At age 21, Anne is starting to seem like a ‘Princess’ phony
Either that princess training really rubbed off on Anne Hathaway, or she’s a palace natural possessing a queen’s confidence and a diplomat’s discretion.
The 21-year-old star of 2001’s surprise hit “The Princess Diaries” and its new sequel, “The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement,” speaks with a candor rare among young performers prone to caution, and with an eloquence that often eludes actors twice her age.
She is able to embrace the girl-power franchise that made her a star while judiciously distancing herself from the role of Mia, the klutzy American kid who blossoms into a regal presence after she learns she’s heir to the throne of a small European country.
“I’m mutton dressed as lamb,” Hathaway says of the sequel. “I’m a 21-year-old in a G-rated movie. This isn’t exactly the kind of artistic choices that I want to be making right now, but at the same time, I’m grateful to be able to make them.”
After two turns as Mia, along with last spring’s fairy-tale romance “Ella Enchanted,” Hathaway figures her princess days are over.
“Of course, you can never say never. If I’m asked to play Queen Rania (of Jordan) in a film, I might say yes, just because I think she’s a fascinating woman,” Hathaway says. “But I think I’ve done a lot in this genre, and I’m ready to tackle new ones.”
A trained soprano, Hathaway starred in the Broadway musical “Carnival” and is looking for a movie musical. One of her great disappointments was that “Princess Diaries 2” prevented her from taking a role in the movie version of the stage musical “The Phantom of the Opera.”
She is on the hunt for another stage play and is thinking of cutting an album, possibly singing jazz or alternative rock.
And there are more movies on the way as well, far from the princess realm.
Already shot is the independent film “Havoc,” the story of two young women from affluent suburban homes caught in a dark clash of cultures among Latino gangs in East Los Angeles.
Hathaway currently is filming “Brokeback Mountain,” directed by Ang Lee (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”), a story of 1960s cowboy lovers (Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger) concealing their relationship. She plays Gyllenhaal’s embittered wife.
Her acting days go back to early childhood, when she would spin elaborate back stories for her Barbie dolls.
“I had quite a few, and they all knew each other, so it was this very kind of ‘Melrose Place’ setup,” Hathaway says. “It was super-scandalous, and I was 4.”
Like Mia learning how to be a princess at Grandma Clarisse’s side, Hathaway picked up career pointers from “Princess Diaries” co-star Julie Andrews.
“The thing I think is so cool about Julie is, I’m an ungrateful little actress at this stage,” Hathaway says. “So I would come in and I’d be like, ‘Grr, it’s too early. Grr, I’m working every day of this movie. Grr, my coffee’s too cold.’
“And Julie would come in every day, she’d look around the set and just say, ‘Hello, everyone. Aren’t we all lucky to be here?’
“And I just went, ‘Oh, she’s right.’ So she taught me a lot about gratitude in all circumstances. Julie chooses grace over self-pity, and that’s an amazing thing to be around.”
The birthday bunch
Actor Fess Parker is 80. Actor Robert Culp is 74. Sportscaster Frank Gifford is 74. Actress Julie Newmar is 71. Actress Lesley Ann Warren is 58. TV personality Kathie Lee Gifford is 51. Director James Cameron is 50. Actress Angela Bassett is 46. Singer Madonna is 46. Actress Laura Innes (“ER”) is 45. Actor Timothy Hutton is 44. Country singer Emily Robison (The Dixie Chicks) is 32. Singer Vanessa Carlton is 24.