Les Misérables Starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe & Anne Hathaway Opens Christmas Day
/
Anne Hathaway tells Vogue magazine that she knew she nailed her audition for ‘Les Misérables’ and was confident that another actress would have to “do something pretty special” to steal the role away from her.
Hathaway refused to take “no” for an answer when producers ruled her out as being too young to play Fantine, a struggling mom who leaves her daughter Cosette in the care of unscrupulous innkeepers who abuse her.
Talking further about her three-hour audition with ‘Les Miserables’ movie director Tom Hooper, Hathaway says: “Sometimes you leave a room and you feel like maybe you’ve left the door open a crack. This time, I knew that I had slammed it shut behind me.”
Hooper reveals Hathaway had some stiff competition, adding, “It was little short of astonishing - one of the greatest auditions I’ve ever had the privilege to witness. I’d already had a pretty extraordinary group of female film stars come in.
“But what was so inspiring about Annie was that I was sitting there still trying to work out, ‘How does one act through song on film? How do you make these songs work in a close-up and get them to tell a story?’ And Annie provided the answer. It was one of those moments where I relaxed because I thought, ‘Oh, it’s going to work’. She gave me reassurance that what I was aiming for in my head was possible.”
‘Les Misérables’ is an adaptation of the enormously successful stage musical inspired by Victor Hugo’s classic novel set in 19th-century France. It is the story of a paroled prisoner named Jean Valjean who seeks redemption after spending 19 years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread and then trying to escape prison. The British film stars Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe in addition to Anne Hathaway and will open Christimas Day.
