Anne Hathaway – Before She Was a Princess

July 2004 By Philip Berk

Arriving at her press conference for Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, Anne Hathaway looks as if she just stepped out of the frame.

Poised and confident, she’s every inch a princess.

But twice as much fun.

The first Princess Diaries was a surprise hit for Disney, and became a touchstone for teenage girls all over the world.

Is she aware how loyal a following she has?

“I was amazed and shocked at how many little girls embraced the first film. I still get letters from eight-year-olds who tell me they know every line. Girls would come up to me on the street and go, ‘Shut up!’ It was really cute.”

So she doesn’t mind the intrusion?

“Not after I got a letter from a fourteen year old who was worried about her sexuality. She was worried that people wouldn’t accept her for the way she was. It felt good being able to write back and tell her about my experience with a lot of my friends who had come out. I  told her, ‘Embrace who you are, never lie about it, accept every part of  yourself.’  It still warms my heart to this day that I touched someone in that way.”

And being a role model, is she comfortable with that?

“I take it very seriously, but at the same time I never signed on to be a role model to anybody. I hope not to disappoint anyone, but I plan on living my life exactly as I please.”

Does she have a role model?

“My mom” she replies without hesitation, “for reasons that have nothing to do with acting. She’s an incredibly strong person who’s been through a lot in her life, and who at the core is the most loving and caring person I know. Her heart is so in the right place.”

Her mom and dad  accompanied her to her Ella Enchanted press conference.

Did that  embarrass her?

“Not at all. My parents are my two best friends. We have a unique relationship, which a lot of my friends don’t have because it’s based on love and  trust.”

Her mother is an actress and her father, who’s an attorney, handles her business affairs.

Have they always been a strong influence on her?

“They’ve always supported me and growing up they made sure I was exposed to cultural things like museums, theatre, anything they thought I should see.They were crucial in my development.”

Two years ago I pointed out that only her feel good movies seem to be  embraced by the public. Does that tell her something?

“I’ve been lucky that people have responded to me in wholesome family  movies, but that doesn’t mean I’ve typecast myself. I’m just at the beginning of my career, and I’d like to do everything.”

Which is just what she’s been doing, because right now she’s shooting Ang Lee’s controversial Brokeback Mountain, a love story between a ranch hand and a rodeo cowboy, played by Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger. She plays Jake’s wife.

Not quite what you expect from Princess Mia!

How important is her role in the film? I ask her.

Enthusiastically she replies, “The brilliant thing about Brokeback Mountain, its author Annie Prouix didn’t waste one word in telling that story. It was just perfectly constructed. And because the script is close to the book, there isn’t a wasted moment. My character is very important to the story line. The movie follows the interaction between Jake and Heath’s characters, but so much about them is revealed through their relationships with their wives. (Michelle Williams plays the other wife.) It’s a difficult role and many people have complained that the women are portrayed so thanklessly, but I say, they’re portrayed very honestly. They are victims of circumstance and as a result they become very bitter and very wizened.”

The fact that it will be R-rated doesn’t seem to faze her.

In Royal Engagement, Mia has to find a suitable consort in order to ascend the throne.

To cast those young actors, she was required to test with them.

That must have been fun!

“A lot of my friends say to me, ‘You must have so much fun getting to kiss all these really hot guys.’ But honestly when you’re making a movie it’s like shaking hands. Except a little wetter. We had to audition twelve actors, and  Gary (Marshall the director) chose the kissing scene. So I had to kiss about half of them. Most of them were very respectful except one guy, not only was he a bad kisser, he was a terrible actor as well.  He came in and stuck his tongue down my throat. I retaliated by clenching my teeth. But his tongue kept jabbing at my teeth. It was so disgusting. Fortunately before I could turn to Gary, he yelled Cut! But later I watched the footage, and it was funny because in the scene he’s supposed to be chasing me and I’m trying frantically to get away from him.”

Needless to say he didn’t get the job.

Over the years I’ve noticed that the character she plays invariably affects her mood at a press conference. At the Nicholas Nickleby junket, she was shy and demure,  Ella Enchanted made her nervous and insecure.

But with Princess Diaries 2, she is Mia.

And she’s having fun.

Making the sequel, was it like visiting an old friend? 

“Truthfully, I was a little nervous because when you create a character at seventeen and now you’re twenty-one, it’s very different. I worried that I wouldn’t have anything in common with her and worse yet I would find her very dull. But as it turned out. she was just delightful.”

Like Mia, is she looking for Mr. Right?

“She basically has the royal roster,” she jokes.

Does she have a boyfriend?

“Yes I am seeing someone,” she answers.

What are her feelings about marriage?

“It’s a deeply personal institution, and one I don’t believe the government should have any say in.”

In other words she supports gay marriage?

“Absolutely. It should be open to everyone.”

Does she believe in marrying young?

“You should be able to get married at any age. Personally I’m not looking to get married anytime soon. I have a lot more exploring to do. My parents have been married for 23 years, so I have a deep respect for the institution. It’s not something I would enter into lightly”

And then for some reason she adds, “I haven’t found anyone who can accept me totally for who I am.”

Where is she likely to find him?

Blithely she replies, “At places I frequent, like bookstores, art stores, the theatre, walking around Central Park just staring at trees. And he would have to like riding horses as well.”

Does she believe in love at first sight?

“That’s a very good question. I have to be careful how I answer it.”

Then after a moment’s reflection, she adds, “I don’t know if I believe in love at firs sight. I’ve never experienced it myself.”

How about a soulmate?

“I do believe there’s one person for you. If you find that person, it’s such an amazing thing. But I don’t think that happens to everyone. My parents for example are soulmates. I kind of know what I’m looking for, but I haven’t found it yet. But I trust that it’s out there.”

She working on a degree at Vassar, one of America’s snooty colleges.

What is she studying?

“I’m majoring in English, and I have a minor in women’s studies, but now with the world the way it is, maybe political science might be a better minor. I took a class in the Emergence of the Modern Middle East so I could understand more about what’s going on there because at the moment I find it unfathomable.”

Why the Middle East?

“I’m interested in exploring philanthropy, especially on an international level. That’s one of my goals.”

Is she presently attending classes?

“I took off a semester, and I have a few more to go. I’m giving myself a decade to get my degree.”

Does she have any beauty tips?

Obviously unimpressed with the question, she replies, “Believe in yourself, live your life the best way you know, be happy with yourself.’ That  advice will do more for you than any skin care product.”

How come she passed up an opportunity to sing with Julie Andrews (in Diaries 2)?

“Let’s start with the fact that I was a little nervous about being a 21-year-old acting in a G-rated movie. When I sang in Ella Enchanted I had no interest in a music career.” (She’s pursuing one now.) “Plus Mia in the first one wasn’t someone who could sing. She was in the chorus. So because I knew Raven sings, I thought she’d be adorable in that scene, and she certainly gave more to it than I could have.”

Then self deprecatingly she adds, “If I had done it, it wouldn’t have had the same panache.”

How is she in handling her money?

“I have a terrible sense for business. I always expected to do theatre my whole life. I never thought I’d have to worry about a $1500 a week paycheck.”

Could that be all Disney pays her!

No wonder they have a reputation for being cheap!.

Compare the two experiences, making 1 and 2?

“The first one was my first film. (not true, she made The Other Side of Heaven in 2000) “That experience could never be topped by any other film. And working on the second one, I was older, I had seen more of the world. I was more aware of who I was, what I wanted; so it was more difficult to play that role. But I loved the people, and once I settled into the notion I was making a movie that was going to make people happy, it became a cool experience. And how can you not have fun on a Garry Marshall film!”

As a kid, what was she like?

“I was a total bookworm. I’d read like a book a night.”

And she never disobeyed her parents?

“People think I’m very straight laced. I get the goody-two-shoes thing a lot, which is ridiculous because I have no problem being disobedient when I believe in something. I’ve been to political rallies. I’ve voiced my opinion. Maybe I don’t get drunk every night, because that’s not what I do, but civil disobedience is not something I shy away from.”

And for fun, what does she like doing?

“I visit my brother who lives in San Francisco. I visit my friends at Vassar. I go to a movie. I go to a museum. I read a book. I do yoga. I meditate. There are so many good things to do. Just go in the woods and walk around a little bit.”

Does she she cook?

“I’m a terrible cook,  although I make very creative meals that sort of tastes like something, but usually nothing good.  I need lessons so badly.”

Incidentally, she’s never mentioned before that she had a brother! 

I wonder why.