Molly Hagan plays the delightful matriarch of the Walker family on The CW’s Walker. We got the chance to catch up with her and talk to her all about the most recent episode, which shined a light on Abeline and Bonham’s 40th wedding anniversary. Molly talked about their relationship, what’s going on with Abeline and Geri, working on Walker, and more.
Note: This interview was edited for clarity.
Nerds and Beyond: This recent episode is all about celebrating Bonham and Abeline’s anniversary. What do you love most about them and their relationship?
Molly Hagan: What do I love most about them? Well, their longevity and they’re always willing to grow. I mean, no matter how many mistakes I made, he seems to forgive me [laughs] and vice versa. I think it’s just a good partnership. I think there’s certain things that Bonham’s never going to change and she lets slide and there’s certain things that I’m never going to change. I’m kind of a lefty. He’s kind of a righty… I mean, I don’t know how much you ever really see any of that, but that’s sort of behind some of the stuff. I think they accept each other for who they are and also… having a son who’s a Ranger, [and] before that was in the Army… it was a tremendous amount of stress. I think they need each other and I think they’re good for each other.
Nerds and Beyond: I really like how the show doesn’t just focus on Cordell and the kids, but really takes an interest in Bonham and Abeline’s relationship.
Molly Hagan: Yeah, I do too. It’s unusual. I don’t feel like I’m a mom or I’m the grandma. I don’t feel like that at all. I’ve got tons of stuff to do. And Bonham and Abby are such rich, fully developed characters that we’re not afterthoughts.
Nerds and Beyond: There’s a really lovely scene in this episode where Bonham sings to Abeline, can you talk more about filming that scene?
Molly Hagan: Mitch, first of all, is a wonderful singer and can play guitar and he’s been telling them for a while, “I sing.” Every once in a while I sing in something and he’s like, “I don’t understand why everyone else sings in this thing, I actually do sing.” So then, they’re like, “Ok, you want to sing? We’re giving you this song.” So, it was just kind of magical, getting to have him… and he sang live. They pre-recorded it for playback, or other parts of the scene, but when you see him he’s singing that live and I got the benefit of that. It was really touching. Mitch kills me. I mean, he just kills me. No matter what he does, he makes me cry.
Nerds and Beyond: There’s been a lot of tension with Geri and Abeline. But, she shows up at the party and reassures Abeline that she’s still a Walker. Will there be more tension down the line or are things starting to get better with them?
Molly Hagan: I think things are starting to get better, but it’s got to have some sort of backlash at some point. I don’t really know. I mean, if I were Geri, I’d be like, “I’m gonna hold on to this for a while.” I think Abby was in an impossible situation. My whole thing though, is she ultimately is protecting Marv, and I’m like, “Why? Why has she protected Marv?” I say that all the time to myself on the set as Abby. I’m like, “What am I doing? Why am I protecting him?”
Nerds and Beyond: I talked to Jared last month, and he said that there still might be more to the story of the race and the Walker ranch. Is there anything you can tease about that?
Molly Hagan: Jared is an expert at this, I am not [laughs]. I would say… yeah, it’s not over. Can I say that? It’s certainly not over in our hearts. I don’t know how we expect to buy a new ranch. We gave them everything. We gave them our horses. We gave them all the tackle. We left them everything. If we were starting another ranch again, it would cost… I don’t know how we would do it. So this little Airbnb we’re all in, I don’t know how we’re all living there. All of us… all of us. In this little house.
Nerds and Beyond: What’s your favorite part about playing Abeline?
Molly Hagan: My wardrobe [laughs]. I love my wardrobe so much. I think she’s a very strong, flawed person who would make mistakes to protect people and has definitely made mistakes on our own behalf, trying to figure out who she is.
Nerds and Beyond: What has been a favorite moment or a scene that you’ve shot?
Molly Hagan: I just thought about this the other day. It’s so much fun when we all get together… when the whole family gets together, it’s really, really fun. Kelly Williams was the director on this one, “Champagne Problems”, [and] getting to work with her… first of all, she’s a brilliant actress, but she started directing like six years ago. We were in acting class together… so that was kind of especially fun. The whole anniversary thing actually was really, really, fun for me.
Nerds and Beyond: Walker has a lot of intricate storylines and some really good plot twists. So of season one and season two, which has been your favorite plot twist?
Molly Hagan: I’ll tell you what my least favorite was, Hoyt dying [laughs]. Well, actually, Hoyt and Clint dying. That was my favorite episode. I mean, hard, but it was still my favorite episode.
Nerds and Beyond: Everyone that I’ve talked to who has been on Walker, talks about what a lovely atmosphere there is on set. What has been your favorite thing about working on Walker so far?
Molly Hagan: I don’t laugh as hard, ever, as when I’m on the set. Everyone’s really nice, but they’re also really, really, really funny. Especially if there are a bunch of us in a scene. The crew is really funny too. I mean, [there are] really big senses of humor on the set. It’s a joy. The other day I texted Mitch after coming home and was like, “I cannot believe we get paid for this!” This is the second year and some of us should be remotely jaded or whatever, and we’re not. I’m so excited to still go to work. The personalities on the set are just a lot of fun… truly a lot of fun.
Walker airs on The CW on Thursdays at 8/7c. Episodes are also available the next day to watch on The CW’s app.
