Anne Hathaway Recalls 'Gross' Request to Kiss 10 Men for a Costar Chemistry Test: I 'Pretended I Was Excited'

"I thought, 'Is there something wrong with me?' because I wasn’t excited," she recalled

Anne Hathaway is looking back at "gross" requests she fielded for roles early in her career.

The actress is a producer and star of the new romance The Idea of You, in which she plays a woman who falls in love with a much younger boy-band pop star, played by Nicholas Galitzine.

In an interview for V Magazine, Hathaway, 41, recalled how costar chemistry tests went for her as she launched her career in Hollywood.

"Back in the 2000s — and this did happen to me — 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," she said.

Continued Hathaway, "I was told, 'We have 10 guys coming today and you’re cast. Aren’t you excited to make out with all of them?' And I thought, 'Is there something wrong with me?' because I wasn’t excited. I thought it sounded gross."

Related: Anne Hathaway Recalls How 'Angel' Christopher Nolan Helped Her Career After Her Online Identity Grew 'Toxic'

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Hathaway explained that she was "so young," as well as "terribly aware how easy it was to lose everything by being labeled "difficult.' "

"So," she added, "I just pretended I was excited and got on with it. 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."

Hathaway's big break came with the 2001 Disney film The Princess Diaries. From there, she headlined hits like Ella Enchanted (2004), The Devil Wears Prada (2006), Love & Other Drugs (2010) and more. She won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for the 2012 musical Les Misérables.

In November 2023, Hathaway said in an interview with PORTER that she was once told her career wouldn't last long after turning 35.

"When I started out as a child, I was warned that my career would fall off a cliff at the age of 35, which is something I know a lot of women face," she said at the time. "The thing that has evolved during [that time] is that more women are having careers deeper into their lives, which I think is fantastic."

"Obviously, it doesn’t mean we should have a ticker-tape parade," she added. "Someone said this to me the other day: 'There’s so much to be proud of and there’s so much to fix.' "

The Idea of You is on Prime Video May 2.

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