Not every real estate agent sells sunsets. In Ryan Murphy’s The Watcher, when the Brannock family buys their dream home from Karen Calhoun of Darren Dunn Realty, little do they know their lives are about to go down a dark path.
Best known for her roles in Legally Blonde, American Pie, and Best in Show, Emmy winner Jennifer Coolidge co-stars as the ambitious and brassy realtor, donning pastel-colored power suits and making her presence known in every room. Working in real estate requires stellar persuasion skills, and Karen has no problem with being persistent in, and out of, open houses. As the Brannock family is terrorized by cryptic letters at their new residence, Karen urges them to list their home — but can they really trust that she has their best intentions at heart?
Coolidge recently sat down with Tudum to discuss bringing Karen Calhoun to life, her upcoming Halloween costume and who she thinks the Watcher really is.
Karen Calhoun from Darren Dunn Realty is already such an iconic character. What drew you to her?
You sort of dream of playing people like Karen Calhoun because it’s not that much fun to just play someone who’s extremely obedient and ordinary. I mean, she’s sort of a wild card. She’s definitely someone that you have no idea what’s going to come out of her. [She] knows what she wants and she’s extremely ambitious. I think when people get ambitious, something can just take over sometimes and things can really run amok.
You also filmed that very fun open-house promotional video with fake advertisements going up in LA and NYC. How did you step into Karen’s real estate persona?
Ryan [Murphy] and I improvised that on a Saturday during the middle of a snowstorm. We just went through the house and I just improvised my observations about it dressed as my character. When it aired, I got all these messages from friends asking me about the real estate career I was pursuing. Then I realized that they really thought this was my new side gig! I really just think it’s hilarious that they thought I was trying to split it down the middle with the acting and the real estate.
Portraying a real estate agent, you wear a lot of bright power suits. It’s very country club chic. How do you think Karen’s wardrobe informs her as a character?
I really, really dug that they gave me a lot of input with the wardrobe, and I loved coming up with that stuff because there’s some people that really dress for success. Every move is sort of strategic with their clothing.
I felt like that’s sort of who [Karen] is in a nutshell. [She] can’t just go and have something very simple or low-key. She always has to come in and make some kind of statement without trying too hard.
What was it like filming with the rest of the cast?
If you think about the cast that we have for The Watcher, everybody from Margo Martindale, Naomi [Watts], Bobby Cannavale to Mia Farrow, you think, “Oh my god, does it get any better than this?”
And then you’re acting with these people and they’re doing stuff that never even occurred to you that they were going to play. For instance, there was this subtle thing that both Naomi and Bobby did that I didn’t even expect in their performances. There was sort of a denial going on. It was so good and it made the story so much more interesting. Some people really do go into this denial thing because playing with the idea that something really awful exists is too big for some people. I just thought that was genius and made [the story] even more fascinating. I had many moments like that on set.
🤐 SPOILER ALERT 🤐
In the end, Karen moves into 657 Boulevard after the Brannock family flees. Unfortunately, she meets the same fate and gets the shit scared out of her. What was it like filming that entire horror sequence?
It was very intense. It was very long. Took a very long time to shoot that. And I think we tried to get it all in a day or two. Look, what a dream to be an actor, but yeah, I was tired when that ended.
In a past interview, you mentioned that your New Orleans home was built in 1867. Did you draw any inspiration from living in your house?
Yeah, I know what it’s like to be scared. I’ve been scared in my own house, that’s for sure. I’m on the second floor and there’s a floor above me that just has furniture in it, and I hear thumping around upstairs. I had friends say, “Well, that could be a squirrel, rat or a raccoon,” and I’m like, “I'm talking about something very heavy that could only make that much of an impact on the floor.” It’s happening in your own home and it’s just so creepy and eerie.
I also wanted to be in this story because I’ve been on the edge of my seat watching these stories before and they never get old. It’s much more fun for me now to watch things in the day because I just can’t handle them at night. I mean, who wants to be alone in your house at night watching these things?
You’ve also mentioned throwing giant Halloween parties at home every year.
I’m very inspired. This year I’m going to go dressed up as one of the characters of The Watcher.
Are you allowed to say which character you’re dressing up as?
I’m going to be Nora’s son [Carter (Luke David Blumm)].
Lastly, who do you think the Watcher is?
I want it to be [Carter], because it’s the most interesting idea. It would mean that he might have that [condition where] he’s a very old man. I don’t know, it just gets so creepy. When you’ve watched that trailer, the weirdest, the eeriest moment is when he goes, “Can you keep us safe?” Somehow I feel like that could be used later in the creepiest way. You hear him say it again, except he’s got someone in a cage or something.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
