Anne Hathaway known to date for her iconic role in “The Devil Wears Prada,” channeling the steely persona of Miranda Priestly (played by Meryl Streep), found herself at the center of online hate in 2013, just after winning the Oscar for Les Misérables. In a recent cover story interview with Vanity Fair, Anne Hathaway revealed that it was Christopher Nolan who helped her career weather the storm of negative public opinion.
She even shared how anxiously she Googled herself, only to find a top search article titled “Why Does Everyone Hate Anne Hathaway?” What exactly went down with the actress back in the day for the role that garnered so much negativity? Let’s dig in!
A lot of people wouldn’t give me roles because they were so concerned about how toxic my identity had become online.
Anne Hathaway
Anne Hathaway Almost Lost Her Career After Winning The Oscars
In the initial days of her career, she suffered from severe anxiety attacks but felt isolated and unable to confide in anyone. This isolation also negatively impacted her public image, as instances of her keeping the set waiting surfaced.
For the role of Fantine in Les Misérables, Anne Hathaway had to lose 25 pounds to make it look authentic and detailed. She was so in the character that she often asked for more than 20 takes of “I Dreamed a Dream,” even after the director’s green signal, to perfect the role.
The hatred was so out of line that Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele addressed the negative comments about the actress. The comedians directly referred to the people who hated Anne Hathaway for no reason as “Hathahaters” (combining “Hathaway” and “haters”) in their jokes and were quite upset upon reading a tabloid story about the actress.
anne hathaway gets emotional about ‘the princess diaries’
“i’m just so proud to be in this movie” pic.twitter.com/yOJWIsyntt
— 2000s (@PopCulture2000s) March 25, 2024
However, with the help of Christopher Nolan, Anne Hathaway bagged the role of Dr. Amelia Brand, a NASA scientist, in the movie Interstellar in 2014. Anne Hathaway admired director Christopher Nolan’s firm style of direction.
I had an angel in Christopher Nolan, who did not care about that and gave me one of the most beautiful roles I’ve had in one of the best films that I’ve been a part of.
Anne Hathaway
During an interview with Emily Blunt for Variety’s “Actors on Actors” series, Anne Hathaway described a scene on the set of “The Dark Knight Rises” where Nolan directly told her that he could be very demanding about the scenes and that he had been envisioning Anne Hathaway for this particular role for years. Hathaway liked Nolan’s clear vision, and these abilities helped her believe in herself as an actress.
In a 2014 Harper’s Bazaar interview, Hathaway articulated the abuse she received following the Oscars as feeling “punched in the gut.” The actress went on to say, she was deeply affected by the relentless insults, to the point that she still feels the sting. However, despite being hurtful, she conceded that the criticisms had ultimately helped her gain confidence.
Source: Variety
