The Big Picture

Collider’s Perri Nemiroff sits down with
Agatha All Along
stars Kathryn Hahn and Joe Locke.
In the
WandaVision
spin-off series, Teen rescues Agatha Harkness from a spell and the two assemble a coven to walk the Witches’ Road.
During this interview, Hahn and Locke highlight each other’s acting strengths and tease which episode to be on the lookout for when the series drops on Disney+ on September 18th.

There are so many elements of the Emmy Award-winning Marvel series WandaVision that make it a stand-out among a throng of other MCU projects, but in particular, the wickedly vile Agatha Harkness. Played with the snappy pizzazz of an ancient witch by Kathryn Hahn (even earning her an Emmy nomination herself), Agatha’s plot-twisted character was a scene-stealer that left fans wanting more. At long last, on September 18th, the premiere of Agatha All Along is bewitching Disney+, and Collider’s Perri Nemiroff had the opportunity to sit down with the top of the call sheet herself.

In WandaVision, when Agnes’ neighborly niceties are revealed to be Agatha’s attempt at preying on Wanda’s (Elizabeth Olsen) magic, she’s trapped in the Scarlet Witch’s spell as punishment. In Agatha All Along, Agatha is rescued from the spell by the peculiar Teen, played by Heartstopper breakout star Joe Locke. After saving her, Teen pleads for Agatha to accompany them on the Witches’ Road, a perilous journey for magic users that ends in death or glory. Together, they assemble a new coven — Sasheer Zamata’s Jennifer Kale, Ali Ahn’s Alice Wu-Gulliver, Patti LuPone’s Lilia Calderu, Debra Jo Rupp’s Mrs. Hart, and Aubrey Plaza’s Rio Vidal — to help them reach the end of the Road.

Ahead of the series premiere, Nemiroff sat down with Hahn and Locke to find out what qualities make the perfect coven and the perfect coven leader. The co-stars share the moments before filming began that proved this ensemble was going to ace this series, and what they found in each other along the way. Locke teases which episode to be on the lookout for, and Hahn reveals why she’d walk the Witches’ Road by Locke’s side all over again. For the full interview, check out the video above or read the transcript below.

‘Agatha All Along’s Coven Was “On Top of Their Shit”
“The energy and the intention was so right on the same page.”

​​​​PERRI NEMIROFF: It feels like a show like this does not work without the perfect mix of people, so for each of you, do you remember the very first thing that happened on set that made you stop and go, “We are the ideal group. This is right?”

JOE LOCKE: I remember our first rehearsal. I don’t know, just the energy in the room was so great. I remember Patti [LuPone] walking in and just knowing everyone’s names. She came over to me, and she was like, “Oh, I love your show, [Heartstopper],” and I was like, “Patti LuPone loves my show!” It just was instant, I think.

Image via Disney+

KATHRYN HAHN: For me, it was the table read. I’d met people — like, I’d met you before — and we’d had rehearsals a couple times, but I hadn’t seen everybody. There were people I hadn’t met yet. So sitting around and just feeling the energy and the intention was so right on the same page for what we were trying to make. And then when we started reading through the script, the focus was so curious and deep that I just felt like it was the safest group — because we had to go to some pretty crazy places — and a funny group. And a group that also was on top of their shit.

Kathryn Hahn Is the Serena Williams of ‘Agatha All Along’
Image via Disney+

I’m gonna narrow it down to the two of you now as scene partners. Can you each tell me something about the other that you appreciated as a scene partner and maybe helped you access something in your own character that you wouldn’t have been able to reach without them?

LOCKE: For me, Kathryn is like — I keep describing it as playing tennis with Serena Williams when you’ve never played tennis before because she’s the top of her game. As someone who’s so new to the industry, it was like learning from the best person you could ever learn from, which I think, as we go through the show, really worked, as well, for our characters of learning from her. In the comic saga there’s a big mentor, and she became a mentor for me.

That’s a beautiful answer.

HAHN: What I learned from Joe is the power of stillness and the power of working with your eyes. He has an incredible ability to convey the deepest things through those eyeballs. And also just listening, which I had always heard that most of acting is listening, and I just think Joe embodies that. He is an incredible open listener. I was also so inspired that this is, like, his second professional gig, and he handled it like he was definitely in the ensemble. I felt immediately a very protective vibe, and I think that also helped our journey, as well.

Image via Disney+

I’ve seen through Episode 4, and a lot of stuff has already happened, but I know there’s much more to come. We don’t want to spoil anything, but if you could tease the specific episode you’re most excited for fans to see, what episode would it be and why?

HAHN: Mmm, that’s gonna be hard to talk about!

LOCKE: Episode 7, and Patti LuPone.

What a good tease! Aced it.

Image via Disney+

I’ll end with a sillier question. If you two, as in real you, had to go down the Witches’ Road and you could only pick two Agatha All Along co-stars to team up with, who would you choose that would give you the best chance of surviving the journey?

LOCKE: Oh, that’s so mean!

HAHN: Exactly!

It felt like a little bit of a cheat because, if you want, you could pick each other.

HAHN: Well, of course.

LOCKE: Yeah.

Why though? What skill does Joe have that gives you confidence?

HAHN: He’s so smart and rational and practical. There would be fantastical ideas shot out, and he’d be like, “No because if you do that, you’ll end up frozen.”

LOCKE: Pessimist is what she means. [Laughs]

HAHN: You need a little bit of that!

Image via Disney+

Alright, vice versa now.

LOCKE: Kathryn is the most natural leader ever. I think you need camaraderie on the Witches’ Road, and Kathryn — not Agatha, but Kathryn — is really good at making a team a team, as in, she was the best lead on set in leading the coven.

Will Agatha come through for her new coven? Find out when Agatha All Along premieres on Disney+ on September 18th.

Agatha All Along begins streaming on Disney+ on September 18th.

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