Kathryn Hahn And Kate Hudson Talk About Making Their Glass Onion Characters Pop On-Screen - Exclusive Interview
Any good mystery needs a solid detective at the helm. A good sleuth should instantly stand out, perhaps coming across as a bit eccentric, before showing off their exceptional prowess at solving crimes. However, it would become awfully dull if the detective was the only eccentric character of the bunch.
They need a solid supporting cast of suspects and supporting characters who are fun to watch squirm in their seats as they're questioned. They may even go from a trusted confidante to a prime candidate for committing murder within the span of a few minutes. This is where "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" truly excels. Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is great as always, carrying over from his performance in "Knives Out," but the rest of the cast brings their A game to give him a run for his money.
Two of the suspects on his list include Governor Claire Debella (Kathryn Hahn) and former supermodel Birdie Jay (Kate Hudson). Their personalities couldn't be more different, yet they somehow manage to be completely believable as long-time friends. The two actresses sat down with Looper's sister site, /Film, to talk about the film and how they brought such dynamite characters to life.
Kathryn Hahn on being a hot mess
Both your characters are so unique, and you both bring so much to both of them. Kathryn, Claire becomes more and more of a hot mess as the movie goes on. I think that's fair to say?
Kate Hudson: I love a hot mess.
Kathryn Hahn: I love a hot mess, too. I identify with hot mess.
The hair would get more and more frazzled. Did you have any say in Claire's look as the movie progressed, especially the hair and things like that?
Hahn: Yes. We collaborated a lot in terms of hair, makeup, sunscreen application.
Hudson: Hair dyes.
Hahn: Hair dyes — I didn't have as much [of] a say with that part of it.
Hudson: [I had] a lot of collaboration with that part of it. That was interesting.
Hahn: But yes, my roots [and] my split ends.
How did you use that to get into Claire mode in terms of how she looked?
Hahn: It was fun to see someone whose job revolves around running a tight ship become undone, not being able to rein it in. That was really fun, within the confines of [the] very controlled parameters of her very narrow beige on beige. There was not a lot of room, so it was really fun to find freedom in other ways to express that.
Hudson: Different shades of beige. Freedom in those shades of beige.
Hahn: "Fifty Shades of Beige."
Hudson: It's my new band name.
Hahn: Your erotic thriller trilogy?
Kate Hudson on looking fabulous
Kate, Birdie's almost the opposite because Birdie looks great through the whole thing.
Hudson: Thanks.
Hahn: Fabulous.
Hudson: Thank you.
And I love how you said that she definitely has a spirit to her and a je ne sais quoi.
Hahn: Jenna say, wah.
Hudson: Jenna say, huh?
Hahn: Jenna say, huh?
How did you get prepped to play Birdie? She's always so full of energy, even when things are going to s***, frankly.
Hudson: Right. Gathering energy is usually not a challenging thing for me.
Hahn: Yeah, the opposite. This Debbie Downer of a human.
Hudson: My kids are always like, "Mom, do you ever get tired? How do you [do it]?" I could pull all-nighters, and I'd still be able to muster, so Birdie and energy for me was a good match. [When] creating Birdie, similarly to Kathryn working with the hair and makeup team, I actually brought my makeup artist, who isn't a movie makeup artist — he's a print and more editorial makeup artist — because I thought, "This is such a fun part to be able to play with the way she looks."
We could go there with Birdie. Having a team that can keep me together while we're doing wall sits and headstands in the green room [and] that could actually keep the hair and makeup nice — that was nice to have. Energetically, we all had each other for that. Even when we had long days, we rallied for each other.
"Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" is in theaters now for one week only. It arrives on Netflix on December 23, 2022.