Why Anne Hathaway Says Kissing Actors in Chemistry Tests Was So "Gross"

Make out sessions? For chemistry tests? Groundbreaking. And something Anne Hathaway is thrilled she doesn't have to deal with anymore.

The Oscar winner—who rose to fame for appearing in Princess Diaries, Ella Enchanted and The Devil Wears Prada in the 2000s—called out one of the "gross" practices she said she faced early in her career.

"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," the 41-year-old told V Magazine in an interview published April 22. "Which is actually the worst way to do it."

As Anne explained, "I was told, 'We have 10 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."

But as she was young, the Les Misérables actress was afraid of being labeled "difficult," and decided the easiest way to deal with it was to pretend she was excited and get it over with.

"It wasn't a power play," she noted, "no one was trying to be awful or hurt me. It was just a very different time and now we know better."

And now that Anne has more experience under her belt, it's easier for the 41-year-old to advocate for herself, especially on a film like The Idea of You, which she produced.

The film, based on Robinne Lee's book of the same name, stars Anne as Solène, a 40-year-old art gallery owner who forms a romance with Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), the 24-year-old lead singer of the boy band August Moon.

And when it came to chemistry reads for her and Nicholas, Anne didn't have to use kiss tests to know he'd be right for the role.

"I remember laughing when Nick walked in because he was so ridiculously perfect for the part," she said, "I just thought, 'He is it.'"

And what of the rumors that Hayes is based on Harry Styles? Anne claims there is no truth it.

"Everyone needs to chill," she told E! News in March. "Sorry, I probably shouldn't be that reactive about it. I just think no." 

Even Nicholas helped shut down the rumors.

"It's become this thing in of itself," he explained to E! News. "We have tried to distance ourselves from that, and I think Hayes is such a wonderful character in of himself. There were so many amazing references we used: BTS for a lot of the choreography, which was really great. There's so many references out there."

Before The Idea of You premieres on May 2, keep reading for which other novels you should add to your To Be Read list before checking out their on-screen adaptations.

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Starring: Lola Tung, Christopher Briney, Gavin Casalegno, Sean Kaufman and Rain Spencer
Premieres: July 14 on Amazon Prime Video
Why We're Excited: Like Belly (Tung), we've been counting down the days 'til summer all year as we awaited our return to Cousins Beach to find out what happened between her and the Fisher brothers—our current favorite love triangle on TV!—as well as get a much-needed update on how Susannah (Rachel Blanchard) is handling her cancer battle.  

Han teased that fans should expect major differences between the 2010 book and the upcoming season. "There's always gonna be changes here and there," the showrunner told E! News in December. "So I guess you'll just have to wait and see."

Based On: Colleen Hoover's 2016 novel of the same name.
Starring: Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, Brandon Sklenar, Jenny Slate, Hasan Minhaj
Premieres: TBD
Why We're Excited: Two words: Blake Lively. Okay, two more words: Love triangle. Centered around a florist named Lily Bloom, the book is a riveting tale of love, strength and the complications of relationships.

Based On: Casey McQuiston's 2019 novel of the same name.
Starring: Nicholas Galitzine, Taylor Zakhar Perez, Uma Thurman, Sarah Shahi, Stephen Fry and Rachel Hilson
Premieres: Aug. 11 on Amazon Prime Video
Why We're Excited: Make sure you have your A.C. on full blast before reading or watching McQuiston's steamy secret romance between Alex Claremont-Diaz (Perez), the son of the President of the United States, and Britain's Prince Henry (Galitzine). Trust us, relations between the U.S. and the British have never been hotter.

Based On: Bonnie Garmus' 2022 novel of the same name. 
Starring: Brie Larson, Lewis Pullman, Stephanie Koenig, Aja Naomi King, Thomas Mann and Beau Bridges 
Premieres: Oct. 13 on Apple TV+
Why We're Excited: In the 1950s-set series, Larson plays Elizabeth Zott, an aspiring scientist whose ambitions are put on hold in a society that insists women belong in the domestic sphere. After she finds herself pregnant, a desperate Elizabeth accepts a job as a host on a TV cooking show, which she turns into an opportunity to inspire overlooked housewives to change the status quo. This revolution really will be televised.

Based On: Patricia Cornwell's mega-popular series of the same name that has 26 books in total
Starring: Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis
Premieres: TBD on Amazon Prime Video
Why We're Excited: If it's based on a book and Kidman stars in it, we will binge the s--t out of it. (See: Big Little Lies, Nine Perfect Strangers and The Undoing.) Add in the fact that the Oscar winner and Curtis—who bought the Kay Scarpetta book rights back in June 2021—will be playing crime-fighting sisters and it's already become our favorite new show of the year.

Based On: The Lightning Thief, the first book the beloved fantasy series written by Rick Riordan
Starring: Walker Scobell, Aryan Simhadri, Leah Sava Jeffries, Virginia Kull, Glynn Turman, Jason Mantzoukas, Megan Mullally and Timm Sharp 
Premieres: Early 2024 on Disney+ 
Why We're Excited: Confession: While we loved the film franchise that starred Logan Lerman, we do think the source material is better suited for the TV treatment and we're so happy to be re-enrolling at Camp Half-Blood for more teen deity drama. Plus, Lin-Manuel Miranda is guest-starring as Hermes and we want to be in on the streaming service where that happens. 

Based On: The non-fiction bestseller of the same name by Lisa Taddeo.
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Betty Gilpin, DeWanda Wise, Gabrielle Creevy, Blair Underwood and Sean Meehan
Premieres: TBA on Starz
Why We're Excited: One of the most relevant books of 2019, the series will explore female desire as it follows a trio of women who are on a crash course to radically overturn their lives. While Showtime initially canceled the show despite production already being completed, Starz swooped in, answering our literary battle cry.

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