Anne Hathaway plays a CEO in her upcoming film, “The Intern,” but she hasn’t always felt large and in charge.
The actress opened up about public scrutiny, her past mistakes and female support in Hollywood in the September issue of InStyle magazine, stating that men have been the cause of her “unlikeable reputation.”
For the Hathaway admits that she felt like she was a victim of public scrutiny, but has come to terms with it over the past few years.
“For a very long time I felt I was being hunted, and it made me very unhappy,” said the actress, who stars alongside Robert De Niro in September release “The Intern.” “But in the past few years, I’ve been working on changing the script inside my head. Life’s too short to be anyone but yourself. Let the chips fall where they may.”
Various news outlets have written articles pondering movie fans’ “hatred” of the actress — a myth, according to Hathaway, who said men are to blame for her reputation, while women in the industry have been supportive.
“You and I both know there is a certain type of media that trades on desperation and will paint someone with that filter if it will make them money, whether the story is true or not … That [New York Times story, titled ‘Do We Really Hate Anne Hathaway?’] was written by a man. Among the women I’ve worked with and met in my industry, I feel supported.”
Yet, she still cries, but not necessarily about things people say about her — she cries mostly at work.
“I felt strongly that my character [in ‘The Intern’] should cry at work,” she said. “I cry all the time. Granted, I’m an actress, so I kind of get a pass, but what’s the big deal if you cry and then get yourself together and move on?”
Written and directed by Nancy Meyers, “The Intern” follows 70-year-old widower Ben Whittaker (Robert de Niro), who discovers that retirement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and gets another shot at work life when he lands an internship through a community outreach program. Hathaway plays fashion company CEO Jules Ostin.
Hathaway also discussed her past mistakes with InStyle and how she felt uncomfortable in her own skin in the past. Lately, however, she has gotten over pretending to be someone she is not and living comfortably with herself, she said.
“There was a stretch of my life when I wasn’t comfortable being myself,” she reveals. “I didn’t think I was good enough. So I pretended to be someone I wasn’t. To be a person in the spotlight, I pretended to be someone who could be in the spotlight. I’m so over that now. I just try to be my best self all the time, with some notable late-night lapses.”
The InStyle September issue goes on sale this Friday, August 14th. Hathaway photographed for InStyle by Michelangelo Di Battista.
