From Get Real to Interstellar, Anne Hathaway has had a long stretch of onscreen Hollywood romances. As a result, she is not new when it comes to on-screen intimacy.
Although, from awkward to terrible, to magnificent these experiences can be anything, thankfully for her none of them had been terrible enough to scar. Noting how awkward it still can get even after years of practicing, she confessed that she does not really think that she is good at portraying on-screen kisses.
According to her, she has a technique down now after repeated experiences. However, she thinks that only a few could actually look good while implementing those techniques. And she does not think she does because she is no Angelina Jolie, whom she terms the best at onscreen kisses.
Anne Hathaway’s picture-perfect on-screen romances
Prior to headlining The Princess Diaries, which she first gained fame for, Anne Hathaway appeared in a Fox TV show called Get Real. Although the show got canceled after only 22 episodes, it did bring Hathaway her first experience of kissing a co-actor in front of the cameras.
She was so nervous, according to her that she “was shaking for like two weeks beforehand.” She added amusingly, however, that, “At this point, I’m kind of a film-kissing alum.” With experience comes wisdom, and so, by now, she has a set of decorum practice she has set for herself.
She explained, “Sometimes you work with actors, and they can be lovely guys, but they have kind of dodgy instincts when it comes to kissing in scenes. They want to try to make it look a bit too real if you know what I mean.” And this seems to make her quite uncomfortable. She did also reveal that there was one actor who, however, matched her sentiment completely.
That is, none other than her Becoming Jane co-star James McAvoy. She elaborated, “With James, right before we started he turned to me and said, ‘Closed mouths, no tongue!’ That’s what I normally say to people so it was a pleasure working with him.” Even so, after gaining critical appraisal for her performances she still seems to think that she is not good at on-screen kisses.
Anne Hathaway hails Angelina Jolie as Hollywood’s chemistry queen
The Oscar-winning actor elaborated a bit on her technique of on-screen kisses in an interview before saying that she would keep her mouth open a little bit. “Open up. More, more, ever so lightly… Otherwise, you’re going to be getting smoothy. Now, slow it down … just a little bit,” she further added.
However, even with techniques and rules in place, she still seems to think that her acting falls short when it comes to kisses in front of cameras because of how wholly different the situation is.
She added amusingly that she is not Angelina Jolie, “Really you have to be Angelina Jolie to pull that off and still look good. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I ain’t no Angie.” It should be mentioned that Anne Hathaway is not the only one who seems to appreciate Jolie’s onscreen kissing skills.
Ethan Hawke who starred alongside Jolie in Taking Lives claimed that the actress was his absolute best onscreen kiss ever. He noted, “With all due respect — the woman has been in the press a lot lately — but I will say, the best onscreen [kiss] I ever had was [with] Angelina Jolie.”
In fact, going so far as to compare her with Wolfgang Mozart, he added, “Angelina Jolie was born to whittle men, to make them weak. When she kisses you, you don’t know your name.” This does not seem surprising given her position as a ‘Goddess’ and ‘s*x symbol’ simultaneously in the eyes of people.
Anne Hathaway also mentioned her appreciation for Jennifer Garner, explaining how it can be quite a fun experience for people who are otherwise unattached. But for her, it seems she “can never get truly deep down and into it. Well, I can’t. Jennifer Garner— now that girl can movie kiss!”
Well, although she does not seem extremely confident about her own skills, rest assured, fans enjoy her onscreen performances tremendously, be it romance or any other kind.
Source: Showbiz CheatSheet
