Anne Hathaway Says Christopher Nolan Saved Her Career After Toxic Online Backlash Cost Her Roles and More News

Michael Prieve 4 Min Read
Anne Hathaway April 2024 Issue Vanity Fair
Photo by Norman Jean Roy/Vanity Fair

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In a recent deep-dive profile by Vanity Fair, Anne Hathaway celebrated for her role in The Dark Knight Rises, opened up about overcoming a significant hurdle in her career caused by the wave of online bullying known as the “Hathahate” movement. This period of intense internet scrutiny in the mid-2010s saw Hathaway facing unexpected challenges in securing acting roles as the online backlash tarnished her public image.

Despite the widespread negativity, renowned director Christopher Nolan, with whom Hathaway had previously collaborated, offered her a career-lifting opportunity by casting her in the 2014 Sci-Fi epic, “Interstellar.” Reflecting on Nolan's decision, Hathaway expressed gratitude, suggesting that Nolan’s support came at a crucial time, ensuring her career maintained its momentum.

In Interstellar, Hathaway starred alongside Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Chastain, Matt Damon, and a young Timothée Chalamet, portraying Dr. Amelia Brand, a dedicated NASA scientist and astronaut. This role showcased her versatile acting skills and marked a turning point, allowing her to move past the professional setbacks induced by online harassment.

Anne Hathaway April 2024 Issue Vanity Fair
Photo by Norman Jean Roy/Vanity Fair

The Oscar-winning actress has been vocal about her struggles during the peak of the “Hathahate” movement, which she attributes to a harsh period of self-criticism that began in her early childhood. Highlighting her experiences during speeches, such as her 2022 Women in Hollywood speech for Elle, Hathaway shared how the externalization of her self-inflicted pain in the public domain was challenging.

This tumultuous phase was notably marked by her 2011 Oscars hosting performance with James Franco and the subsequent awards campaign for “Les Misérables,” which nonetheless culminated in an Oscar win for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Hathaway credits Nolan for not only seeing beyond the negative online persona but affording her one of the most significant roles of her career, thus playing a pivotal role in her professional resurgence and image rehabilitation.

“A lot of people wouldn’t give me roles because they were so concerned about how toxic my identity had become online,” Hathaway told VF before revealing the role that Nolan inadvertently played in her image rehabilitation. “I had an angel in Christopher Nolan, who did not care about that and gave me one of the most beautiful roles I’ve had in one of the best films that I’ve been a part of.”

“Humiliation is such a rough thing to go through,” she continued. “The key is to not let it close you down. You have to stay bold, and it can be hard because you’re like, ‘If I stay safe, if I hug the middle, if I don’t draw too much attention to myself, it won’t hurt.’ But if you want to do that, don’t be an actor. You’re a tightrope walker. You’re a daredevil. You’re asking people to invest their time and their money and their attention and their care into you. So you have to give them something worth all of those things. And if it’s not costing you anything, what are you really offering?”

Read the full interview at Vanity Fair.


Plus, Rebel Wilson, Sacha Baron Cohen, Bianca Censori, Morgan Wade news, and more! Keep scrolling to check out today's entertainment and pop culture news.

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