for Outstanding Supporting Actress
10:57in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.
11:00Like other examples we've shown you on this list,
11:03part of the genius in casting Hahn
11:04is that you instantly trust and believe in her.
11:07You have no idea how dangerous you are.
11:12You're supposed to be a myth,
11:13a being capable of spontaneous creation.
11:17That's why, spoiler alert,
11:18it was an internet-breaking shock
11:20when Wanda Maximoff's goofy neighbor, Agnes,
11:23turned out to be orchestrating a dastardly plot
11:26to enslave the citizens of quiet Westview.
11:29That's right, folks, it was Agatha all along.
11:32Wanda, you've never been up against another witch before.
11:36Did you know there's an entire chapter
11:39devoted to you in the Darkhold?
11:41Number one, Dr. Olivia Liv Octavius slash Dr. Octopus,
11:46Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse,
11:48might not have realized.
11:50I'm not refusing.
11:51No more excuses.
11:53I just need more time.
11:54They're right there.
11:55They're gonna see you.
11:56We're not sure exactly who came up
11:57with the stroke of genius necessary to cast Hahn
12:00as a female Doc Ock variant in the first Spider-Verse film,
12:03but whoever it was, they deserve a raise.
12:06Attempting to prevent the destabilization of every universe,
12:09the film's two main Spider-Men
12:11break into a research facility
12:13where they're cornered by Hahn's creepy crawler.
12:16Spider-Man?
12:17Oh, hey, didn't see you there.
12:19Wow.
12:20Okay, I'm kind of freaking out right now.
12:23I mean, you're supposed to be dead.
12:25Surprise.
12:26For obvious reasons, Hahn seamlessly sinks
12:29into this voice role
12:30without you realizing that it's her at all,
12:32a cameo hidden ahead of the film's release.
12:35Not only is the revelation that Hahn's character
12:37is a supervillain in hiding totally mind-blowing,
12:40but so is the fact that it's Hahn altogether.
12:43This is fascinating.
12:44Okay, that's my face.
12:46Entirely different Peter Parker.
12:48Okay, a little bit of a gut,
12:50perhaps from dimensional warping.
12:51Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
12:52I was way flatter before I warped.
12:54What's your favorite Catherine Hahn performance?
12:56Let us know in the comments.
12:58It's been Angerfell all along.
13:02And I killed Sparky too.
13:05Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
13:09Do you agree with our picks?
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