Anne Hathaway is no stranger to musicals, but ‘Mother Mary’ nearly pushed her to quit.
The Oscar winner admitted she struggled hard while trying to find her inner pop star for the A24 psychological thriller. Hathaway stars as Mother Mary, a world-famous pop singer preparing for a comeback performance after an on-stage accident.
The role sounds flashy on paper. In reality, Hathaway said the early footage left her shaken.
Anne Hathaway Thought Her Pop Star Performance Was ‘Really Bad’
Hathaway told Elle that she panicked after watching herself sing and dance to original songs by Jack Antonoff, Charli XCX, and FKA twigs in the David Lowery film.
“This is really bad,” she remembered thinking. “I don’t know that I can ask people to come to see this.”
That moment hit hard enough that Hathaway told her husband she wanted to quit the movie.
She eventually decided walking away would feel worse.
“I came to the conclusion that there would be no shame if I was fired, but there would be if I quit,” she said.
So she stayed. Then she worked.
Hathaway took months of dance lessons for the role. She also spent a year working on her vocals during postproduction and returned to the studio with Antonoff to re-record most of her part.
The effort apparently showed. Hathaway said Antonoff noticed immediately.
“He whipped his head at me goes, ‘You have been working,’” she recalled.
‘Mother Mary’ Puts Hathaway In Pop Icon Mode
Written and directed by Lowery, ‘Mother Mary’ opened in limited release on April 17 before expanding on April 24. The film later arrived on digital streaming after a tough box office run.
Hathaway plays the title character, a pop music icon trying to stage a major comeback show. To pull it off, she reconnects with her estranged former costume designer and best friend, Sam Anselm, played by Michaela Coel.
That reunion forces Mother Mary to deal with old wounds, including the stage accident that still hangs over her career. Sam also has questions about what really happened.
The film blends music, fame, psychological tension, and supernatural elements. It also features Hunter Schafer, Sian Clifford, FKA twigs, Jessica Brown Findlay, Kaia Gerber, and Alba Baptista.
Hathaway Has Done Movie Musicals Before
Hathaway has already proved she can handle a demanding musical role.
She won her first Oscar in 2013 for Best Supporting Actress after playing Fantine in the movie musical adaptation of ‘Les Misérables.’ That performance became one of the defining moments of her awards-season career.
Still, ‘Mother Mary’ gave her a different challenge. Fantine required raw emotion and vocal control. Playing a pop star required movement, stage presence, studio polish, and the confidence to look like someone who could command an arena.
For Hathaway, that confidence did not arrive on day one. She had to build it the hard way.
That may be the most interesting part of the story. Even an Oscar winner can look at the monitor, hate what she sees, and wonder whether she should disappear before anyone else sees it.
