Catherine O'Hara on pickleball, Super Bowl commercials and colorful fan encounters
Yes, Catherine O'Hara can play pickleball and she does enjoy an occasional beer.
That helps to explain why she looks so natural in a new Super Bowl commercial for Michelob Ultra.
In it, the Emmy winner costars with Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe. Titled 'The ULTRA Hustle,' the pair take on comers - professional and otherwise - on the pickleball court in a quest for Michelobs.
And while O'Hara has been in a Super Bowl commercial before, it was a brief appearance in a Nissan ad in 2022. The new commercial called for a bit more work.
It also unlocked a talent for pickleball, she said.
'Everyone was so kind, and the director was so encouraging and great,' O'Hara said. 'So you immediately think, 'Yeah, wait a minute, I'm good. I know what I'm doing.''
She also enjoyed working with Dafoe.
'It was really fun to play this with Willem,' the 'Schitt's Creek' star said. 'He was very collaborative. Willem is loose and funny. He's played so many amazing serious roles, but doesn't take himself seriously.'
Nor does O'Hara.
Her comedy chops are legendary with roles from 'Beetlejuice' to 'Home Alone' and so much more.
The 1990 'Home Alone' film, in which she plays the mother of a little boy (played by then-child star Macaulay Culkin) is especially beloved. O'Hara has a theory as to why.
'It's just an everlastingly great story,' she said. 'And so beautifully executed.'
The movie, she said, continues to resonate with audiences of all ages.
'So many times, children come up to me and say 'Why would you do that to your child?,'' she said. ''Why would you lose your child?''
Not all of her fan encounters are quite as G-rated, however. She recalled one memorable conversation with a couple in a Trader Joe's grocery store in Los Angles.
'They kept saying 'You don't remember us, do you? I go, 'I'm sorry. No. Did I work with you?' It went on and on and they they had this look in their eyes like, come on, you remember,'' O'Hara said, trying not to laugh. 'And finally they told me it was from Sex Positive, an LA sex club! I know I haven't been there, I'm not a member, but whoever is my doppelganger obviously knows what they're doing. This couple had some fond memories, but it wasn't me.'
As for the Super Bowl, her husband is a lifelong Philadelphia Eagles fan so she's rolling with them in solidarity though O'Hara admits that she's not as much of a diehard fan.
So what is she looking forward to seeing on the big day? The same as many other viewers.
'I think half the people that watch it are watching for the commercials,' O'Hara said. 'I'm honored to be in one.'
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