Anne Hathaway has done a gamut of different roles across genres in her career thus far. The Oscar winner who is widely considered to be one of the most talented stars of her generation, took on one of her most challenging roles in James Gray’s autobiographical drama Armageddon Time, in which she shared screen space with Succession actor Jeremy Strong.
Strong’s intense method acting technique to bring a character to life has been considered in Hollywood as a controversial approach towards the craft. Hathaway in an interview, addressed these opinions about her co-star while also elaborating on the process that worked for her as an actor.
Anne Hathaway Had This To Say About Jeremy Strong’s Method Acting
In Armageddon Time, Hollywood stars Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong played husband and wife in a coming-of-age story based on director James Gray’s own personal experiences. The film which addressed issues of inequality, race, and societal prejudices, gave the Les Miserables star a challenging role that she could sink her teeth into.
In an interview after the film’s release, Hathaway spoke of her process in preparing for the role while also giving her opinion about her co-star Jeremy Strong. The Oscar winner addressed the controversies surrounding Strong’s method acting approach that led to many of his co-stars in Succession stating that he was very difficult to work with on set. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Hathaway said,
“When we talk about process, when we talk about intensity, when we talk about method, when we talk about all this stuff, it’s all good to me. If somebody likes to crack jokes right up until the moment of action and then all of a sudden they’re sobbing hysterically? Great! Fabulous! If it doesn’t work for me, I’ll keep my distance.”
Despite Hathaway and Strong having different processes, the two stars fed off each other’s strengths and succeeded in producing an impressive chemistry that was appreciated by audiences and critics.
Anne Hathaway On Doing Justice To Her Character In Armageddon Time
The challenge that Anne Hathaway faced in Armageddon Time, was the fact that she was portraying director James Gray’s own mother in the film. The film which was based on many personal experiences from the filmmaker’s life, required The Devil wears Prada star to be as authentic to Gray’s real life truths as possible.
Hathaway spoke of the pressures to do justice to the character and the process she went through to ensure that Gray’s mother was portrayed as honestly as possible by asking pertinent questions related to her personality. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the celebrity said,
“I found [myself] asking indirect questions, something that would kind of just stoke the fires of his memory — asking a simple question like, ‘What would your mom have playing on the TV when she cooked?’ He would answer, but then it would lead to all of these other memories because memory is not really linear.”
Anne Hathaway also revealed that she spent a good deal of time perfecting the New York Jewish accent that was an integral part of her character’s identity.
