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Twenty years ago, Kate Hudson and Kathryn Hahn played best friends looking for love in the classic rom-com “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.”
“It was my first movie,” Hahn tells Hudson. “To have you as the lead of it was so grounding. I don’t know what I imagined it would be like, but I certainly didn’t imagine it to feel just so freaking fun and loose and supported.”
Hudson had just starred in Cameron Crowe’s “Almost Famous,” for which she would be nominated for an Academy Award, and a close-up of her face served as the poster. “I remember thinking, ‘I hope every ex-boyfriend I’ve ever had sees this,’” Hudson says, laughing. “It was pretty trippy.”
Now Hahn and Hudson are each showing off their comedy genius on the small screen. Hahn goes from the world of “WandaVision” to leading her own show, playing the wickedly entertaining witch Agatha Harkness on “Agatha All Along.” The actress also brings her dry wit to the Apple TV+ series “The Studio,” playing an eccentric marketing executive.
Hudson, meanwhile, leans into her affinity for slapstick in Netflix’s sports comedy “Running Point,” where she unexpectedly becomes the boss of her family’s basketball team. She also released her first album, the chart-topping “Glorious,” a year ago.
Kate Hudson: We haven’t seen each other in a year, which is so crazy.
Kathryn Hahn: It kind of tracks for us. We don’t see each other for a really long time, and then we jump right back into it like no time has passed.
Hudson: Do you remember your audition as well as I remember it? Because it was one of the great moments of all time. It was me and [producer] Lynda Obst, and we were looking for my besties, and you came in, like, all flustered.
Hahn: I couldn’t find a parking spot. I was so sweaty. I couldn’t believe I was meeting you. I ran in, in a ruckus, and you were so welcoming.
Hudson: You came in and you were just like, “Oh my God. I’m so sorry. I couldn’t find the parking.” You had this bag — I don’t even know what was in it; it was like you were traveling — and I immediately was like, “I love this woman so much.” I forget what scene we were doing.
Hahn: Was it me getting broken up with at the beginning? Or the therapist scene?
Hudson: It was one of those. But then you’re in the middle of the scene, and your Nokia flip phone was like, bdltltlt, bdltltlt. She’s like, “Oh my God, hold on — I’ve got to go get the phone.” You get the phone and you’re like, “I’m in the middle of an audition.” I remember looking at Lynda like, “This is my best girlfriend in life.”
Hahn: Forever. That was my friend Patrick who called, and I still give him crap about it. He’s very proud to have been a part of that audition in some small way.
Hudson: You might have been a little late too.
Hahn: For sure. It’s a miracle I get cast in anything.
Hudson: I remember reading this thing on Instagram that people who are late actually end up being the most successful because they’re remembered the most. I was like, “That was Kathryn’s audition.” It was like, “If you don’t remember this hurricane that just entered the room …”
Hahn: That’s an amazing thing that I’ll hold on to next time I’m in traffic, mad at myself, [or] having somebody call to say, “I’m running five minutes late.”
Hudson: Then we got to do, years later, “Glass Onion.”
Hahn: Which was another one of those experiences that I’ll never forget as long as I live.
Hudson: Which brings us to witchcraft, because I believe that I read your cards on your birthday under a full moon.
Hahn: You were saying, “It’s time to let things go. There’s something you’re holding on to.” I keep thinking about it: It was exactly what was supposed to be said at that moment.
Hudson: And then as we’re doing that, you got the word about “Agatha.”
Hahn: That was nuts. I couldn’t tell anybody for a while, so it just kind of felt like vapors. I love that part so much. I just freaking love a witch. I know you love a witch.
Hudson: Yeah, I love a witch. That show is so much fun.
Hahn: There were parts of it, like when we were sliding down the slides, we kept being like, “This is like we’re in ‘The Goonies.’ How fun is this?”
Hudson: You have to walk the line of this big humor, but then there’s some real emotional moments. Was that challenging? Or were your showrunners like mine, where they’re just so awesome and help keep you in line with all the stuff that you’re supposed to be [feeling]?
Hahn: A hundred percent. I kept saying they were like emotional script supervisors.
Hudson: What’s your touchstone for Agatha? I always have this thing where I have a key if I lose sight of my character.
Hahn: Agatha wears this locket around her neck with Hecate — the maiden, mother, crone. It’s like women are all things all the time. Agatha has a piece of her son’s hair in the locket. Just before I shot, because I was going to be gone for a while, my family gave me a little locket with their hair in it, not knowing that this was in the show.
Hudson: Stop.
Hahn: I know. I’m going to start crying.
Hudson: Oh my God.
Hahn: But what was yours for “Running Point”? I love Isla. I want to be her sister and hang out with her. You need to have a long-lost sister [on the show].
Hudson: I wish I had a sister. But that was my touchstone: me being the only girl. If I ever felt like I was losing a sense [of her], I was like, “I just want my brothers to see me as able.” Because, as you know, in anything that’s big in scope, or comedy, you’ve got to have some sort of rooted foundation. Isla’s is just to be seen as competent — which is how I still feel about my brothers. I’m competent, Oliver [Hudson] and Wyatt [Russell]!
What was your touchstone for Maya [on “The Studio”]? How much did you have to do with your costumes?
Hahn: A bunch. You know that adage of “Take off one thing before you leave the house?” We were like, “Put two more things back on, and they both have to say Prada.” It was so many labels, it felt so gross and ostentatious. Just that feeling of having to fill out those amazing brands, it was a job to not have it wear me completely.
Kate, you’re such an extraordinary singer. I was lucky enough to be at your house, and you played some tracks for just a few of us.
Hudson: Oh my God, that’s right!
Hahn: I just remember goose bumps. Because a lot of people don’t have the fricking guts to go for it; you think you’re in a box — this is who you are. But to put yourself out there with that much openness, it’s really moving to me. And it’s inspiring to so many women. It’s like, you don’t just have to do what you’ve been doing; you can change.
Hudson: You’re going to make me emotional. [She tears up.] In COVID, it really was like, God, if I die, I feel like I’ve left things on the table; I haven’t achieved my full potential as an artist. And what am I so afraid of? It doesn’t matter if it’s art [or] if it’s changing course in business, career, whatever, but it’s that moment where you start to feel your mortality and think, “What am I putting out there?”
Even if it means something to one person, then it means something to me. Even if it meant something to nobody, at least I had the courage to do it. And if I don’t have the courage to do something that I love so much, what are my kids going to think? I want them to see me be fearless in my pursuits. You realize people don’t take those opportunities or chances just because it’s scary …
Hahn: It’s terrifying.
Hudson: And then you have to be like, fuck it! It’s either going to resonate or it won’t, but it doesn’t matter at that point. It means so much to hear you say that. I mean, I know there’s cameras rolling and now I’m crying on Actors on Actors.
Hahn: I feel like Barbara Walters. I really should’ve known this was going to happen.
English (US) ·