Kathryn Hahn is coming into her power. Why she embraces 'the muck' of messy roles

A few months shy of a milestone birthday, Kathryn Hahn embraces a newfound confidence.

“The ageism is (crazy) in Hollywood,” says the Emmy-nominated actress, 49.  “And I'm finding myself coming into my power more and more the older I get, which is something that I did not expect.” Hahn's power is much more valuable than the magic Marvel witch Agatha Harkness possesses, mainly because Hahn's is real.

The early days of Hahn’s career are a stark contrast to her in-demand status. She finds time to chat from Atlanta, while filming a “WandaVision” spinoff, "Agatha: Coven of Chaos," coming to Disney+, and leads Hulu’s slice-of-life dramedy “Tiny Beautiful Things,” based on Cheryl Strayed's 2012 collection of her advice columns. . All eight episodes stream Friday.

Brooke Shields 'never' reconnected with ex Andre Agassi: 'People process things very differently'

'American Idol': Katy Perry weeps after Fire's duet partner falls ill, quits show on stage

Hahn remembers auditioning in her 20s, “trying to fit into a mold of something that I thought casting directors wanted,” instead of accepting “and loving who I was then. You want to go back to that younger self and give her such a hug and say, ‘You're so perfect, and you're so enough.’”

Hahn’s words are reminiscent of those that aspiring writer Clare Pierce, the focus of “Tiny Beautiful Things,” has for her younger self (played by Sarah Pidgeon). The series toggles between two time periods: Clare's early adolescence with her deeply loving mother (Merritt Wever), and the present day, depicting Clare's struggles as a mom and wife. Young Clare is closely modeled after Strayed's upbringing. Older Clare is Strayed's life as imagined by the author if she hadn't  hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, a healing trek that inspired her 2012 memoir "Wild."

Like Strayed, present-day Clare agrees to take on the persona of advice columnist Sugar.

“I’d say, ‘Stop worrying whether you’re fat,’” Clare advises in the premiere episode. “I’d also say that most things will be OK, eventually. But not everything.”

With time, Hahn's career became more promising.

“I didn't really start working until my late 20s,” Hahn says, “and then nothing really happened till I was in my mid-30s. I still found every piece along the journey was exactly what led up to now. So, you just never, ever have any idea what is in store.”

Early roles included Kate Hudson’s clueless-in-love friend who inspired the article at the center of “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days;” and a grief counselor in six seasons of NBC’s coroner drama “Crossing Jordan.” More recently, Hahn shined in comedic roles in “Step Brothers,” “Bad Moms,” “Transparent,” “The Shrink Next Door,” and “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.” She's admired for her commitment to embracing interesting characters and making smart choices when it comes to indie projects.

'Young Sheldon' star Raegan Revord, 15, reveals she had panic attacks, PTSD after car crash

The Illinois native studied drama at Northwestern and Yale. Her desire to be an actress could be felt deep in her bones, she says.

“Second to my unbelievably beautiful family" – she and husband actor Ethan Sandler have two children – "that's the place that I feel the most excited to be in, is that liminal space between action and cut, when something else is happening, something magic is happening,” she says. “And it's hard to articulate. It's hard to predict chemistry, but when things fall into place, it's like my happiest spot.”

Hahn says she isn’t looking for any roles in particular. “Things still seem to just find their way to me.”

She signed on for “WandaVision” “just because I couldn't believe that I got to play a witch, and she had a big, fabulous reveal, and I got to play in different decades.”

Leonardo DiCaprio takes the stand in Fugees rapper 'Pras' Michel's money-laundering case

Hahn topped the dream list of actors for “Tiny Beautiful Things,” says Strayed, an executive producer alongside Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern.

“It's like everybody wants (Hahn) to be their best friend,” says series creator Liz Tigelaar. “Everybody thinks they probably know her, or she reminds them of somebody… She has a fearlessness that I think one needed to take on a role like this."

“You are going to laugh," Strayed says of the show. "You are going to cry, and you have to have a woman who can play all the complexity of that.”

"As an actor, that's the muck and the stew I am most interested in,” Hahn says. “No one is just one thing. There's always something underneath it.”

“Anyone that says that they've got their (expletive) together, immediately, it's hard for me to trust,” she says. “I think, ‘Aw, come here.’ Because I don't know who isn't going through something at any moment. Life is weird and hard and also beautiful and hilarious.”

Dwayne Johnson reveals 'Moana' live-action remake: 'This story is my culture'

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Kathryn Hahn: How 'Tiny Beautiful Things' star embraces messy roles