Anne Hathaway’s identify is synonymous with early ’00s rom-coms, however the actress stopped getting pitched romantic scripts as she neared her 40s — till The Thought of You got here alongside.
“I didn’t discover that it was occurring, however I had acquired a number of romantic scripts in my 20s. After which in my 30s, I used to be sort of so targeted on my household life and motherhood and sort of looking for no matter my path was going to be, being an actress whereas having this actually, actually wealthy private life,” Hathaway, 41, informed reporters throughout The Thought of You press convention earlier this month. “And so I didn’t discover, I hadn’t been despatched a romantic script in a extremely very long time. So when [The Idea of You] discovered its technique to me, it was such a ravishing character in such an incredible world.”
Primarily based on Robinne Lee’s 2017 e book of the identical identify, Hathaway performs the function of Soléne within the Prime Video movie, a not too long ago divorced 40-year-old who falls in love with 24-year-old musician Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine) after taking her daughter, Izzy (Ella Rubin), to see her favourite band August Moon play Coachella.
Whereas Hathaway stated that she was “honored” to obtain a proposal to play the half, she admitted that it induced her to surprise, “The place have all these tales gone?”
“Why do they cease? … I don’t know,” she continued. “After which these questions, I noticed the entire paths to the solutions within the script and within the story, and I simply thought, ‘Whoa, what an unbelievable kind of meta exploration all of this may be.’”
Hathaway was 39 when manufacturing on The Thought of You started and turned 40 throughout filming. Reaching the milestone induced the expertise to turn out to be way more self-reflective than Hathaway anticipated.
“With out me even designing it or any of us designing it, it turned so private to me,” she shared. “After which the way in which it got here along with [director] Michael Showalter … after which when the forged got here collectively, it was, like, recreation over. I might go on and on about it.”
Nicholas Galitzine as ‘Hayes Campbell’ and Anne Hathaway as ‘Solène’ in “The Thought Of You” Courtesy of Prime
Thought of You producer Cathy Schulman led the cost in ensuring it was Hathaway who introduced Soléne to life. In accordance with her, the event workforce crafted your complete challenge round Hathaway earlier than the actress even had an opportunity to simply accept.
“It’s this factor that I all the time train my younger executives to not do, which is don’t develop a complete challenge hoping you’re going to get one actress. It by no means works. Solely on this explicit case, she’s the one one who learn it,” Schulman informed reporters throughout the press convention. “She was our first selection. She stated sure, and it was a dream come true that that really occurred.”
Schulman famous that after Hathaway was on board, the ladies have been capable of “take the character from the e book and personalize her in a manner that felt like she might be any of us.”
“I believed that Annie would be capable to carry that facet to Len’s character,” Schulman added, “and he or she actually did.”
Anne Hathaway as ‘Solène’ and Nicholas Galitzine as ‘Hayes Campbell’ in “The Thought Of You” Alisha Wetherill/Prime
A lot of what makes The Thought of You so particular is the story of a girl over 40 discovering her happiness, however one other major part is the chemistry between Soléne and Hayes. These fireworks are one thing Galitzine stated got here naturally for the duo, who fashioned an nearly “speedy” connection.
“Annie and I felt a chemistry and a connection between us instantly and a simpatico,” he defined, noting that he was “stuffed with a way of pleasure” coming to set every day, which is “not all the time the case.”
Hathaway, in the meantime, credit the magic between her and Galitzine to each actors being “very playful folks.”
“As soon as we figured that out, all the pieces else was simply sort of establishing a friendship, actually,” she stated. “So it sort of has labored the way in which friendships work in that it doesn’t really feel like work in any respect. … I’m simply so glad to have made buddies with an exquisite individual and somebody so gifted, and he was a lot forward of him.”
She added, “I felt actually, actually cared for and supported on this film. I simply knew that no matter I used to be doing, Nick was there with me step for step. And it was a extremely, actually stunning, very weak expertise.”
The Thought of You debuts on Prime Video Could 2.