FILM INTERVIEW: ANNE HATHAWAY

Playing a Fiercely Independent Bird Who Runs Off with Jesse Eisenberg in Animated 'Rio'

By: Izumi Hasegawa

April 12, 2011

Though we love to watch her pretty face on the screen, Anne Hathaway has done voiceover work nine times, including such famous shows as The Simpsons and Family Guy.  Our talented starlet returns as the voice of "Jewel" alongside Jesse Eisenberg and George Lopez in the new animated adventure comedy, Rio. Anne sat down with Buzzine to discuss working with Eisenberg early in their careers, how she feels about (not) playing love games, and how (un)comfortable she is singing...

Izumi Hasegawa: Now that you've done some singing, are you eager to do some more?

Anne Hathaway: Singing has always been something I loved to do. I never thought about doing it professionally. I always felt more drawn to acting, but who knows? I'm doing things that I never ever, ever, ever thought I would do, and in front of a lot of people as well. So anything is possible. 

IH: Did you work with Jesse Eisenberg in the studio? Because it seems like your scenes really had a rhythm to them that didn't relay that someone was by themselves in a booth and then someone else laid down their track separately...

AH: No, I haven't seen Jesse except for socially throughout this whole process. Interestingly, for those of you that are avid IMDB surfers, Jesse and I played brother and sister on a Fox television series in 1999 called Get Real. I was his older sister, Meghan Green, and he was Kenny Green. So I'm very happy for all of his success. 

IH: You've done a lot of voices. Is there something special about the process for you? What do you enjoy about it?

AH: You're giving me way too much credit. I love employment. [Laughs] 

IH: Don't we all?

AH: Yes, we do, really, and it's never ever guaranteed. As much as I love doing animated voices, I just kind of love working and I love the people who have asked me to do it. It's been an honor. I've worked on The Simpsons twice, and I've worked with Carlos (Saldanha) before, and I just keep getting these opportunities that I can't say no to. No one could. 

IH: You mentioned earlier that you didn't work with anyone in the recording of this movie, right?

AH: No, I didn't. will(.i.am) and Sergio (Mendes) were there when I did my voice part two, but none of the actors. 

IH: You talked about being nervous about the singing part...

AH: There's quite a bit more. Carlos can get me to do anything. So every time I would come, he'd show me more footage, and it's just breathtaking. It really was. So then, when he says, "Well, now can you sing?" You can't say anything but yes. It is intimidating to sing in front of Sergio and will.i.am, as I'm sure you can imagine. That morning I had an extra cup of coffee to still my nerves. 

IH: How do you think you did?

AH: I don't know. I think that's for all of you to decide. 

IH: There's a good message in this film. What kind of advice do you have for kids when it comes to living and chasing your dream?

AH: I think the only thing in life that you really have to worry about is how you treat other people, and if you mess up and you treat someone else badly, you apologize and don't apologize for anything else. I think you be yourself and go for it. Then just a little bit of practical advice when you're doing something and it feels really hard: what I always do – this is such a dumb example, but I don't love exercising, and some of it is more fun than others. So if you're on the treadmill and you don't want to finish the thing, you look at it and say, "Okay, this is 20 minutes versus the rest of my life. I'm going to spend the rest of my life doing so many other things. I can do this for 20 minutes." So I just think that, if you break it down in achievable goals, you'll wind up achieving so much more than you ever thought you could. 

IH: Jewel plays really hard to get in the film. Would you recommend that as a way for a girl to get her bird? (George Lopez says he believes you should always respect your bird.) 

AH: [Laughs] I believe you should always respect other people's birds too. I'm a girl without game. I'm not interested in games. I think if you are someone who playing 'hard to get' comes naturally, then go with God and do that. But for me, I am a 'wear my heart on my sleeve, fall in love at first sight, go with it' sort of girl. So I would no more play hard to get than to...well, I can't think of anything that I might not do, but that one doesn't make a lot of sense to me. But don't you think it's all about having fun with someone and learning how to communicate with someone in a way that you enjoy? So if you're with someone who enjoys that, maybe that's the way you're supposed to do it. I don't know. 

IH: When you're in the booth and you get other voices from the other actors in your headphones, does that pump your adrenaline up?

AH: I did all my stuff with Carlos. Jesse brings a certain American neurosis to his performance, and Carlos brings a great Brazilian neurosis to his performance. So it travels. 

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporations' 'Rio' is released on April 15, 2011.