Anne Hathaway has no sex appeal! Sounds weird, right? “The Princess Diaries” actress revealed that this is what Hollywood experts told her in her early career days. However, she didn’t get discouraged even as a young actor struggling to get roles. “I was like, ‘I’m a Scorpio. I know what I’m like on a Saturday night,’” she said.
Dealing with the male gaze
In a recent interview, Anne did a tell-all when she shocked us about when people thought she was bland-looking. At 17, she got her shot at fame with Disney’s “The Princess Diaries.” At that time, Hollywood had a strange way of looking at the term sexy. The cultural definition was much more narrow, she said, compared to her later days of stardom.
Hathaway noted, “The male gaze was very dominant and very pervasive and very juvenile.” But “The Devil Wears Prada” star never bought into that claim, and thank God for that. Anne always felt that feelings carry more weight than one’s physical appearance.
Nolan came to Hathaway’s rescue
Anne Hathaway won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for “Les Miserables” in 2013, and suddenly, online hate started pouring in. There was no triggering issue that happened; people simply didn’t like the way she celebrated. So, this career-high moment brought grief also as the media labelled her “annoying.” This phenomenon got a name, too – “Hathahate.”
When she addressed this online flak, she lost out on projects with meaty roles due to her “toxic” behaviour. “They were so concerned about how toxic my identity had become online,” she opened up. And as Hollywood won’t cast her anymore, director Christopher Nolan came to her rescue with “Interstellar.”
“I had an angel in Christopher Nolan, who did not care about that,” she praises the filmmaker. And Anne got to play one of the most beautiful roles in one of the best films of her career.
Anne Hathaway promotes female pleasure
In the latest film “The Idea of You,” Anne plays a cougar who has an affair with a boy band lead singer. Solène is a 40-year-old single mother who unexpectedly falls for a 24-year-old pop singer, who is also her daughter’s favourite artist. The film, based on Robinne Lee’s bestselling novel, is sort of like a coming-of-age drama for the single mom.
“It’s never too late for a woman to come of age,” says the “Oceans 8” actress, adding that the movie is also sex-positive. “It’s not like one female orgasm is going to change the world,” but Anne Hathaway took up the project opposite Nicholas Galitzine just “to have fun,” she continues. “The Idea of You” is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.