Kathryn Hahn makes unruly people feel as though they have a life beyond the joke. We rate her most when a part leaves room for embarrassment and hurt, though her sharp supporting performances are often reason enough to watch.
Fi1m perspective
Watch Kathryn Hahn in a pause: her face can disclose something a character has not chosen to say. In The Studio (2025), her Maya Mason is especially welcome when the Hollywood farce starts working an embarrassment too hard. We felt relieved by her appearances, because her performance stayed sharp even when a joke had begun to wear out. Alongside Catherine O’Hara’s Patty Leigh, she helps keep the professional chaos from becoming a solo turn for Seth Rogen. The programme can be exhausting, but Hahn gives us a reason to stay with it.
She spent much of her early film career in best-friend and eccentric supporting parts, including How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003). Her Helen in Adam McKay’s Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) belongs to that period of ensemble comedy. We like that film for its cast’s commitment to prolonged stupidity, despite its loose construction and mild interest in sexism. Such parts established her comic usefulness, though they left less room for the quieter reactions and silences that also make her worth watching.
Her first feature lead, Rachel in Afternoon Delight (2013), marked a move towards more substantial dramatic-comedy roles. Private Life (2018) gave her room to move between high-strung comedy and heartbreak, while Mrs. Fletcher (2019) made use of the feelings she can disclose in silence. These are useful places to look beyond the eccentric supporting parts. Her expressive face matters as much as her willingness to be physically comic: we can register a character’s discomfort without needing another line to explain it.
The wider attention brought by WandaVision (2021) and Agatha All Along (2024) followed that move into leading work. We would still make time for her in an ensemble as readily as in a lead. The Studio remains funny and tightly performed, although its affection for its own industry limits how sharply it cuts. Hahn cannot make its satire more ruthless, however well she plays the scenes. For the quieter Hahn, try Mrs. Fletcher.
Biography
Kathryn Hahn is an American actress. She trained at Northwestern University, where she earned a BA in theatre, and at Yale University, where she received an MFA in drama.
Hahn began her career on television as Lily Lebowski in the NBC series Crossing Jordan (2001–2007). She has appeared in supporting roles in comedy films including How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003), Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004), Step Brothers (2008), We're the Millers (2013) and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022). She voiced Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and its sequel (2023).
On television, Hahn has had recurring roles in Parks and Recreation and Transparent, and starred as Agatha Harkness in the Disney+ series WandaVision (2021) and its spin-off Agatha All Along (2024). She plays Maya Mason in the Apple TV+ series The Studio (2025). She has received Primetime Emmy Award nominations for her work in Transparent, WandaVision and The Studio.
