Being cast in a Marvel Studios project is a big deal for many actors. With the Marvel Cinematic Universe one of the most successful and best-known franchises in entertainment, a role for Marvel can be a dream job especially if you happen to already be a Marvel fan. But for WandaVision star Debra Jo Rupp, it wasn’t the prospect of being part of the MCU that led her to accept her role as Mrs. Hart in the Disney+ series. It was her great-nephew who said he wouldn’t speak to her if she didn’t sign on.
In an interview with Collider, sitcom veteran Rupp explained that when she got the call from WandaVision director Matt Shakman, she didn’t really understand what the series was about, but her great-nephew made it pretty clear that the job was one she had to take.
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“I got a call from the director who knew me — I’ve been doing a lot of theater. I come from theater, I like a live audience. I get a lot of energy from an audience and I had just worked at [director Matt Shakman]’s theater in LA, the Geffen Playhouse,” Rupp said. “So he knew me from that and he called and he said, ‘I have a request.’ And then he tried to explain it to me and I understood nothing of what he said. And then my great-nephew said, ‘Aunt Debbie if you don’t take this job, I will never speak to you again.’ So, it all came together and man oh man, I am so happy I did.”
Rupp went on to explain that while her nephew will keep speaking to her, being part of WandaVision has gotten her a lot of attention from younger audiences, something that’s made her experience even better.
“Well, my nephew will keep speaking to me, but it’s the most attention I’ve had in I don’t even know, and it’s like younger people,” Rupp said. “Well, it’s all ages I guess, but a lot of younger people that I’ve missed and so it’s been really nice. It’s been really lovely for me, actually.”
In WandaVision, Rupp plays Mrs. Hart, Wanda and Vision’s neighbor and the wife of Vision’s boss, Arthur Hart. She appears in the first two episodes of the series and for Rupp, who played Kitty Forman on That ’70s Show for 200 episodes, filming on the series was very similar to her previous work.
“It was very similar, absolutely similar,” she said. “They set it up so that it was, we had a week’s rehearsal like you do for a sitcom. It was very what I was used to. The difference was the reaction from the audience because the audience, they’re Marvel people. They came to see a superhero Marvel show and then got this. That was really fun. They got on board and everything, but in the beginning, it was like, ‘Ooh, ooh.’ I can only imagine what they were thinking, which made me laugh.”
The first two episodes of WandaVision are now streaming on Disney+. New episodes drop on Fridays. If you haven’t signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here.
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