Anne Hathaway recalled an earlier time in her career when she was required to make out with 10 men as part of a chemistry test for an audition.
“Back in the 2000s — and this did happen to me — it was considered normal to ask an actor to make out with other actors to test for chemistry. Which is actually the worst way to do it,” she explained in an interview with V Magazine out Monday.
“‘We have 10 guys coming today and you’re cast,’” Hathaway detailed. “‘Aren’t you excited to make out with all of them?’ And I thought, ‘Is there something wrong with me?’ Because I wasn’t excited. I thought it sounded gross.”
The Oscar-winning actress had multiple hit films in the ’00s — including “The Princess Diaries,” “Ella Enchanted,” “Brokeback Mountain” and “The Devil Wears Prada,” to name a few.
Hathaway, who stars in and is producing “The Idea of You,” shared that while no one was intentionally trying to scar her in the audition process, she recognizes that certain interviewing procedures were either outdated or completely unnecessary. Now that she’s in a position to advocate for herself and others on set, Hathaway highlighted the fears she had about speaking up when she was a younger actress.
“I was so young and terribly aware how easy it was to lose everything by being labeled ‘difficult,’ so I just pretended I was excited and got on with it,” Hathaway said. “It wasn’t a power play, no one was trying to be awful or hurt me. It was just a very different time and now we know better.”
Her romcom “The Idea of You” costarring Nicholas Galitzine and directed by Michael Showalter premieres May 2 on Prime Video. It previously had its SXSW debut on March 16.
