Introducing ‘The Interview’: Anne Hathaway Is Done Trying to Please

hey it's Michael just want to let you. know what we're up to this weekend in. the daily feed our colleagues have been. working on a brand new show one that. they're calling simply the interview. it'll be hosted some weeks by Lulu. Garcia novaro you may know her from the. show first person or from NPR other. weeks it'll be hosted by David maresi. who's been doing a terrific interview. fature for the Times magazine over the. past few years on the show David and. Lulu will be interviewing all kinds of.

interesting people actors politicians. writers we're not going to spill too. many details right now but we can say. their opening lineup looks. fantastic that includes this weekend. when they're launching the show David is. speaking with the actress an Hathaway. Lulu is speaking with yair Leed the. leader of the opposition party in Israel. so this weekend we're going to bring you. both of those shows and then in the. following weeks we'll be sharing every. episode here on Saturday in the daily.

feed okay here's one of the First. episodes of the interview David speaking. with Anne hathway take a. listen this is the interview a new show. from the New York Times I'm David. maresi on one level and Hathway's new. movie the idea of you couldn't be more. straightforward it's an adaptation of a. novel about a woman who winds up in a. relationship with a much younger singer.

in a boy band the movie is an update of. the kinds of movies that Hathaway was. known for earlier in her career movies. like The Princess Diaries and the devil. weare's Prada these were movies where. young women find themselves in entirely. new situations and have to adapt to high. pressure and glamorous Worlds the twist. for the new movie though is that hathway. is playing a 40-year-old divorced mom so. she's coming in a little less storyy. about the whole thing but the idea of. you also works on another more. complicated I think you could even say.

meta level it's a movie about women. pushing against societal expectations of. them and getting hate for it and that is. something hathway knows a bit about a. decade ago around the time she won an. Oscar for larab the internet turned on. Anne hathway people decided inexplicably. that she was an inauthentic striver or. something like that and the unfair. backlash earned a nickname of its own ha. a hate you might remember it and it. makes even less sense to me now than it. did then but as hathway told me for her.

the past decade has been about letting. go of people's opinions and expectations. including those of interviewers like me. but that hasn't made her any less fun to. talk to in some ways it's made her more. interesting than ever and I think a. great guest for my first episode here's. my interview with Anne. [Music]. hathway hi guys nice to meet you I'm. David nice to meet you David I'm Annie.

okay so there are a bunch of things that. are intriguing to me about the new movie. one of which is I think in kind of an. interesting way that there are a few. little what I took to be like Ann. Hathaway psychological Easter eggs. sprinkled throughout the film and I'll. interesting I'll get to those but first. you haven't done a romance in really. kind of a while I think it was you know. since the days of one day and um loving. other drugs more than 10 years ago now.

so just to start can you talk to me. about why you wanted to do this. movie it's such a softball question and. I can feel my brain complicating it no I. want you to I go as complicated as you. can make it that's much better sorry. everybody I'm still I'm if you can. believe it after all of these years I'm. I always still find it so much more. natural to express my thoughts and my. feelings through characters and through. the story so part of me just wants to be. like well just see the movie that's why. I want to make it but then I I I.

realized that I should probably be able. to describe it so this is a movie about. a woman healing her heart after a. massive trust. trauma. and it says that a bloom can happen in a. person's life at any stage and I really. found myself almost. possessed with the need to explore what. those two things meant and looked like.

so I'm now curious about kind of the. nature of that possession that you just. described was it about like an abstract. level or did you find it connected to. something about you in a more direct way. oh it was completely direct the tell me. about that absolutely it was totally. direct well I think that my character. Sol Maron she might not seem like I. don't know the most complicated. character I've ever played there's no. accents there's no particular gate.

I love I love a character's gate but. what she had going for her she felt she. felt um she felt familiar she felt like. people I know I recognized aspects of. myself in her I recognized aspects of my. friends or women I admire my friends are. women I admire that sounded. awful but the thing about her was she. had a richness to her which combined. with this idea that early in her life. she'd been a people pleaser I was so. excited by that idea of somebody. arriving at a place in their life where. they've grown out of that.

phase I'm so glad you brought up that. people pleaser line because that was one. of the Easter eggs okay a people pleaser. from New Jersey yes but before I get. into that you know the my vote for best. and haway character gate Dark Knight. thank you very very much so much Swagger. thank you very much I worked with a. choreographer for three weeks to find. that Swagger so really yes I did because. I just felt like I didn't have an uh oh.

this is going to sound like a really. weird sentence but um I wasn't connected. enough to my hips and I just kept. imagining you know a cat's movements and. the way it's very fluid and swishy and. but also very strong and very purposeful. and we they help me find my. hips I think you need to introduce me to. that choreographer because not being. connected enough to my hips I think. describes most of my life problems for. the last 42 years but maybe she can help. we are going to follow up because I have.

so many thoughts because um I didn't. feel connected to my body early on in my. life and it was kind of this weird thing. like you don't know how to do it and. that's something that it's this amazing. gift that acting has given me is that. you always have to think about how you. move how your character moves and. eventually you just kind of get to. understand movement why weren't you. connected to your body that's a great. question and uh we don't have I mean it. would take me 41 years to answer that.

it's genuinely so many things but I. think I probably just needed uh I think. it's just assumed that we have a. relationship with everybody like you. like you you like something you know. about yourself is that you do not have a. relationship with your hips not a good. one but if somebody said here's a path. for you to have one what would you. do uh that is oh boy I don't know how to. answer that question let's move on. okay uh um but I want to go back to the. people pleaser line okay I interpreted.

the inclusion of the line a people. pleaser from New. Jersey as pretty intentional can you. talk to me about why that line is in. there well she had to be from. somewhere and yeah so I think it might. have been me who suggested that line. maybe possibly am I wrong in. interpreting that line. self-referentially like you are a people. pleaser from New Jersey right I think. I'm a former people pleaser from New.

Jersey um I yeah I think I I absolutely. was I absolutely was it was again to me. so much of the reason why I was drawn to. acting was because it was an outlet for. expression that I could not find on my. own and uh sort of in the space between. feeling so connected when I was acting. and so lost when I wasn't you sort of. try to make your way and one of the ways. that you make your way is like oh if I. do this and that that that'll make.

someone else happy and maybe that's what. I'm supposed to be doing and it takes a. really long time to go well it doesn't. really matter if if you don't know who. you are unless unless you just want an. identity that's all about pleasing. people which I suppose is perfectly. valid as well but I'm not that. [Laughter]. nice I I'm curious about when that shift. from people pleaser to former people. pleaser started to happen because it's. it was interesting for me to revisit a.

lot of your work and see in a bunch of. roles what I took to be kind of um and I. don't mean this in a like a. condescending way at all but sort of. like like an eager beaver quality you. know I'm thinking of things like um you. know the Devil Wears Prada or or um in. some ways Princess Diaries or uh I think. your character Valentine's Day had that. sort of or in a slightly spikier way. maybe the intern had that you know uh so.

I'm interested in knowing about how that. quality might have affected the work you. did at a certain part of your career and. if that was something you consciously. then tried to. change uh I was not aware of it until. this. conversation but yeah I think that I I. do think that there's a thread that runs. through those uh characters about. someone who is trying to do something. that they might not be altogether.

comfortable with but they think is the. right thing to do and the thing that I. was so interested about Solen was this. idea that you know turning 40 and. knowing who she was definitely in a. professional sense definitely knowing. who she is as a mother but not. necessarily having given herself full. Freight to. explore aspects of of herself just as a. person you just referenced another key. emotional through line of the film which. is the entering middle age and aspect.

and obviously 40 years old is a a real. milestone for a lot of people a lot of. women but there's also something weird. about our cultural fixation on the. arbitrary age of 40 years old yeah and. I'm just curious how how you think about. entering middle age given that it is a. or can be a fraught thing particularly. for people in your line of work but also.

understanding that it is kind of a. somewhat arbitrary fixation for. people so serious I'm not I don't take. it that seriously I got to be honest I. there are so many other things that I. identify as Milestones I don't normally. talk about it but um I am over 5 years. sober that feels like a milestone to me. 40 feels like a gift.

the fact of the matter is like I I I. hesitate at calling things middle AG. simply because I'm really I can be a. little bit of a semantic stickler and. technically I could get hit by a. correlator today I really hope it. doesn't happen and so um we don't know. if this is middle age we don't know. anything so I like to connect to it in. that way I'm I don't think this is. breaking news I'm a nerd so I love. learning I so into learning and um I.

just kind of. like I don't know that's what I focus on. I just focus on oh my God I get to learn. something today hopefully you know what. you said about semantics of using the. term middle-aged when we don't really. know or we can't know yeah actually. where in in our lifespan we are you know. this make me sound totally like a new. Agy ding-dong but get there go there. come on let's go let's bring it out your. crystals I've got incense burning on my.

side let's do. this the uh you know the what you said. is exactly right that you know we can't. take for granted how much life we have. left but actually internalizing that so. that we can treat each day and moment. like it could be the last which would be. the most powerful change we could make. in our lives is also like maybe the. hardest thing to actually do yeah well. one of the things that I think about a.

lot is because I I lived in a a. stressful place for many years and when. you when you talk about like those. performances a key element to all of. them I think is that they're really. stressed out young women and I was a. really stressed out young woman and as a. formerly chronically stressed young. woman which leads to you know all manner. of. things I just remember thinking like one. day you are taking this for granted you. are taking your life for granted like.

you have no idea something could fall. through the sky and that would be lights. out for you so when I find myself like. the old instincts Rising I just tell. myself I'm like you are not going to die. stressed it's a small question but maybe. inight a big answer what were you so. stressed. about. um I didn't know how to breathe. yet. and that was really complicated that was. really really complicated not knowing.

how to breathe there I mean it's too. you're right you're right it's actually. too big an answer um and the simple. answer is just like literally. everything yeah because I was stressed. yeah I was just very very very in my. head um about a lot of things I guess. maybe that's the the easiest way to put. it yeah it's interesting that your your. first answer to that question was about. breathing and earlier you alluded to not. feeling comfortable your body yeah those.

are two sematic yeah things you must. have felt very alienated from your body. I love that you just um identified it. asmatic I think I I I it feels a little. too exposed to discuss the alienation I. felt from my B you know all of that. thing but um but but I think that there. was I think there was a lot of sematic. stress. there was drinking a way of dealing with. that probably.

yeah fair enough let me ask you a. goofier question now okay okay and then. I'm gonna Circle back to have your stuff. again but uh okay the plot of the film. turns on a trip to Coachella have you. ever been to the festival I have been to. Coachella tell me about your experiences. there Paul McCartney was a headliner so. it was magical you just you go and you. see these acts and you're just kind of. like drifting in and out waves of people.

and it's a fun thing to do I feel like. everybody should go and and and kind of. have their own experience I don't know. it's probably very different now yeah. that was Pro I think I went the same. year that Paul mcart that was probably. 200 I would guess 10 or 12 10 yeah. something like yeah yeah can I tell you. a very quick uh Coachella story it can. even be long well I don't want to take. up our short time with a long Co but I. used I used to work for music uh. magazines you know we used to have to go. and cover this stuff so one year it was.

too hot I didn't have enough water I was. like drinking beer all day taking other. stuff and really by the end of the day I. was like so fried and physically. uncomfortable you were so tweaked out oh. no that's a bad combination I was like I. got to get out of here and we had a plan. that you know at like 11:30 we'd all. meet you know in like the Press area and. then someone would drive us back to our. hotel but I thought I can't wait till. then I just got to get out of here so I. I thought I'll walk back back to our. hotel this is the state of mind I was in.

probably the hotel was like oh my God. you thought you were going to walk back. no 15 miles or whatever in the desert at. night so I just left the festival and. within about 10 minutes I realized like. I'm lost in the desert I'm so stressed. and worried for you right now no cars. are coming by I don't know where I am my. mind is totally foggy but like somehow. I'm going to die on the highway trying. to walk back to my hotel and then you. know after some period of time a car. pulls up and it's my co-workers come to.

save me you know and I they rescued you. I get in the car and I'm I was like oh. thank God like I I been here forever I. didn't know what I was going to do and. and then um he like looks at the clock. and then looks behind him literally like. 22 minutes had. passed I was like an eighth of a mile. away from the I was not at risk of dying. but um yeah but it but but but it felt. to you those 22 minutes longest 22. minutes of my life oh my gosh well I'm.

so happy everything went okay yeah thank. you but yeah no it's Coachella is is. very dehydrating very dehydrating yeah. you know I I I feel like I've have sort. of danced around this question a couple. times but to me the the most interesting. thing about people is when they change. you know when they were one thing and. they become another thing and I I'm. wondering if if you can tell me a little. more about the change that I think I'm.

hearing in you sort of implicitly from. kind of like a stressed out knotted up. person who's in you in your words in her. own head to the person you are. now uh change is certainly a word that. applies another word is um I don't like. this word because I think it's often. misunderstood so maybe I shouldn't even. say it but I'd love to explore it with. you if you want to explore it settles. I think settling often has a negative.

connotation but actually. like to me when settle becomes beautiful. is like that concept of. surrender and I think gratitude is. really crucial to it and I don't want to. go into specifics too much just because. I like to keep my personal things. personal but there was a moment in my. life. where I don't. know do you ever have this feeling where.

you feel like you have like yourself in. the future like that your best possible. Choice turn around and guide you now now. I'm sounding very new a explain to me. more what you mean well I was just stuck. in this feeling and I've been stuck in a. feeling for a while and it's that thing. about I want to achieve things I want to. grow I want to do these things and I. think you think mistakenly that the way. that you do that is you're really hard. on. yourself and and um you drive yourself.

by self-criticism by telling yourself. you're not enough and I I just I won't. go into the specifics of it but there. was a moment in which I just realized. that in order to keep that narrative. alive I was going to have to deny so. much and there was just something about. that there was something about me being. aware that in order to keep up this. narrative which by the way I didn't feel. like I was improving anymore I feel like. i' strongly strongly. plateaued and I just said you're going. to have to.

accept you're just going to have to. accept that if nothing else happens to. you you've had a really great. life and it felt like I don't know it. just felt like a light went on you know. what else. is something that I find um interesting. is not the right word but um or a. realization I had about sort of. motivating yourself through negativity. is that uh you never get to the bottom. of it you know it's like you can just. keep getting more and more negative and. it's not like you ever hit.

some rock bottom or like okay now I can. be it's just it's an endless yeah yeah. that. resonates you described yourself as a. person who wants to achieve things yeah. what are the things that you want to. achieve like what what are the a. Ambitions now I don't I don't feel. comfortable getting too specific I think. it just comes from uh being raised in a. superstitious. household I think that um again I.

feel I don't know honestly I I don't. really want to say because I just feel. like uh they feel great to me and I. worry if I shared them and they got. shredded I don't want to feel bad about. them I actually feel really great about. them so uh but I just think that just. acknowledging that you are someone who. is ambitious acknowledging that you are. someone who yeah I do want to achieve. things but I'd say that like my ambition. right now is to do all of that and.

really really be a nurturing presence in. people's lives as well this is another. one of the potential Easter eggs or sort. of self referential lines that I thought. I picked up in the film okay and the. reason I'm thinking about it now is. because when I asked you about Ambitions. you said you don't necessar want to put. it out there because if it got shredded. it would make you feel bad about it um. and there are a couple points in the. film where you know there are references.

to your character being picked apart on. the internet um. and did your experience going through. that you know a decade plus ago inform. the. character yes can you tell me in what. ways not really it's in the. film how. fooy sorry uh just just just uh look. what I can tell you is that from. personal experience I knew that. everything we were saying was.

true you know it happens yeah I can't. believe I just on the record said. fuy FY oh FY oh. bleron um I just read this great great. great list of. Victorian like common Victorian. Expressions that are so literal and. filthy and I I can only think of one. right now that I couldn't possibly say.

wait tell me off the Record off the. Record off the. [Laughter]. [Music]. Record that's filthy um so we're back on. the record now and for and for the. record uh we we laughed heartily yes. yeah and heway had a very inappropriate. thing it was the victorians I simply I. was just repeating Victorian slang yes. uh it was a conversation uh furthering. the idea of semantics uh um uh.

it that's such a funny way of putting it. excuse me so clearly at a couple. different times in this conversation. I've tried to create a through line or. an arc to your career you know where I. was saying it seemed like you did this. here or like this happened at this point. and how does that sort of affect things. now do do you see a a through line or or. a particular Arc to your career. I'm not terribly.

reflective I like to look towards the. horizon that's coming at me rather than. look back at at what I've done like I. don't watch my films uh I'm not sitting. around having. marathons it's so sweet I get texts from. friends and and from people and like. like I was just on a plane the other day. and they were like oh my God I watched. devor pra last night and so like people. I know I love that I'm so many of my. movies are the films that you cuddle up. with. you know and I do know that I do I'm.

aware of that aspect of it but in terms. of like the concept of having first of. all the concept of having a name is so. weird a name that people recognize it's. like I always think about the least. likely things that could happen to you. as an actor and one of them is that you. have a name that people actually know so. the idea of having a name that signifies. something that could qualify as having. an Easter egg it's just it's it's no. it's that's not a concept that I think. about a lot I guess my question was. whether a different kind of role than. the ones we talked about earlier in the. conversation started to appeal to you.

more or speak to you more at this stage. of your. career no I've always loved spiky. difficult. women always that's kind of you know you. have to understand that when I was 23. years old I made a film with uh Jonathan. Demi called Rachel getting married and. and when I was Oh but before that when I. was 21 years old I got to make a film. with angle called Brokeback Mountain and. so I do think think that my I'm I'm.

lucky enough to say that within my. filmography there has always been. both and I think that the last 10 to 12. years has been a less Romantic Era so I. just kind of assumed that it was done. and that kind of phase of my career was. over and so then to find something that. actually said no it's not over and why. would you think that it needed to be. that was really cool to me is anything. cooking with a A Princess D Aries 3 yep.

ah I know the answer but can you tell me. more about that I don't think it would. be nice there you go so you know I I. don't want you to think you're trapped I. think we're about done with the time. that I'd been a I'm not trapped if if. you're okay to go a little longer I have. I can leave this dinner party at any. time no um which is a great line which. have you read the book acts of service. no what is it it's a spicy book but. anyway that's a great line in it where a. character finds yourself EXP exploring a. situation that is uncomfortable but.

really tantalizing to her and she keeps. thinking of this line that she's learned. either through a shirt story or I'm not. quite sure where that um I can leave. this dinner party at any time I want and. so I always think that so I often don't. feel trapped wait does that mean you. find this conversation uncomfortable but. tantalizing um I'm I'm just finding this. conversation really lovely oh good uh. I'm uncomfortable sometimes just because. I think you want me to reveal personal. things and and I'm just allergic to that.

but I think that we're having a. wonderful time anyway yeah yeah you know. it's it's such an um an interesting. thing where um in an Ideal World I. always want people to be as personal as. possible but I also fully understand. that that's something that someone might. not want to do and that's okay I just. also find it really hard to imagine that. people are interested oh you know this. is the thing I'm I cannot believe that. people are so in the sound of my voice.

and and and and and what my brain has I. just I just I have a hard time making. that leap but then you've also had the. experience of like people not being nice. to you so I totally I fully understand. that it's not it's not as. straightforward as I'm making it out to. be no no but it also is and you're right. and 100%. And like again it's just hard for me to. imagine I I find it hard to imagine that. people would be interested in me like. that's just a part that I just haven't. arrived at yet and that's one of the. reasons why I don't know that I'm a very. good. celebrity um in that because.

um I don't really know where the walls. are between like when it becomes when. like just being personal and and just. being intimate like just like like. letting intimate details out I don't. know where the wall between that and. narcissism and that and self-regard and. I think I'm a little because of what I. went through I'm sensitive to the way it. can come across yeah and so I would. rather be cautious but then the the the. odd thing is is that as soon as you stop.

recording this all the details you want. as like like literally I don't I don't. hold back it's just because it feels. like okay but now it's contained now. it's safe but in under these things I. think I'm probably not the best. [Laughter]. interview to that end we're going to. talk again for a much shorter period in. about a week and a half something like. that and awesome you could say you know. you were wrong about all that or I love. that I love I forgot to say this I love. the marination time in between I think.

that's funny enough really essential to. any kind of long form conversation cool. thank you very much for taking all the. time to talk with me today I appreciate. it take care bye-bye. bye-bye after the break I give an a call. back and the interview gets a little. more meta a part of me just kind of. resist the form of this yeah well it's a. totally arbitrary and weird yeah. but and also just slightly.

[Music]. rude welcome back to the interview I'm. David. maresi hi David hi hi I'm so sorry to be. a couple minutes late my espresso. machine was betraying me that's totally. okay how are you I mean I'm I think I'm. C fascinated enough now but um I'm I'm.

all right I'm all right I am curious uh. because I have a hunch that maybe you're. a ruminator is there anything about our. conversation to this point that you've. been thinking. about well I had a slight word choice. the Norse moment um where you asked me. what my goals are coming up and I kind. of decided not to share them and the. reason I gave was because I'd rather not. have them red and that just seemed a.

little harsh and I just regretted that. and how would you rephrase it I think I. would rephrase it just saying it's too. tender yeah that is very different than. than shredded yeah yeah it just it's. just kind of like I don't you know and. it's just kind of a little bit less. self-important do you think it's telling. that your your mind initially went to. shredded oh yeah I think that's some. Scar. Tissue I understand why I said but also. it's not actually reflective of how I.

feel right it's it's reflective of what. I fear but not how what I feel I think. we're going to get back to that but. before then something that I wanted to. return to was um what are the things. that used to stress you out so much or. that would make you be in your own head. I'm just because it's something that. you've referred to a couple times and. how you're not stressed out about those. things anymore or or less in your head. about them I'm just trying to make it a.

little more tangible like are you able. to articulate what's. those. um my my goal is to heal it not relive. it so I'm not trying to be evasive it's. just I'm I don't really spend a great. deal of time thinking about it because I. feel like I found a window and I climbed. through it and I I work very hard to. just be really. here I think I'm I'm like I said I'm.

more grateful I'm more I'm more settled. in myself I'm I'm less afraid of things. not. happening the time in which I was an. emerging. adult it was a different time we weren't. having the Ty of conversations that we. were having now so I think a lot of me a. lot of my my thoughts felt very. underexpressed so I maybe so I don't. know if it's more curiosity in the world.

or maybe we have this shared language. now that feels uh more. gentle you know I I just I feel that. there's greater curiosity. now un L harshness at least in my. personal. experience my God that was such a long. answer excuse. me just groping in the dark no no that's. that's all we're ever doing is groping. in the dark I think uh uh can I tell you.

a uh maybe like a what's a a blindingly. obvious realization about my own. hypocrisy oh my God that's so deep tell. me. everything it's not that deep but you. know when I I realize when I'm asking. you to make things more tangible or um. kind of like asking follow-ups that are. sort of in treaties to uh give me more. detail or go deep. I'm just thinking about that in the. light of the of little exchange that we.

had about hips remember that and mhm and. you asked me a question and I really got. like the um you know was almost like a. the visceral heebie jeebies I thought in. my head I'm not talking about that no. and then I thought gosh that must be. what it feels like for you every time I. ask a question asking you to go deeper. is the feeling that I had the feeling. that you have all the time doing these. kinds of.

things um heie GB does it give me the. heie. GB it makes me um you know what it does. it just puts me in a defensive position. and not in defensive in the sense that I. feel attacked but defensive in the sense. that it's really hard to say something. revealing with the tape recorder there. and so I just feel like I become a more. self-conscious a more neutral version of. myself like I watch other actresses and. they're so free and they're so off the.

cuff and they just not that they're more. revealing they're just I don't know. maybe I don't even have a word for it. but um anyway so I don't get the heie. jeebies but I don't know that this. is uh like I won't take pauses like this. to consider my words that much if we. were just having coffee and there wasn't. a tape recorder you know. yeah but do you you know it's um don't. think people are we don't usually ask.

people such direct questions like that's. just not the way conversations are. usually built normally trust is. established each by sharing something. about ourselves and you build up a. mutual understanding of each other and. so a part of me just kind of resists the. form of this yeah well it's a totally. arbitrary and weird yeah but and also. just slightly rude. but that's just me and I just need to I. just kind of need to work on accepting.

like I said that this is just the way. this is built well you know I I. definitely heard you when you said you. know you're more comfortable sort of. talking about and through your. characters and talking about yourself. but you know as someone who has my job. and as someone who's interested in the. the person and the life that animates. the work I'm of course curious about you. and what it's like to be you um and and.

that interest is you know it's it's. obviously rooted in an assumption that. who you are is Meaningful to audiences. or fans you know that the idea that they. have some understanding of you outside. your work matters in some way do you. think that matters I I I think I. understand the question that my life is. somehow as interesting as my. work or just that people having an. understanding of who you are outside of. the world is in some way.

meaningful just trying to think if it's. meaningful to me with other people yeah. um I uh I don't know do you ever ever. had the experience that sometimes you. just want to watch a film in another. language because you're less familiar. with the personal lives of the actor and. it just lets you get lost in the story I. know what you mean yeah so a part of me. I would rather the people I I don't know. it's so it's it's kind of strange but. like I just I don't want to distract. from from it all also going back to the.

the thing before about direct questions. and and you know getting whether I get. the ebgbs and all that I'm just very. protective and I don't ever want to. be I worry about like other people and. the way the Press can be opportunistic. because I can have a perfectly lovely. respectful conversation with you and. then to have something that is real and. meaningful and personal and to like. watch it get filtered through all the.

different levels of media until it like. arrives at the Tabloid version it just. kind of makes you never want to say. anything that could be I'm G to use a. big word um and and it's probably an. unwise word to use but that can be. weaponized against the actor like I have. like this awesome story about Nick that. I want to tell and it's like on the tip. of my tongue right now but I don't want. to tell it because I haven't asked him. if it's cool you're a co-star in the. film yeah yes and I'm just aware that. he'd have to answer questions about it. for the next 3 months to 30.

years like the way that I'm sure. somewhat annoyingly you're still being. asked questions including by me about. bad experiences you had on the internet. a lifetime ago I mean I no no I don't. find you annoying I value what you do. and and just because I'm not the most. innately forthcoming person doesn't mean. I don't think that this isn't a. wonderful Forum in a lot of ways and and. yeah I'm I'm just amazed by people. who who can just Express themselves I'm.

Amazed by. them well you just express yourself in. different ways I really love expressing. myself through my characters I really. really do I kind of also I think no. never. mind the most telling and haway you know. I think never mind. Bingo give me another 25 years maybe. I'll relax a little bit more all right. I'll I I'll get back I'll get back in. touch then I I do want to end on.

something fun though tell me a funny. story I you know what this didn't happen. on set but I can tell you something when. I was making the idea of you I was very. lucky so spoiled staying in a beautiful. house uh in Atlanta Georgia that was uh. much larger than my needs so I was like. get home from work and I'd be in this. house by myself and I was just like and. it was just that was giving me the heie. GB and I was trying to figure out like. what was like why was I feeling this so.

intensely and I realized there was no. laughter in the. house and when you have a big house like. that you need laughter and so I started. to listen to standup specials and I got. really into Adam Sandler's 100% fresh ah. and I think that Adam Sandler is as as. as. extraordinary beloved and iconic as Adam. Sandler is I think he's. underappreciated I think he's. such a stealth genius you know like I I. I have that kind of level of just.

appreciation for him I can quote you. every single line from Billy Madison and. Happy Gilmore um and The Wedding Singer. I'm a big fan so I'm gonna uh put your. feates let's trade Sandler lines I'll go. first from his movies uh I eat pieces of. like you for breakfast you eat. pieces of for breakfast oh you got. it hold on hold on no no then the best. followup ever no. right if PE in my pants is cool then I'm.

Miles. Davis or call me Miles Davis I think. that'sa okay okay okay um shampoo is. better I go on First and leave the hair. clean no conditioner is better I leave. there silky and smooth or really. full hold on wait for it stop looking at. mewan very good very good you know I. feel uh bet I'm just taking up your time. now just jabbering about Adam Sandler so.

see see so so this is what I'm but this. is the part that I'm talking about like. I feel much more comfortable talking. about Adam Sandler who I've never met. than I do like talking about what makes. me tick I feel like you know you get to. know somebody just by talking about. stuff rather than describing yourself. you know I do I do yeah but that but. that's also again I just need to I just. need to figure out how to practice. well I I hope this has been part of that. practice and I I again just want to say.

thank you and um you maybe sometime I'll. see you down the line and we'll talk. about Adam Sandler thank you very very. much and um be well be well stretch your. hips. out all right take care all right. bye that was Anne hathway her new movie. is the idea of you and it's on Prime. video starting May. 2nd thanks so much for list listening if. you want to hear another great. conversation well we've got one for you.

since this is the first week of our new. show we're launching with two episodes. my co-host is Lulu Garcia Navaro and. this week she's talking to yair lepid. the opposition leader in Israel about. what's next for his. country for those of us who are history. Buffs we know that sometimes it takes. only one really bad government in order. to I don't want to say destroy but. weaken a country from within.

significantly if you like what you're. hearing subscribe to the interview. wherever you get your podcasts and to. read or listen to any of our. conversations you can always go to NY. times.com thee this conversation was. produced by Wyatt orm it was edited by. Annabelle bacon mixing by aim Shapiro. factchecking by Lu Fong original music. by Marian Lozano Diane Wong and Dan. Powell photography by Devon Yin the rest.

of the team is Seth Kelly and Priya. Matthew our executive producer is. Allison Benedict special thanks to Rory. Walsh renan burelli Jake Silverstein. holla Schuman and Sam dolnick email the. show anytime at the interview at NY. times.com I'm David maresi and this is. the interview from The New York Times.