10 Actors Who Were Haunted By Their Movie Roles
6. Anne Hathaway – Les Misérables
One word could be used to describe Anne Hathaway’s experience while filming Les Misérables: miserable. And that only continued to grow the more she tried to distance herself from the character she portrayed.
Although best known for its conception and elongated existence on stage, Tom Hooper adapted Les Mis for the big screen in 2012, two years on from The King’s Speech.
Featuring a star-studded cast simply too stacked to list off one by one, Hathaway produced a performance for the ages which saw her sing as well as shave her own head, all while losing a staggering 25 lbs during the shoot.
Hathaway’s character, Fantine, is forced into prostitution to provide for and maintain her daughter's survival before becoming fatally ill herself and subsequently passing from tuberculosis.
Anne’s courageous and committed performance saw her rewarded with an Academy Award, but the moment wasn’t a happy one for her, as she states that “I felt very uncomfortable… I kind of lost my mind doing that movie and it hadn’t come back yet.”
Although clearly not in the right head space at that time, hopefully Anne Hathaway looks back at her achievement and realises she sure did earn it the hard way, and that makes it all the more commendable.