Kathryn Hahn on starring in Marvel's 'WandaVision': It's an out-of-body experience

Featuring in superhero series "WandaVision" in a pivotal role was a thrilling experience, says actor Kathryn Hahn, who is still in disbelief that she got an opportunity to star in a Marvel Studios project.

"WandaVision" marks the start of the phase four of Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and follows the ''just married'' superheroes -- Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff and Paul Bettany''s android Vision.

Recalling her "top secret" meeting with director Matt Shakman and writer Jac Schaeffer at Marvel Studios office, Hahn, who plays the couple''s "nosy neighbour" Agnes in the show, said she was blown away by the script.

"I was brought in to the Marvel Studios where they had laid out the whole series arc and they pitched me something like I had never heard before. I was really unaware of Wanda’s back story, which is so tragic and dark," the actor said in a Zoom interview with PTI from Los Angeles.

Hahn, known for her comedic turn in movies like "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days", "Step Brothers", "Afternoon Delight", "Bad Moms", and its sequel, "A Bad Moms Christmas", said the nine-part series is "radically" different from whatever Marvel has done till now.

"The pitch sounded so ambitious that I didn’t understand or couldn’t picture how they are going to be able to pull this off. But because it sounded so radically different from whatever I had seen in MCU before, I couldn’t believe I was asked to be a part of it."

Hahn, 46, said even though she hasn''t been an avid follower of MCU projects, she has always been well-informed about the superhero franchise courtesy her children, who gave her a "brush up" on all the characters when she boarded the project.

The "Mrs Fletcher" star, however, is finally getting the hang of the fandom MCU enjoys, she said.

"I don’t have social media (account) myself. But now I’m getting inklings about the amount of fans which MCU has and how passionate they are. I’m so excited for them to see ‘WandaVision’."

Hahn started her acting career in 2001 with NBC crime drama series "Crossing Jordan" and went on to appear in a series of supporting roles in comedies "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy", "The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard", "Our Idiot Brother" and "We''re the Millers".

The actor, who cemented her position in the industry with her performance in web series such as "Transparent", "I Love Dick" and HBO''s "Mrs Fletcher", said she never imagined to land a role in an MCU project.

"It is thrilling to be part of MCU. I’m still pinching myself. I never would have thought in my career that I would ever land here, in this world, in this part. So it is still an out-of-body experience," she said.

"WandaVision" travels through different decades, channelling classic American TV shows like "Twilight Zone", "The Dick Van Dyke Show", "I Love Lucy", "I Dream of Jeannie", and "Bewitched" among others.

Hahn said she watched many sitcoms to study various eras and with the "nosy neighbour" being a prominent character in most of these shows, she had a lot of references to bring Agnes to life.

"I watched examples of all sitcoms from the past. In every sitcom there was that neighbour, that nobody knew anything about. They kind of just pop by, offer advice and just want to gossip or stick around. I was able to watch that troupe in all of the shows and drew from there."

The actor said the effort that the team, especially the technical artistes, have put in the show is "mind-boggling".

She also credited the studio for giving creative freedom to the creators.

"(The show) It is extraordinarily beautiful. I couldn’t believe what they have pulled off cinematically. The artistes involved in this project were given freedom to just really dig into each decade. The work that has been put into all of this is mind-boggling to me."

Hahn is now looking forward to watching "WandaVision" with her kids and see their reaction as there are "so many things about this show" she is proud of.

Asked if she could share some details about the series, the actor teased, "It is layered in a way... You think you are watching one thing, but you never really are..."

The series premieres in India on Disney+ Hotstar Premium on Friday. 

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