Dinner’s on Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson - KATHRYN HAHN — on improvising in “Step Brothers” and Patti Lupone voice memos

Episode Date: December 17, 2024

"Agatha All Along” star Kathryn Hahn joins the show. Over stuffed grape leaves and shawarma rubbed oyster mushrooms, Hahn tells me how her career has climbed after 40 (dubbed her “Hahnissance”), the amazing moments she improvised in “Step Brothers” and we retell our pilates meet-cute. This episode was recorded at Mazal in Lincoln Heights, CA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hi, it's Jesse. Today on the show, you know her from films like Step Brothers and Bad Moms, and now the new Disney Plus series, Agatha All Along, it's Kathryn Hahn. I mean, have you heard the term haunessance? Have you heard this? Yes, I have. But I was like, you guys, there has been a McConaissance. This is Dinners on Me, and I'm your host, Jesse Tyler Ferguson. I have such vivid memories of the first time I fell in love with Catherine Hahn.

It was seeing her on stage in a revival of the play Boeing Boeing, starring Mark Rylance. The play revolved around Rylance's character and three airline attendants. Gina Gershon played an Italian, Mary McCormick a German, and Catherine Hahn played an American. She played the part with the optimism and patriotism of a 4th of July firework.

With a wide stance, hands on hips, and a huge smile, she was like the emoji of an American before emojis even existed. She was magic. I mean, she was hilarious, completely original, and refreshingly unique. I had never seen her in anything before, so I immediately began digging to find the rest of her work.

And it wasn't hard to find. She had made equally bold impressions in a handful of great films, always as the off-center best friend or unhinged wife or unstable coworker. Whatever the role was, she was a highlight, never not walking away with the scene. I read once that Paul Rudd compared her to Radiohead,

the band, an indie group with a small passionate following that worked steadily for decades before and all at once, everyone was listening. I couldn't agree more. That's actually a perfect description of Catherine. And she's continuing to rake in a whole new generation of fans with her knockout performance as Agatha in the Disney Plus series Agatha All Along. Catherine and I had been trying to make this meal happen

for a few months, and by the time our schedules finally aligned, the series had already aired its final episode. So I was very excited to share my obsession of the show with my buddy, Catherine Hahn. I love how I can hear you approaching from a mile away. From so long away. Just chatting.

Just looking for boogers. Hi. I took Catherine to Mazal in Lincoln Heights, a family-owned restaurant manned by Tal Zait and his parents. We had a feast of dishes inspired by what Tal's mom packed him for lunch growing up. From tahini and hummus spreads to chimichurri oyster mushrooms, everything tasted like you

sat down in someone's home. Everything happens to be vegan or vegetarian. And if it's not clear already, there's a lot of love and care put into mazal, and you can taste that in each bite of food. Okay, let's get to the conversation. It looks like I have some sort of disease around my eyes. Oh. Does it?

No. Look like I'm having an allergic reaction. I know. Not at all. Also my daughters took all of my, listen this is very important information. My daughter took all of my makeup sponges. So I used my fingers.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I had a makeup. Can you see? No, no, no, I can't, I can't. How old are you? You have two daughters, right? Our daughter and son. I have a son who's 18 and our daughter's 15.

How old are your kids right now? Four and two. The two-year-old just turned two this weekend. Okay, wait, I actually have some questions. I'm in the hot pocket of it. So there's something going around at their school. Well, the older ones in school, the younger ones not, but it's like this ridiculous cough,

like a dramatic cough. And it's not COVID, we tested. Okay, I might have that. Well, it's like, and cough, like a dramatic cough. And it's not COVID we tested, but like- Okay, I might have that. Well, it's like, and to the point where- She says grabbing water. To the point where I'm like, okay, you need to take it down a notch, Beckett.

Like the drama is too much. Wait, are they all doing it? Is it like the crucible? Is everyone like, ah! Now the younger one's doing it. That is so stressful. Do you remember this phase? I remember the drama over cutting their nails.

It was like as if I was like slicing off there. The drama was so extreme. I also remember when they were potty trading and Ethan and I used to call ourselves shit duelists. Okay, and menu. Yes, this is tall by the way. I know I met on the coming in. Good to see you again.

All the winner is all here. All vegetarian menu. Just for you, Le. Paul and Leonard Mazzal here. All vegetarian menu. Just for you, Le. Yeah, just for you, Cash. Just for you. Oh my gosh, this is really incredible looking. I'm glad I came very hungry. Perfect.

You're in the right place for it. Dinner's on him, from what I've heard. Oh! Dinner's on me. You guys, a couple minutes. One of each. But I'll hang out if you have questions. Okay.

Thank you. Awesome. Thank you. I love that you're able to just like eat and talk. Isn't that great? Yes. And I don't care about the microphones anymore. At first I was like, let me be careful.

Now, screw it. If you hear me eating, you hear me eating. Fine. If I drop hummus on it, please don't be mad. Cute glasses by the way. I like that we're wearing our readers. I have to have readers now. When did it happen for you?

Well, I got, it happened like in the last season of Modern Family. And the thing is every, every one, all the other adults. You're so cute. Look how handsome you are in your Clark Kent glasses. Look at you, you're cute. I love them. But like all the adults were using them

and like Ty was the first to use them. And then Sophia started using them. And like, I was the proud holdout. And like the last season, I was like, shit. And so I put them on and like they stopped the table read and applauded me. And they're like, okay. I was like, shit. And so I put them on and like, they stopped the table read and applauded me and they're like, okay. I was like, I almost made it. I almost made it.

I cannot watch you squinting over the script. I know I had to get them. It was like a long, same thing. I had like, it was all readers, readers. And then my kids make fun of me because the font on my phone. Huge. I got so. We know what's going on.

Okay, wait a minute. Obviously we could share things. I mean, definitely some hummus. Cause that looks fantastic. Sweet potato hummus. I love a grape leaf. God, this all looks good. I love it.

Cheese burraca. Tell us just like some of the things that you love and think we should maybe try. So we're definitely known for all the spreads. So we can do like a sampler, like a Meze style thing where you taste all of them. Oh yes. Yeah, definitely.

So we should do that. We should do that to those. Okay, so I'll get that started. And I think as far as the mains go where you taste all of them. Oh, yes. Yeah, definitely. So we should do that. We should do that to those. Yeah. Let's get that started. And I think as far as the mains go, we're definitely doing the bagel. The mushrooms is kind of like a crowd favorite. I always feel like I'm gonna hate mushrooms

and then I eat them and I love them. Me too. What's up with us? Like, why aren't we just like gonna give over? Let's do the mungus. There's a fungus among us. Okay. Okay, yeah, let's do that.

That sounds good. Perfect, this sounds incredible. 100%. Okay, yeah, let's do that. That sounds good. Perfect, this sounds incredible. 100%. Oh wait, and then do you have any sort of iced tea or anything? So we make like a mint lemonade that I can do for you? I would love that. What do you want?

Ooh, I'll try your kombucha. The kombucha? Yeah. Absolutely. The probiotics for this thing. That's right. Thank you so much. Thanks for it.

Looks delicious. Thank you. Appreciate it, I'll be right back. Very handsome, 32. Very handsome. I found out Appreciate it. We'll be right back. Very handsome. 32. Very handsome. I found out. I've already inquired.

I don't know why I'm inquiring. I'm married, happily married. My grandma would be like, just because you're on a diet doesn't mean you can't look at the menu. That's right. I'm trying to remember, I feel like the first time I really got to talk to you,

because I've known about you for a very, very long time. And I think I, I think I- Me and you, my I've known about you for a very, very long time. And I think I- Me and you, my God. I think I got shiver when we finally got to like hang out a little bit. But I feel like the first time we really sort of got to talk was after a Pilates class. Yes.

Right? Was that the first time? I feel like we've seen each other in passing. I think I was always like, ah, but you're right. I think that was the first time. But it's so funny because you were- Because you're like we've seen each other in passing? No, but I think I was always like, ah, but you're right. I think that was the first time. But it's so funny because you were- You're like a star. I can't describe it.

It was like, you guys were getting, it was all the awards and all the like, I just saw you everywhere. And also it looked like you were all such, I mean, knowing Ty too, like clearly such good people that it just seemed so, like that was like the bar in terms of like having a show and just loving who you work with. Yeah, definitely, definitely.

That writing was so consistently good. We were very lucky. It's so interesting though, because like, I always look at other people and think, oh, those are the cool kids. And like, I wish I could just like have like five seconds with them. And honestly, like you, Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones,

these are some of your best friends, are like that group of people that's like, oh, they're the cool kids. And now I've become friends, genuinely friends with all of you. And I just feel like, oh, first of all, we make up so many stories in our heads about like who is on our level or who is like a star, not a star,

because I felt the same about you. And I remember seeing you in that Pilates class, I kept hearing the name, good Catherine, good, or a little deeper Catherine, or do you want the balance bar Catherine? A lot of notes for Catherine in the corner. And you were just far enough. And as we just talked about, my vision's not great.

And so I couldn't fully see if that was actually you, because also, you know, we were a Pilates class, we were at Sweaty Messes. And I got close enough to you after the classes, like that is Kath and Hannah, I'm gonna say hi. And we both kind of did that thing, we're like, hi. I know, I know, I know. I was like, hi.

I love, how hard was that class? It remains hard, I still go back every once in a while. Oh, it's amazing, I've only, I haven't been able to go back. Metamorphosis, shout out to metamorphosis. Huge shout out to them. They're shred class. They got us our bodies.

The bodies to see today. That is like the first time we really had a chance to like. Yes. You're right, connect. Yes. And you were just about to go do a play on Broadway. I think I was just about to start Take Me Out. Yes, exactly.

Which holy shit. I know, it turned out to be a very successful thing. I'm gonna do Shakespeare in the Park this summer. Oh my God, I wanna cry. I know, it turned out to be a very successful thing. I'm gonna do Shakespeare in the Park this summer. Oh my God, I wanna cry. I know, I'm so excited. Have you done it? But also, I've done Shakespeare in the Park six times.

I got my equity card doing Shakespeare in the Park. It's the greatest, because it's free theater. It's, you know, theater's a democracy. It should be there for everyone. It should be affordable for everyone. And like Joe Papp set up this place for people to go and wait in line and see great theater. And it's, the audiences are the most lovely audiences

because they're getting to see these incredible performances and it's unlike anything else. Oh my God, it's so good. Yeah, that is, I'm gonna get this out of the way just so you can see it clearly. Hummus, baba ganoush, spicy tahini over here. This is our side of vegan labneh, which is made from almonds and garlic.

Real labneh, so it's really good. There's a sweet potato for our girl here. And then last thing of mungrabi tahini, which is tahini with pickled lemons and red peppers. So a little spicy, a little tangy. It's like. It's meant to just rip and dip. Right. Rip and dip. rip and dip. Right.

Rip and dip. Rip and dip. Thank you. Incredible. Wait, are you vegan or vegetarian? I mean, I'm really like, I mean, to be honest with you, I'll eat fish. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

And sometimes steak. So when I say vegetarian, I'm California vegetarian. And sometimes human flesh. I would say, yeah, I would say I'm a good California vegetarian. Oh, that's hilarious. Now for a quick break, but don't go away. When we come back, Catherine tells me about

her scrappy theater roots, which jokes and stepbrothers were her idea, and always taking big swings on screen. Okay, be right back. If you're a listener of Dinners on Me, chances are you might be a foodie. And if you're a foodie, it's a possibility that you also might be a wine aficionado, or at least know a couple, and we all do. And if you're trying to find a gift for that wine lover in your life,

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Justin offers the perfect holiday gifts for clients, colleagues, friends, or family. Be sure to check them out at justinwine.com and enter Jesse20 to receive 20% off your order for a limited time. And we're back with more Dinners on Me. You've done like tons of Williamstown. Yeah. You've done lots of off-Broadway. I know I saw you in more dinners on me. I mean, you've done like tons of Williamstown.

You've done lots of off Broadway. I know I saw you in Boeing, Boeing on Broadway. Yeah, that was the only time on Broadway. On Broadway, yeah. Which by the way, what a debut. And like the fact that you have not been on Broadway since Boeing, Boeing is astonishing to me because I remember that performance so vividly.

For people who don't know the play Boeing, Boeing, it's about three flight attendants and a pilot. And a pilot, yeah. Two pilot, no, a pilot and then his friend. And the rotating stewardesses. These three stewardesses, flight attendants. I think you could say stewardesses back then.

You know what Sophia called them once when she couldn't remember the name for flight attendant? Plane waiter. And she was just trying to find the words. I mean, she says the weirdest things. Like the things that come out of her mouth. She's like, I know. She was like, she was trying to find the right words

and she just, I mean, she keeps saying it like the longer she's been in this country, the worse her English gets. We were on a flight to do an episode in Australia. And she was like, where is the plane waiter? Like, she was like, help me out here, help me out. I was like, flight attendant? She's like, yes. I had a friend once who was like,

should we go over and meet by that huge sheet of glass? And I was like, you mean window? Yeah. I couldn't say it. Oh my God, it's so funny. Seriously, doing theater, that is like you're kind of living out a dream that when I graduated from school,

that was like the track I had wanted to take. Like I miss it so much. And when I did Boeing Boeing, my son was like, God, he wasn't even a year. Maybe we re-ended when he was like a year and a half, but it's not, it's like a very difficult job if you can't like, like schlep your kids around and have them with you.

It's not a great job for people with young kids because you miss out on evenings. Yeah. You're exhausted during the day. You wanna sleep in because you work at night. Yeah, I remember like doing it and then he would, of course wake up in the morning and I was like, oh, cause I mean, I don't know about you,

but I couldn't go right to bed after show. Like there's no way. Rushing through your body still. Yes, I know. So anyway, I can't wait. I'm not sure exactly when it's, I mean, once I go to school, I'm going to. I mean, that's where I had always felt the most myself

as a performer. It's crazy to me that you've been away from the stage for so long. I mean, I know having kids does, you know, do that, but I just feel like I've always thought of you as a stage actress. And even in your performances on screen, like I feel like you bring,

there's like a bravery that you have to have on stage. You have to make kind of very specific brave choices. And I don't know, I'm trying to say this in a way that's like, I don't wanna say you're too big on screen, but you make big choices. Carol Channing, her face eats the screen. God, I worship make big choices. Harold Channing, her face eats the screen. God, I worship. Me too.

I mean, you in Step Brothers, talk about big swings. I mean, how much, I actually was just rewatching some of your scenes and that, because I was like, I remember loving it so much. Oh my God. Knowing I was gonna sit down with you. I mean, how much of that was scripted? Like you, these are the moments

I wanna ask you about specifically. Okay. You taking a piss in the urinal. That was our first AD. He suggested it and I was like, brilliant. Yeah, always have to give props. You having your foot in the sink after sex saying, this is exactly how I've always imagined it.

Okay, that's probably me. I mean, just. I mean, that was like also such a specific time in comedy. Yeah. But McKay was so- Adam McKay, the director, yeah. Yeah, well, he wrote something genius and hilarious, I think with Will, that you could just do that,

it would be, but then they would always, you know, do that thing where it was like, okay, I'm just say, now throw it away and let's just roll. Sometimes the night before I would have like a lift. Same, same, same. Cause I feel like I don't wanna be caught just like. I want you to think I improvised this, but I'm just very prepared.

Very prepared. I wish you'd think I improvised this, but I'm just very prepared. Very prepared. So it was like more in the, in the like, for him, because you were usually as a two shot too, that there was room for this actual new scenes to happen. So like we, you know, in that bathroom, like we were plotting Adam Scott's murder.

Like we went down the darkest rabbit, like so dark, that whole scene, like when I tell him I'm gonna shove him on my vagina. Yeah, I would have- Kids, I hope you're listening. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That was all not really in the script. Oh my God. I mean, that feels like such an iconic line.

I wanna like smash him to a little ball and shove you inside my vagina. And when I feel a tickle, knowing that it's your hair tickle. I mean, it's- I mean, that came from the deep recesses of a recovering Catholic. I always take it on. Oh, absolutely.

Absolutely, same recovering Catholic. Are you really? Yeah, I went to Catholic school for 12 years of my life. Me too. Yeah, yeah. I mean, some beautiful things. Absolutely. I love a uniform.

Wow. Catholic school. That's incredible. But also I find it interesting that you said that, you know, the Step Brothers and then afternoon to light, which is totally so different, are the places we've felt- I'm like years apart, so I don't even know why.

And I wouldn't say Afternoon Delight did anything professionally. It wasn't like a huge, not that many people saw it. We got horrible reviews in the New York Times. But I just think as a performer, it shifted something in me. That whatever that confidence was, I was able to, and just myself, like, okay, well, this is who I am

right now on this trip, and so I can't fight it or try to be something else, and so that was this allowance. I mean, like the overplucked eyebrows, you know what I mean, and the hair dye, and all the crap that I was like, you know, shading of the nose, like all this stuff that I was like, no, this is just why, this is who I am.

If people, I wanna work with the people who wanna work with me, instead of constantly fighting for something that I just wasn't. And so I think after having, and weirdly, I think having kids, maybe it's that bucking of authority that we probably both have from Catholic school, but everyone had told me, society, people, that after you have kids, it's like, and also after being 40, that it's basically gonna be harder and harder and harder as a woman.

And I just found the opposite to be true. Like I just kept willing, it just kept, and I think it's more and more. I mean, have you heard the term, hanaissance, have you heard the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term,

the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term,

the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term,

the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term, the term like 10 years, it's just been absolutely bonkers and insane. And like, I mean, such different opportunities. And I mean, do you think it's a product of, maybe the people that were in charge of these projects? Obviously, Joey Soloway,

who you then worked with on Transparent, which I also feel was an incredibly grounded performance and beautifully done. I mean, was it the environment that was that was set up that made you feel free to play that way? Yes. Also, the other actors were as game. Also, I would say also the crew had a huge part of it. Our DP is like, he was like an emotional script supervisor.

I forgot what I was talking about. But just walking to a space and having it like feel like it's- So you would just walk in and not have to, you weren't worrying about- You don't have to wait for set up. No, no, no, no, no. So you could just like stay in it.

No one went back to trailers, no phones at all. And I just think it was a huge learning for all of us. And then I went and did that show that only lasted a season called I Love Dick. Which was also the same group of people. So same crew, same writers. So that was like, it just felt like that chapter in my life just felt like, it just felt very turning pointy.

This food is incredible. Joana, what's your mushrooms right here? Ooh. And there's the bagel toast. Now for the mushrooms, Rebecca, I'm gonna take you to the Michimichurri and do like a pour over situation. Okay.

And you can do it, or you can like choose your own adventure on that. I trust you doing it. I trust me, all right, let's go. Someone's wanting a little bit of dabble on everything. You guys, your plating is so beautiful. It's gorgeous. You know that's all my mom, she's the artist behind this.

I'm just the face of the operation. You sure are. Oh, Jessie, Jessie. Your mom's the face too. My mom's gorgeous for a secondary- Truly. She's gorgeous. She looks great, yeah.

63. Doesn't look a day over. Truly. 32. Well, how do you feel working with your mom? Do you like it? I love it. Oh, she's right there so you can't stay.

I can't talk shit, yeah, no. No, it's great. Listen, it's been tough. Yes, if I could get my son to work with me, it would be the best. What would you do, Catherine? My assistant. Your assistant. No.

No way. But I would, it would really, that's very sweet though. Jerusalem bagel toast with fresh arugula, provolone, red slob, which is our spicy sauce. This looks incredible. With some labneh on the side there. That's the non-vegan version, so for the dairy people in the house. And yeah, dig in, guys. This is nuts.

Crazy. This is crazy. This is how I always want to eat my bagels. Thin. No other way. Thin. We're going to take a quick break, but before we come back, we're going to give you a special segment we are calling Chef's Tasting Notes, brought to you by Justin Wine.

Mazal. Mazal. Mazal. Yeah. Mazal. Nailed that. So we're here at Mazal. I'm sitting with Tal Zait.

Yes. You're the owner. Correct. You have this place, it's a family owned business. My mom and I put the menu together ourselves. My dad is no longer allowed to be in the restaurant because he's just too proud and he goes around to every table and is like, have you met the owner?

He's my son and we'll like schmooze everybody. So I'm like, dad, you can sit at the bar and like have a beer but nothing else. Yeah. That's sweet. It's nice. He's proud of you. I know, I know, I know, I know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm very lucky, honestly, with both my parents, definitely.

I assume that a lot of what I'm meeting with Catherine today is stuff that you have been eating your entire life. Are these based on childhood recipes that you love? 100%. So most of the menu from the beginning is not only stuff that my mom would make for me growing up, but also that her mom from Morocco would cook for her growing up.

And so it's a little bit of like a Moroccan inspired Israeli Mediterranean, you know, mishmash of everything. We also grow a lot of the fruits and vegetables that we cook here. So my parents live in Al-Qaedaulisay and they have a little orchard there. So in this late summer, early fall, even to like now,

everything that we grow, we cook. So yeah, it couldn't be more like, you know, generational, familial, like our fingers are in every single piece of the pie here. Now, I know you talked about this food and stuff you had growing up. I'm sure you didn't drink a lot of wine growing up, but Catherine and I obviously had this, you know,

fantastic vegan meal today. And, you know, a lot of people think of wine pairings with meat. I mean, the oyster dish was like- The oyster mushroom dish. That's right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The oyster mushroom dish. Right. Was that oyster mushrooms? Yeah.

The oyster mushroom dish was incredibly meaty. Yeah. But what would you consider pairing with something like what Catherine and I ate? Yeah, definitely. So a lot of our dishes are super lemon heavy. I mean, it's kind of like a staple in Mediterranean, Middle Eastern food.

It's definitely with like the Moroccan twist. You have a lot of pickled lemon ingredients. You want to go something with like really high acid. So like a Riesling Sauvignon Blanc, Alborino, those are three kind of like good varietals that would pair perfectly with stuff that have a lot of lemon in it. Right, right, right.

What are your thoughts on white wines and rose varietals during the winter? I'm all for them. The only problem is if you throw an ice cube in there, then we're gonna have some issues. Is that what you do? I guess Carrie Russell won't be having a wine with you. She loves a few ice cubes.

She'll have some ice cubes in the wine, and watering it down, yeah, God forbid. Yeah, no, I listen. Again, if you like some sort of wine, just drink it. You know what I mean? Yeah. Okay, Keri Russell, sorry. So no more ice cubes for you.

That was so great getting to hear from Tal about the inspiration behind his family's cooking. And we got some great suggestions for wine pairings. That was a special segment called Chef's Tasting Notes brought to you by Justin Wine. Now back to our show. And we're back with more Dinners on Me. You were mentioning, I love Dick.

And also I was thinking, which I love so much, but also Mrs. Fletcher, there was like a moment, I feel like there was this like a few years where like every year there was like a Catherine Hawn series. Single series, single season series. Single series, but they were always so great. But like what, I mean, having, you know, also experienced disappointment with shows that I'm so proud of, but like what, I mean, having, you know, also experienced disappointment with shows

that I'm so proud of, how do you, like what do you do for yourself to like, I guess also protect yourself also like when you're, when you're going into something you feel, because I'm sure you believe in all these projects as you're doing them too, to, you know, also curb your own expectations about what can happen afterwards and still stay in

the excitement of it? My expectations now have to be, because I'm sure you've experienced this too, like anybody in this, anything, as soon as your expectations are really, it's just hard to meet sometimes. You don't know if it's gonna be everybody's taste or just a few people's.

I just try to go with the things that are, I don't know if it's gonna be everybody's taste or just a few people's. I just try to go with the things that are, I don't know, the most interesting. And then I try really hard now not to take it on, although it's really difficult, especially if you've invested so much of your life and to something that is just unceremonious. That's how they have to do it here too. It's like, there's no kind of slowly letting it,

it's like you get a call and you're done. And that's like a crew, that's like a family you've put together. And that's a nice way, sometimes you just show up to the set, and like your name's been painted over on like your parking spot. Sometimes you literally read it in the news. Yeah, exactly, yeah.

Or, I mean, because I've been in plenty of them where you think you're signing on for like a show and then all of a sudden even midway through, it becomes a limited series. Which is kind of a gentler way of just canceling a show. See, I used to say that- But it is basically canceling a show. I did a show that was right before

actually Modern Family. It was called Do Not Disturb. And it was with Nisi Nash and Jerry O'Connell. And it created- I love Jerry O'Connell. I love him. Created by Abraham Higginbotham, who ended up going on to be a writer for Modern Family.

And right before that, he had worked on Arrested Development, like really talented- Oh my God. But it was, you know, kind of doomed from the beginning. And- How did you know? I just felt it. And there was like no support from the studio really and it got canceled after three episodes and we shot like five or six.

But I remember when I left for like the hiatus after shooting like number six, I was like, oh, I'm not coming back. Cause the show had already started airing and I saw the numbers. Oh God. But anyways, I was just telling people that I shot a three-part mini series.

I was like, no, we told our story. That was what we did. It ended in a very, no, no, no, it was always meant to be three episodes. I think I've done that too where I'm like, no, I'm very satisfied with how it ended up. I feel like we told the story. Yeah, we told the story.

And then I'm like, ah. I once did a show with Hank Azaria called Free Agents. Oh, I remember this. Oh my God, with the brilliant Natasha Leggero. It was a great cast. It was, yeah. And I remember, same thing, I'd never been in that situation

where it's airing as you're shooting and you can see the mood is getting less and less. So there was one night, it was like a walk and talk, I had to come out of an elevator and meet him, and then we were gonna just continue down the hallway. I love Hank. And there was this amazing background artist who always played the receptionist.

And I was in the elevator ready to go. And right before they called action, she just mouthed, I'm so sorry. Oh no. No. I had not known that we were canceled. Yeah. She was like, action.

And action. It was pretty amazing. And I don't even think, it was one of those where I don't even think that episode made it to the air. Right, right, right. Yeah. Oh God, that was brutal. But yeah, it's so crazy.

You had an incredible, the work in the past like 10 years has just been absolutely bonkers and insane. And like, I mean, such different opportunities and everything that's happened with Agatha, I mean, is absolutely, first of all, so deserved, but like you had this great opportunity with this incredible character who has so much, you have so much to do in the show.

I mean, you get to be incredibly movie, you get to be hilarious, you get to be dramatic, you get to be incredibly movie. You get to be hilarious. You get to be dramatic. You get to twirl that coat, twirl that coat. Just you posing and as the wicked witch of the West, like I was like, Catherine just is, all this is right now is just like camera angles. Oh, for sure. Just absolutely just.

I've never allowed myself to do that before. It's fantastic. It was so fun. So fun. And I was beating it up. I mean, what does it feel like, first of all, to have such a meaty thing being offered to you, but then also, I just feel like opportunities like that

are not given to people our age. No, they're not. Doing WandaVision in this part, I never in a million years would have found myself in Marvel. Like it was all, that was somewhere, again, that was like somewhere else completely. I didn't really know Marvel. That was just wasn't my like, my youth,

like my kids loved it. So I like see it through them. And I always knew that they got these incredible actors. So when I got it, or when they asked me to do the witch and WandaVision, I was, I mean, that was ridiculous. Like you said, you never get to do that. So that was also with the trope that I had known really well. I had been the best friend or the nosy neighbor.

Like that had been like my bread and butter. So to be able to like play with those tropes for a whole show was like so much fun. Yeah. And then have that reveal the, all of it was just the dreamiest. So when this came about and they, and I knew that Jack was going to be writing it as well, Jack Schaeffer, who I would, I just, I would follow her anywhere. I trust that brain. I really did. I mean, I said yes before, obviously before even really seeing a script,

because I didn't care. I would fall into the abyss with her because I just love her brain. I kept, at the end of it, I was like, well, that was my last acting job. Ha ha ha ha, because it doesn't get better. Well, yeah, and also like, you don't get to play all of that in one.

You really don't. I mean, it was nuts to be able to do all of that. And Wiggs and Aubrey and Patti LaPone. Patti the Wolf Lepone. I sent her a voice memo after her, after episode six. She loves a voice memo. She does love a voice memo. I save all of them, of course.

I tried to save it. She sang me happy birthday. I can't find it. You can't find it? No, I tried. Is it still there? No, I thought I had saved it, but it's gone. You know, all of a sudden it's like poof. I'm gonna call her and I'm gonna say, you need to re-sing Happy Birthday to Catherine.

Please, will you? Of course I am. I thought you were taking out your phone to remind yourself and I was like, wow! Siri, remind me to call Patti LuPone to re-record Happy Birthday. Oh my God, we should call her right now. R.E. Catherine.

How about it? But like, all of you had such incredible things to do Happy birthday. Oh my God, we should call her right now. R.E. Catherine. How about it? But like all these, all of you had such incredible things to do and I just felt, you know, for someone like Patti LuPone who's like, you know, she's done so much but never gotten to play something like this. And it's just, it really, I don't know. The casting of the show was just so-

And she is a witch, she'll tell you. Oh, 100%. Yeah. Mm-hmm. It was just, it, I don't know, I hadn't seen anything like it on television before and it really, She'll tell you. Oh, 100%. Yeah. I don't know, I haven't seen anything like it on television before and it really, it felt really special and I hope there's more of it. It seems like it's sort of open-ended

that it could be another season. No. No? I mean, I think, I don't know. That's all I've heard is that this was, there is a trilogy, the next one would be focused on vision. That's what that is, had always been like the game, the long game, but I don't know. I don't know, the show really surprised me

at how so many people have responded to it. It's not like, I mean, there's some sophisticated themes in there for like the kids. I think this is why I'm also so, so proud of it. It just feels like it's just in the DNA. It's not like about anything else, but like it's not about a bunch of women, you know, which is over 40 and this like beautiful, you know,

queer young man. It's all just a part of what the show is. So it gets me very excited that young people could see this and just be excited just that it's a Marvel show. And I don't know, I found it incredibly moving in ways that I wasn't expecting to. And Joe, you know, Joe Locke is someone I've been admiring for a long time.

He actually did an episode of this podcast. He did not, I still listen to it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm so in love with him. I caught him when he was in New York doing Sweeney Todd. So I sat down with him then. Did you see Sweeney Todd? Yes.

How about that voice? I know, he's fantastic. And, but you know, we talked a little bit about this show cause I knew he was, had just finished shooting it. Oh, so he couldn't say much. But he really couldn't say very much. So I'm really excited to like, you know, sit down with him and, and got you over him.

He is one of the most special, fully realized, I mean, then he was 19 year olds I've ever met. I just, I admire him so much. I admire his like sense of self. And I also, it's crazy how many little girls and boys are in love with him. Like how many little girls like have such crushes. I know.

He is so cute. Amazing. Oh, he's so cute. Those little eyebrows. Oh, forget it. They're not little, but they're- Very significant. But there's, I mean, he's so beautiful. Yeah, he's so cute. Those little eyebrows. Oh, forget it. They're not little, but they're- No, very significant. But they're, I mean, he's so beautiful.

Yeah, he really is. Yeah, a good, good egg. I'm excited for all of the next steps for him. Me too, me too. Yeah. You and your husband, Ethan, right? Is it Ethan? Yes. 30 years you've been together?

Yeah, yeah. Married 20. Married 20. We've been together like 30. Long time. I've just, Justin and I are about to celebrate 12. Oh my God. I mean, when, first of all, you met him in school, I assume.

Yes, but I'm like freshman year. Freshman year. Yeah. Which I think I at least was like, God damn it, because I thought I was gonna really like just take them down one by one. Like I was so horny and I had no takers. And I remember even being in eighth grade,

I was like, any takers, any takers, any takers, there's nobody. Wait, freshman year of college? College. Okay, got it, got it, got it. Yeah. I'm obsessed with the fact that you and your husband eloped, which is such a smart thing

because you save so much money. What made you want to elope and not deal with like the wedding stuff? Well, mainly it was because both of our parents are divorced, his parents and my parents. Yes, I knew this, yeah. And we did not want to take that show on the road. And so it kind of worked out.

We had big parties in each of our like hometowns. So like afterwards I had a big party in Cleveland and he had a big party in Seattle. But I loved it. There was a moment though, like the day we were getting, we got married in Big Sur. Beautiful. Beautiful. We stayed there like the night before we got married and then we just blew it in a positive way.

That's probably not the expression. I was going to say blew a lot, but like at the expression. I was gonna say, blew a wad, but like, at the post ranch in, holy moly. I mean, that was like, I don't know what it is right now, but it was like a thousand dollars back then. It still is, it's more now. It was 20 years ago. We were like, this is crazy.

But then we kept being like, well, we're not having a wedding. I like got a used wedding dress and my grandma's Python pumps. As soon as my dad heard actually what a wedding would cost, I think he was very pro elopement. I had such, and I still do, have such a deep desire to have a successful marriage.

I think partly because my parents weren't able to see that all the way through. Justin's parents got married when they were very young and just celebrated their 52nd or 53rd anniversary. That's amazing and so rare. So inspiring. Yeah. But there's a big piece of me that really wants,

now that I have kids, there's a piece of me that just really wants to succeed at it and I get very, almost desperately wants to succeed at it. And that's all to say I have a really great marriage that I love and I love being married. But I sometimes have to remind myself to not set myself up against the standards of my parents. But it's hard because I really,

I want so badly to succeed. I'm a perfectionist too. He also, I'm sure you wouldn't mind me saying this, like he had for a very long time, he had kept saying like, I am in this forever. Like saying like, we're never, like I am in this forever. Like we, I believe in marriage. Like we're in this forever. Like we're gonna make it work.

He had a lot of like his, he really, really like you like was desperate for a, what his parents didn't have. Like a long successful. Sometimes if I just think like that too big picture, it's all the other stuff starts to drive us bat shit crazy instead of just because we're stuck in this whatever, like I can feel us sometimes going, like take each other for granted or whatever,

because instead of just appreciating the day by day, also it helps that I travel sometimes. I think this time away is so important. Yes, I have a joking. It really is. Yeah. Oh my God. I know, isn't it delicious?

So good, so incredible. One of the last times I was at Metamorphosis, I sent you a little video, a huge billboard for Agatha all along. It was right across the street from Metamorphosis. And I sent you a video. I was like, what the fuck, Kathy, you think you're better than us?

And that's all it said. And you responded back saying, as my dad would say, what a handsome woman. And I just saw that you lost your dad in the spring. I'm so sorry, first of all. I sound like you had a really special relationship. I mean, anyone who would call you a handsome woman is my type of guy.

That's actually my friend that said that, but he would have loved him. He wasn't your dad? No, my friend said, you're what my dad would call a handsome woman. Oh my God, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Which I guess is a huge, I take it as a massive compliment. Yeah.

But my dad was also, you would have loved him. He was also just fricking a hilarious, hilarious, hilarious man. Like if he could get in a little rascal and just wreak havoc, even though he really didn't need one, like he would do it. I felt a lot of closure. That's not to say that grief is really a bucking bronco.

Yeah. And it just seems so like permanent. And then to like, you know, know that there's just so much ahead of us. And you know, you're in a place where you're gonna be sending your son off to college soon. It's just, it's wild. Yeah. Oh, Catherine, you gotta get out of here.

Here's your plane. Oh, thank you. The plan should be landing soon. That's how I travel. This episode of Dinners on Me was recorded at Mazal in Lincoln Heights, California. Dinners on Me is a production of Sony Music Entertainment and a kid named Beckett Productions. It's hosted by me, Jesse Tyler Ferguson. It's executive produced by me and Jonathan Hirsch.

Our showrunner is Joanna Clay. Our associate producer is Angela Vang. Sam Bear engineered this episode. Hans-Dyl She composed our theme music. Our head of production is Sammy Allison. Special thanks to Tamika Balanz-Kalasny and Justin Makita. I'm Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Join me next week.