Anne Hathaway said she was once told that 10 men would come in and that she was expected to make out with them as a chemistry test. She recalled the experience as happening in the 2000s, but did not identify the film, production, or people involved. She said she went along because she was young and worried that refusing could cost her opportunities—not because she believed anyone was trying to hurt her.
What Hathaway said happened
In an interview with V Magazine, as reported by The Guardian on April 23, 2024, Hathaway recalled being told that 10 men were coming in and that she was supposed to make out with them to test on-screen chemistry. She said she was not excited and thought the request sounded gross.
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“Back in the 2000s, it was considered normal to ask an actor to make out with other actors to test for chemistry. Which is actually the worst way to do it,” Hathaway said, according to The Guardian. The number refers to the men she recalled being scheduled that day; it is not a statistic about casting practices across the industry.
Why she went along—and what she did not allege
Hathaway said she participated because she was young and feared that being seen as difficult might mean losing future opportunities. She also made clear that she did not interpret the incident as a deliberate abuse of power or an attempt to hurt her: “It wasn’t a power play, no one was trying to be awful or hurt me. It was just a very different time and now we know better.”
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That distinction is central to her account: she described an experience she found uncomfortable and a professional pressure she felt, while explicitly not attributing harmful intent to the people involved. She did not name a film, casting office, director, or any of the men.
The account was not tied to a named film
Coverage should not attach Hathaway’s recollection to The Princess Diaries or another specific project. In a Los Angeles Times report published April 24, 2024 and updated April 29, casting directors associated with The Princess Diaries, Get Real, and Brokeback Mountain said they did not recall or conduct comparable tests on those projects.
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Those statements address the casting directors’ own recollections or work on the named productions. They do not identify where Hathaway’s account took place, and they do not establish that it could not have happened on another project or in another casting office. Donna Morong, casting director for The Princess Diaries, told the Times she had no reason to think Hathaway was lying about experiencing it elsewhere, while calling such a test ineffective and “gross.”
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How Hathaway described a later chemistry exercise
For The Idea of You, Hathaway said she and the filmmakers used a different approach while auditioning prospective co-stars. Actors chose music they thought their character would love, then took part in a short improvisation inviting Hathaway’s character to dance. “We asked each of the actors coming in to choose a song that they felt their character would love,” she said, as quoted by The Guardian.
Hathaway recalled Nicholas Galitzine choosing an Alabama Shakes song. They danced in a relaxed way, and she said that was when a spark emerged. Unlike the earlier test she described, this exercise centered on a character-based music choice and improvised interaction rather than asking actors to make out.
| Hathaway’s account | Earlier test she recalled | The Idea of You audition exercise |
|---|---|---|
| What actors were asked to do | Make out as a chemistry test | Choose music their character might love and improvise an invitation to dance |
| Physical intimacy | Required kissing, according to Hathaway | Did not require kissing, as described in the reporting |
| How Hathaway described the result | She thought the request sounded gross and said it was the worst way to test chemistry | She recalled relaxed dancing with Galitzine as the moment a spark appeared |
Hathaway’s comparison is personal testimony, not a universal account of casting in the 2000s or a claim that one audition method works in every situation. What she said is specific: she recalled an unnamed test she disliked, explained why she felt unable to refuse, and described a less physically intimate exercise used later for a particular film.
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