7 Tantalising Ways Anne Hathaway Made Her Catwoman Awesome

7. She Took Inspiration From Catwoman's Original Influence

Just as with Heath Ledger and the Joker, Hathaway was taking a character who in many fans eyes had already been definitively done on screen. Michelle Pfeiffer's seductive performance as Catwoman proved to be a major selling point for Tim Burton's Batman Returns. She never returned to the role (despite Warner working hard on spin-off to Returns, which after countless redrafts became that Halle Berry atrocity), but in just one movie she turned that costume into an essential Batgeek pin-up. Smartly (and similar to what Ledger did with regards to Jack Nicholson), Hathaway avoided even homaging what Pfeiffer did and went all the way back to the character's very conception. When coming up with the theif for Batman #1 (only a year after the Bat himself), Bob Kane drew on the movies for the sexuality his burglar/love interest, taking direct inspiration from stars Jean Harlow and Hedy Lamarr. Seventy years later Hathaway followed suit, using Lamarr as a jumping point for her Kyle. The chief inspiration was the speech delivery; Lamarr tended to take deep breaths with a long exhale, an approach which Hathaway adopted (see the masked ball for a great example). Also of note is something a little more ingrained in the film; the introduction of Kyle is very similar to a story Lamarr told about herself escaping the clutches of her husband dressed as a maid.