Sasheer Zamata has long been fascinated by witches, and now she plays one on Marvel and Disney+’s Agatha All Along.
The actress had a few bits about witches in her stand-up routine, and put several of them together for her 2023 show Sasheer Zamata: The Last Woman, now streaming on Hulu. So when the role of witch Jennifer Kale came along, it felt like kismet.
“I’m fascinated with women who don’t fit a certain mold,” says Zamata. “It felt magical that I was already doing research on witches before auditioning for the show. It felt very much in tune with the universe and the energy that I was already putting out there.”
Research included reading Kristen J. Sollee’s book Witches, Sluts and Feminists: Conjuring the Sex Positive and Witches, Midwives & Nurses by Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English. She says the latter came in handy when preparing for the show, because producers wanted her character to have knowledge of medicine and midwifery. On Agatha All Along, Zamata’s character joins a band of misfit witches, led by the now powerless Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn), who agree to walk the legendary Witches’ Road in hopes of regaining their magic. Zamata describes her character as a prim and proper witch who’s challenged by literally getting her hands dirty throughout the journey. Her character, she says, has operated on her own for so long, she also has real trouble trusting others.
“Jennifer Kale is very strong — and strong-willed,” Zamata says. “She’s sarcastic, and so am I. She pushes Agatha’s buttons, and it’s fun to do that with Kathryn Hahn.”
The actress notes that while her character is in the Marvel Comics, the show’s writers created a rendition of Jennifer Kale that’s a bit different from the original, now a prissy, health-conscious witch. In reality, she says, witches are hard to define. Some use the term "witch" to demonize people and turn them into social outcasts. But a witch can be any woman who’s knowledgeable and powerful, she adds. “It’s someone who’s self-sustaining, someone you can look to for magic,” she says. “In this show, you’re going to see a lot of different versions and definitions of a witch. I hope people will watch the show and see a little bit of a witch in themselves, too.”
As for Zamata, she says she definitely holds a witch inside herself. “I have crystals all over the place,” she notes, chuckling. “I’ve been to ‘witch’ gatherings where it’s really just women setting intentions and tapping into their inner beings. I like that stuff, because even if you don’t believe in it, there’s something to [the act of] saying things out loud and putting intention toward your words and energy.”
You could even say Zamata’s fascination with crystals and the like stems from her first name. Her parents are huge Star Trek fans, and one episode of the 1960s show (“By Any Other Name”) had Captain Kirk flirting with an alien princess. Her parents named her after an alien flower-like crystal on that planet: the “Sahsheer.”
Born in Okinawa, Japan, Zamata moved frequently because her father was in the Air Force. “My dad loved comic books, so he’d take me to all these comic book stores,” she says. “My first comic book of choice was the Archie comics, because they were at kid-height in the bins, and cartoonish. As I got older, I branched out to the Marvel comics. It feels very fitting to be involved in Marvel now.”
After graduating from the University of Virginia with a bachelor’s in Drama, Zamata moved to New York, intending to pursue a career on Broadway. But then she started going to a comedy theater to watch shows, and began exploring improv, sketch comedy and open-mic nights. The change in direction led to co-starring in the ABC News hidden camera series Would You Fall For That?, becoming a cast member on the MTV series Hey Girl and appearing in sketches on Comedy Central’s Inside Amy Schumer.
Her YouTube videos caught the attention of Saturday Night Live producers, and she was invited to audition for the show. In 2014, Zamata became its fifth Black woman cast member. She’s quick to name all four of the women who preceded her, acknowledging the work it took to achieve their goals. “Being on SNL was a dream of mine,” she says. “I love using humor to connect with people. It breaks down barriers and defenses, and helps get to the meat of why we are similar. In my stand-up, I talk about topics like race, gender, class, history, America and many things in a way that doesn’t ruffle people because I’m using humor.”
She says working on that show was a boot camp for navigating the industry as a whole, helping to build confidence that she could do anything. When the actress was asked to send in an audition tape for Agatha All Along, she didn’t hesitate. Zamata was shooting ABC’s Home Economics when she got the call congratulating her for nailing the part of Jennifer Kale.
“I was screaming my head off when my agents told me I got the role,” Zamata says. “Life has kind of been a celebration since then.”
Agatha All Along is now streaming on Disney+.
