Anne Hathaway had to kiss 10 men during a 'gross' chemistry audition early in her career

Ugh

Anne Hathaway attends the photocall for "Armageddon Time" during the 75th annual Cannes film festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2022 in Cannes, France
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Anne Hathaway just told the story of a "gross" audition she had towards the start of her career, and we're definitely glad things have changed in Hollywood.

"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," the Devil Wears Prada star told V Magazine in a new cover interview.

"I was told, 'We have ten guys coming today and you’re cast. Aren’t you excited to make out with all of them?' And I thought, 'Is there something wrong with me?' because I wasn’t excited. I thought it sounded gross."

Sadly, Anne knew about the pressure on young actresses to go along with things even if they felt uncomfortable.

"I was so young and terribly aware how easy it was to lose everything by being labeled 'difficult,' so I just pretended I was excited and got on with it," she continued. "It wasn’t a power play, no one was trying to be awful or hurt me. It was just a very different time and now we know better."

Now that Anne has an illustrious career under her belt, she's stepped into a producer role on her new film The Idea of You, and she was able to decide how things work when it came to testing actors' chemistry with each other. (She stars as the romance film's lead across Nicholas Galitzine.)

"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," Anne explained. "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."

She shared that when Nicholas played the band The Alabama Shakes, she started smiling and the atmosphere was immediately relaxed and playful. She knew he was right for the role.

The Idea of You is out on 2 May in the UK.

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Iris Goldsztajn
Freelance News Writer

Iris Goldsztajn is a freelance news writer for Marie Claire UK. She covers celebrity and royal news, and has previously written for titles including Marie Claire US, InStlyle, Women's Health, Bustle, Stylist and Red.

Aside from her quasi-personal investment in celebs' comings and goings, she is especially interested in debunking diet culture and de-stigmatising mental health struggles.