Anne Hathaway recently recalled a “gross” audition she once did where she made out with 10 different men.
According to Hathaway, who sat down for an interview with V Magazine, she once partook in a “chemistry chest.” This involved her making out with 10 men to rate their on-screen chemistry.
“Back in the 2000s – and this did happen to me – it was considered normal to ask an actor to make out with other actors to test for chemistry, which is actually the worst way to do it,” Hathaway said. “I was told, ‘We have 10 guys coming today and you’re cast. Aren’t you excited to make out with all of them?’ … I thought, ‘Is there something wrong with me?’ Because I wasn’t excited.”
While she kept the name of the movie private, she went on to express her disgust toward the situation.
“I thought it sounded gross. I was so young and terribly aware of how easy it was to lose everything by being labeled ‘difficult,’ so I just pretended I was excited and got on with it.”
Anne Hathaway Reflects On “Gross” Audition Involving Making Out With 10 Men
As Hathaway recalled the “gross” chemistry test she’d previously agreed to, she made sure to note that “it wasn’t a power play, no one was trying to be awful or hurt me,” she said. “It was just a very different time and now we know better.”
Currently, Hathaway is starring in and producing the new movie, The Idea of You. Now that she’s grown in her career, she can easily reflect on old patterns that no longer work. Thankfully, she’s been able to learn from it.
For her new film, “We asked each of the actors coming in to choose a song that they felt their character would love, that they would put on to get my character to dance, and then we’d do a short little improv,” she said. “I was sitting in a chair like we had come in from dinner or a walk or something, we pressed play, and we just started dancing together.”
This certainly seems like a much better chemistry test/audition than what Hathaway endured earlier in her acting career.
The Idea of You will start streaming on Prime Video on Thursday, May 2.