Tom Hooper, the director of Oscar-winning 'King's Speech' and the upcoming 'Les Miserables', recently gave an interview about the cast of Les Miserables, and he had glowing comments about Anne Hathaway, who apparently beat out some of the biggest movie stars in the world to land the role of Fantine. The movie has steadily been gaining Oscar buzz since the trailer was released last month, and insiders are saying that Hathaway's performance as Fantine, in particular, is tailor-made for a nomination and possibly a win.
Hooper says that The list of actresses who auditioned for Fantine for example, it was outrageous. It was like half a dozen of the biggest female movie stars on the planet all wanted to play the role. The competition was insane, and they were all willing to go through the auditioning process.”
The Oscar-winning director continues, “It was rather wonderful and some poetic justice that Anne Hathaway ends up getting the role given that her mother was the understudy for Fantine on the American tour when she was growing up. The first day of filming, she actually wore her mother’s “Les Mis” cast jacket from all those years ago. I am blessed by the most extraordinary cast, a cast I still can’t quite believe, even after having shot the film and worked with them all, I still can’t quite believe that we got this lineup. I’m incredibly proud of the performances in the film and each of them in their own way has done something astonishing with the opportunity. I can’t wait to share it with big fans of the musical.”
Hooper also shared his thoughts on her performance as Fantine and the commitment she brought to the role in ‘Les Misérables,’ saying, “When she sings “I Dreamed a Dream,” and you just see a tiny clip in the trailer, it is quite extraordinary. This performance, it is quite breathtaking. The day we shot it on set, the crew were kind of absolutely staggered by it. She went to this incredibly raw and intense place to play this role. She offered to cut her hair because that’s what happens to the character, and she was truly committed to going on this journey and did the most immaculate amount of research. I don’t think I’ve worked with a better-prepared actor in terms of the amount of the months and months of work that she put in to build up to this moment.”
Les Miserables releases in the US on December 7th and stars Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman, Eddie Redmayne, Amanda Seyfried, Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham-Carter, and Samantha Banks. It is set in 19th century France, and is story about love, loss, and sacrifice.
