5 Times Kathryn Hahn Stole the Show & 5 Times You Might Have Not Realized It Was Her

5 Times Kathryn Hahn Stole the Show & 5 Times You Might Have Not Realized It Was Her

Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Kathryn Hahn performances that blew us away — as well as the ones that went underappreciated at the time.

#5: Alice Huff, “Step Brothers” (2008)
Stole the Show

Early in her career, Hahn was often pigeonholed and typecast as one-dimensional wives, sisters, friends, and associated supporting characters. This didn’t give her a chance to paint with a full palette and put her now-obvious comedic skills to use. Thankfully, “Anchorman” and “Talladega Nights” director Adam McKay saw what she was really capable of, casting her as the deeply quirky, deeply erratic Alice in “Step Brothers.” A bored, repressed housewife, Alice sees John C. Reilly’s immature Dale as an exciting alternative to her jerk husband, Adam Scott’s Derek. Their one-sided affair resulted in some of the funniest moments of either actor’s career, and made audiences take notice of Hahn’s considerable talent and range!

#5: Bristol, “The Holiday” (2006)
Might Not Have Realized

When we say that Hahn was often pigeonholed into the “supportive friend” role, this is kind of what we’re talking about. And to be clear, that’s not a knock on “The Holiday,” a modern-day Christmastime rom-com classic, which pays loving homage to the screwball comedies of the 1940s. How could we deny “The Holiday’s” earnest warmth, as well as its cast’s blinding charm? In any case, Hahn plays Bristol, an employee of Cameron Diaz’s Amanda, a talented but lonely editor of Hollywood movie trailers. Although Hahn doesn’t get much to do, she proves that there are no bit parts. And hey — is that John Krasinski?!

#4: Eve Fletcher, “Mrs. Fletcher” (2019)
Stole the Show

This sorely underrated HBO miniseries allowed for Hahn to simultaneously flex her comedic and dramatic acting muscles. Created by Academy Award nominee Tom Perrotta and directed by a superstar rotation of female directors, “Mrs. Fletcher” finds Hahn’s Eve Fletcher undergoing a transformative midlife crisis. The New York Times’ Margaret Lyons praised Hahn’s performance by noting that “[she] has played Eve-like roles before and she is again wonderful here, a walking sad secret with pretty hair, playing the silliness and the anguish of Eve’s horny season.” “Mrs. Fletcher” lets Hahn interrogate, subvert, and navigate the inner life of the type of character she’d been relegated to playing in the past.

#4: Edie Fitzgerald, “We’re the Millers” (2013)
Might Not Have Realized

Although this raunchy “family” comedy was a colossal sleeper hit at the time of its release, grossing $270 million on a $37 million budget, you’d be forgiven for forgetting Kathryn Hahn’s supporting role. As part of a murderer’s row cast that includes Jennifer Aniston, Jason Sudeikis, and “Parks & Rec” star Nick Offerman as Hahn’s fictional husband, one would worry that she’d fade from view amongst the film’s stars. Thankfully, this is Kathryn Hahn we’re talking about. As her career progressed, it became clearer and clearer that Hahn excelled at exaggerating, heightening, and deepening a very particular “suburban mom” archetype.

#3: Claire Debella, “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” (2022)
Stole the Show

After the runaway success of “WandaVision” — don’t worry, we’re getting to it — Hahn found herself on the precipice of a new career era. One such role she accepted in that time was that of fictional Connecticut governor-turned-senate hopeful Claire Debella. Rian Johnson’s first “Knives Out” film had featured a superstar cast, and the pressure was on for its sequel to deliver the goods once again. Johnson didn’t disappoint, casting up-and-comers like Hahn in addition to Hollywood mainstays like Edward Norton and Kate Hudson. As a career politician who’s deathly concerned with her public image, Hahn plays to her strengths in bringing the tense Debella to life.

#3: Milly Campbell, “Revolutionary Road” (2008)
Might Not Have Realized

Never mind not realizing that Kathryn Hahn plays a fairly major supporting role in “Revolutionary Road,” you might be hard-pressed to remember that this movie exists, period. And that’s despite the fact that it literally stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, reuniting for the first time since “Titanic,” a decade earlier. Unfortunately, all “Revolutionary Road” really had going for it was its cast, including an Oscar-nominated Michael Shannon in a breakout role. Otherwise, Oscar winner Sam Mendes’ film received lukewarm reviews, with Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter commenting that “[s]ubtlety is not one of Mendes' strong suits.” Funnily enough, Hahn is paired with another actor who had a protracted journey to fame: future “Stranger Things” star David Harbour!

#2: Rachel Biegler, “Private Life” (2018)
Stole the Show

While Hahn clearly has great taste in scripts, it’s a legitimate shame that general audiences weren’t hip to her abilities until “WandaVision.” Director Tamara Jenkins’ “Private Life,” a bittersweet indie dramedy that co-stars Oscar nominee Paul Giamatti, is a perfect example of this. Hahn shines as Rachel, a frustrated, middle-aged professional who, along with her husband Richard, is desperate to bear a child. Once again, “Private Life” works as a tremendously well-suited showcase for Hahn’s acting, and it’s a disappointing surprise that her performance didn’t make the Academy stand up and take notice.

#2: Michelle Rueben, “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” (2003)
Might Not Have Realized

This is the kind of movie moment that makes you go, “Wait, that was Kathryn freakin’ Hahn?!” One of the first in a line of thankless “plain best friend” roles for Hahn, it can’t be argued that that the veteran performer imbues Michelle with a depth and humanity that likely didn’t come across on the page. Placed in sharp contrast to Kate Hudson’s glamorous Cosmo writer Andie, you might not have realized that Hahn played such a substantial role in this now-classic rom-com. That said, we can all agree that, when she’s on-screen, Hahn definitively steals the show.

#1: Agatha Harkness, “WandaVision” (2021)
Stole the Show

See? We told you we were getting to it! In the role that finally made her a household name, Hahn received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. Like other examples we’ve shown you on this list, part of the genius in casting Hahn is that you instantly trust and believe in her. That’s why, spoiler alert, it was an Internet-breaking shock when Wanda Maximoff’s goofy neighbor “Agnes” turned out to be orchestrating a dastardly plot to enslave the citizens of quiet Westview. That’s right, folks… it was Agatha, all along.

#1: Dr. Olivia "Liv" Octavius / Doctor Octopus, “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” (2018)
Might Not Have Realized

We’re not sure exactly who came up with the stroke of genius necessary to cast Hahn as a female Doc Ock variant in the first “Spider-Verse” film, but whoever it was, they deserve a raise. Attempting to prevent the destabilization of every universe, the film’s two main Spider-Men break into a research facility, where they’re cornered by Hahn’s creepy crawler. For obvious reasons, Hahn seamlessly sinks into this voice role without you realizing that it’s her at all. A cameo hidden ahead of the film’s release, not only is the revelation that Hahn’s character is a supervillain in hiding totally mind-blowing, but so is the fact that it’s Hahn altogether!

What’s your favorite Kathryn Hahn performance? Let us know in the comments!