Why Sasheer Zamata Says ‘Agatha All Along’ Was ‘Grounding’

Sasheer Zamata said goodbye to her “Agatha All Along” character, Jennifer Kale, by flying off into the sunset –– literally. On her final day of filming for the Disney+ and Marvel series, Zamata clawed her way out of a hole in the ground and then, with the help of a harness and a crane, took flight in a moment of rebirth.

“That was the last thing I shot for the show, and, I mean, just so many emotions, so many tears,” Zamata says. “It was so beautiful. The actual sky was beautiful and being able to do a stunt like that was really cool. But it was also such a representation of the actual end of this journey. Like, there she goes.”

The tears were warranted and undoubtedly shared by many of those watching at home. Over the course of the series, Jen evolves from a powerless witch hocking legally dubious candles, to a sorceress liberated from the binds that kept her grounded. All because she reluctantly joins the conniving Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) for a stroll down the subterranean Witches’ Road, a mystical endurance challenge that is said to reward those who make it to the end with their greatest desire. The road is eventually exposed as a magical fiction spun by Billy Maximoff (Joe Locke), and Jen is its sole survivor who still gets what she wanted: the powers that were stolen from her a century ago, by Agatha no less.

Her emotional journey isn’t one without humor. In fact, the century of powerless isolation, cast out by her coven, left Jen with a sharp-tongued mistrust of others and a side-eye that could bring you to your knees. But ultimately, she emerges as a compassionate, driven leader of this chosen coven she comes to love.

Zamata’s career has largely been defined by comedic roles, first with stand-up, then a three-season stint on “Saturday Night Live,” followed by key roles in “Home Economics” and “Woke.” But “Agatha All Along” marks a sea change for the actress, who got to explore the intertwined threads of comedy and drama with forces of nature like Hahn, Patti LuPone and Aubrey Plaza.

“The stunts are something I’ve never done,” she says. “I’ve never flown like that before. And I honestly have never cried so much on a project before, and that’s very cool. Because it’s not just crying. It’s tapping into a level of depth that I think the audience can also connect to, and I love that. That’s why I perform. I perform to connect with an audience. I started off doing live performances and being able to feel that energy from a crowd; it feeds me too.”

As is often the case with Marvel, Jen’s flight at the end of the series doesn’t have an epilogue detailing what she did with her newly restored powers. But Zamata has ideas.

“I feel like Jen’s desire to get back to her roots is so strong throughout this that you can’t help but feel it,” she says. “She’s been without her magic, without being in touch with who she is, for a century. That’s so hard, and I think a lot of people really want to see a win.”

It was also a win for Zamata, who underwent a transformation of her own with Jen’s guidance.

“I honestly feel like I’m more in tune with nature since playing Jen,” she says. “Like getting my hands in the dirt more. I’m grounding myself more. I’m pressing flowers. One of Jen’s strengths is using the environment around her to create magic, and I do feel like I’m appreciating the magic that already exists within nature and trying to use that more in my own life.”