Anne Hathaway is a theatre geek. A break-into-song, emotions-on-her-sleeve, goofily self-deprecating theatre geek. Which is exactly what the new production of this December's Les Misérables needs — someone who honors...nay, obsesses over the world of E-flats, Hugo, and the awe-inspiring cult of Les Mis. If you've been following the gradual release of trailers (and trust us, we have), you would have also seen the criticism — the barrage of negative YouTube comments, naysayers saying that Anne's voice sounds "weak" and she'll ruin the production.
Yet, Anne Hathaway would not take on Les Mis without knowing full well what she is capable of doing, and in the December issue of Vogue, she directly addresses her detractors. "A few weeks before we filmed it, I realized how I was going to have to sing it, and that it wasn’t going to be pretty. First of all, it could never have compared with (Broadway singers) Patti LuPone or Lea Salonga...or even my mom, really: powerful singers with big, beautiful voices." (The article points out how emaciated Hathaway had to get for the role, dropping 25 pounds and chopping her lustrous hair.) She explains, "If I went for sounding beautiful while looking like this tragic wreck, it would be ridiculous. And I saw an opportunity, because of the nature of film, to just go for it and let it be alive and present and raw." Take that, YouTube.
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Approaching 30, Hathaway talks about really being comfortable in her own skin — so much so that she has thoroughly enjoyed her short hair stint, saying, "I feel prettier, and much more myself. I guess I just feel much more satisfied with less now.”
However, the most revealing thing about Hathaway's Vogue profile (since anyone who saw 2010's Oscars knew her dyed-in-the-wool theatrical nature) is that the role of Fantine is making the actress more, well, maternal. Not only does the character give up everything to save her daughter, but it was a part that Hathaway's mom once took, too. In fact, it was the last one before she gave up the stage. "It made me think about how fiercely she loved us...Oh, my God. I want to be a mother, and I anticipate loving my children quite fiercely. I think about it all the time, though it’s a silly thing to think about because the kind of mother I’ll be depends on the kind of children I have. I can’t wait to meet them.” We can't either, Anne! (Vogue)
Photos: Courtesy of Vogue