The 'WeCrashed' actress played the character in 2012's 'The Dark Knight Rises.'
Anne Hathaway has nothing but praise for the latest Catwoman, Zoë Kravitz!
It’s been 10 years since Hathaway cracked the whip as the character in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises, and she’s excited to support the 33-year-old actress as she steps into the role. “So, I have been doing this [WeCrashed], so I haven’t been able to go to see it yet,” Hathaway tells ET’s Lauren Zima of The Batman.
“I have a friend who saw it this weekend and said not only is she phenomenal in it but how much fun it was to be in a packed movie theater and realizing that people are coming back to movies and how great it was to celebrate that," Hathaway exclaims. “I am so happy for her. I haven’t had a chance to see it yet, but I look forward to that.”
The 39-year-old actress has been busy undergoing a transformation of her own. For her latest role in Apple TV+’s WeCrashed, Hathaway plays Rebekah Neumann opposite Jared Leto (Adam Neumann) in the limited series about the rise and fall of the WeWork dynasty.
The pair take on the roles of the eccentric husband and wife duo who ran the company on their own terms -- with their own love story as the center -- and ultimately to its own demise. For the role, the Oscar-winning actress had to make some noticeable changes to step into the shoes of the real Rebekah.
“I worked with a wonderful researcher named Amy Hammond and she was really integral in doing a lot of the heavy lifting of the research into Rebekah's life and what her world is like,” she says. “Rebekah has spoken in a lot of interviews about what books that had a big influence on her. I made sure I read those, and she is someone who identifies as a spiritual person, so I tried to identify and really get to know her that way.”
She continues, “At the end of the day, I was one member of a team, and I trusted the writing and hoped I was doing her justice.”
On top of being the “muse” and chief brand impact officer of WeWork, Rebekah was an actress and yoga instructor, all parts of a woman that Hathaway had to embody. And although there have been things written about Rebekah, she took on the role with a “human approach,” similar to how she would live her life.
“I just thought, ‘What if she really was a sincere person with good intentions and the execution of that fell short of what she was hoping for?' That's heartbreaking and I can relate to that. And that's a really interesting character. It felt like it was more in line with the way I am trying to live my life. I am not interested in judging anybody or humiliating anybody or dragging anybody or any of that stuff.”
Hathaway also had the perfect on-screen partner to help bring Rebekah to life -- Leto. The pair met for the first time when the 50-year-old actor was in character as Adam. However, it was instant chemistry.
“I'd like to say there was something specific that we did, that we went to a yoga class together, that we hung out, got coffee, all this stuff but that didn't happen,” she says.
“He came to set as Adam and I met him as Rebecca and it was just there. We just kinda got out of the way and these two characters have such an intensity to their relationship that we just honor that in between action and cut. And then in between takes we kept it calm and loving and not much chitchat and it was all very supportive," she adds. "Then we would just connect every couple of weeks and just be, like, so grateful. I'm so grateful for this whole experience. It was beautiful. It was really fun and beautiful.”
Although the pair has yet to meet outside of character, the Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman echoes Hathaway’s sentiments. “They were passionate, they are passionate people and have an enviable relationship and family and that was a big part of this story, the two of them and how they were partners through this wild journey,” Leto says.
“This is a wild story. They’re really rare and really unique individuals," he notes. "It's easy when Annie Hathaway is your partner. She's one of the best and it was a privilege to work with her. We did dive deep and for six months was immersed in character and I really relished the opportunity, I have to say.”
WeCrashed premieres on Apple TV+ March 18.
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