Anne Hathaway Couldn’t Find Work Due to ‘Hathahate’ Until Christopher Nolan Reached Out

Anne Hathaway faced difficult times following her Oscar win, as the internet seemed to turn against her. In a recent interview, she credited Christopher Nolan for supporting her Hollywood career after facing significant backlash over her 2013 Oscar win for Les Misérables, as reported by HuffPost. The star of The Idea of You revealed that she struggled to find work, with many in the industry hesitant to hire her due to the online criticism she faced. Reflecting on the viral "Hathahate” phenomenon, Hathaway expressed gratitude towards Nolan for helping her navigate through the challenging period in her career.

Hathaway said, “A lot of people wouldn’t give me roles because they were so concerned about how toxic my identity had become online.” Fortunately, there was at least one filmmaker who remained unfazed by the online criticism. She said, “I had an angel in Christopher Nolan, who did not care about that and gave me one of the most beautiful roles I’ve had in one of the best films that I’ve been a part of." In this instance, she was discussing her portrayal of chief scientist Amelia Brand in Nolan's 2014 sci-fi masterpiece, Interstellar. Hathaway has also graced the screen in Nolan's critically acclaimed The Dark Knight Rises, portraying Selina Kyle/Catwoman.

Furthermore, according to Entertainment Weekly, Hathaway said, “I don’t know if he knew that he was backing me at the time, but it had that effect. And my career did not lose momentum the way it could have if he hadn’t backed me.” Meanwhile, the Hathahate phenomenon surged on social media following the 2013 award season, when Hathaway clinched the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. While the exact source of the animosity remains unclear, the online attacks garnered significant attention as individuals went through every aspect of her persona.

The backlash escalated to the point where unprovoked opinion pieces surfaced, targeting what some perceived as Hathaway's undesirable traits. Hathaway acknowledged in the interview how challenging it was to endure such criticism. She said, “The key is to not let it close you down. You have to stay bold, and it can be hard because you’re like, ‘If I stay safe, if I hug the middle, if I don’t draw too much attention to myself, it won’t hurt.’ But if you want to do that, don’t be an actor." She added, “You’re a tightrope walker. You’re a daredevil. You’re asking people to invest their time and their money, and their attention and their care into you. So you have to give them something worth all of those things. And if it’s not costing you anything, what are you really offering?”

As Nolan recently won several Oscars for his box office hit Oppenheimer, Hathaway prepares for her next role alongside Nicholas Galitzine in the One Direction-inspired romance film, The Idea of You, set to premiere on Amazon Prime Video. Despite the internet backlash she faced, Hathaway later confessed that it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. In early 2021, she shared that she felt greatly empowered by the experience. She said, “So I guess what I’d say is when the bad shit happens, don’t fear it. Just go with it, flow with it."