Anne Hathaway Reveals She Almost Prepped For The Wrong Batman Villain Before Landing Catwoman
Anne Hathaway is back in the spotlight this summer as she promotes her upcoming Christopher Nolan collaboration, and the press cycle has resurfaced one of the more chaotic behind the scenes stories in modern blockbuster history. Hathaway is currently deep in the press cycle for ‘The Odyssey,’ and the internet has been reminded of one of the best audition stories in modern Hollywood, spreading all over again. The timing could not be better for fans revisiting her Gotham era.
Long before she became one of Nolan’s most trusted collaborators, Hathaway stepped into Gotham City for the first time as Selina Kyle in ‘The Dark Knight Rises.’ The film closed out Nolan’s Batman trilogy in 2012 and grossed over one billion dollars worldwide, introducing both Catwoman and Bane alongside Christian Bale’s Batman. It remains one of the most successful superhero films ever made, and Hathaway’s performance is still widely remembered as a series highlight.
What fans may not remember is that Hathaway did not actually know she was reading for Catwoman when she first sat down with Nolan. The account, shared widely online by entertainment journalist Josh Horowitz, quotes Hathaway describing how she spent an entire week preparing for a completely different DC villain, only to be corrected mid meeting once Nolan clarified the role was actually Catwoman.
According to earlier interview details, Hathaway walked in wearing a striped Vivienne Westwood top and flat, jester style shoes, actively trying to channel an unhinged energy she believed matched the part. She has explained that Nolan let the meeting run for close to an hour before finally setting the record straight, forcing her to abandon the persona and pivot into something far more controlled and feline on the spot.
The mix up is especially amusing in hindsight, considering the character she thought she was auditioning for did not appear on screen in live action form until years later. It was only four years after ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ that Margot Robbie brought Harley Quinn to life in David Ayer’s ‘Suicide Squad,’ a role she has since reprised multiple times. Hathaway, meanwhile, never got a shot at playing the character she had unknowingly prepared for.
Despite the confusion, Hathaway’s take on Catwoman went on to earn serious praise. ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ holds an 87 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and Vanity Fair has called her the best Catwoman to appear on screen. Her chemistry with Bale and her physical commitment to the role helped cement Selina Kyle as one of the trilogy’s most memorable additions, even though she never returned to the franchise after that single outing.
The story also underscores just how far Hathaway and Nolan’s working relationship has come since that slightly chaotic first meeting. She is now working with Nolan for the third time as Penelope in ‘The Odyssey,’ following her earlier role in ‘Interstellar,’ and Nolan has credited her commitment and presence as central to the new film’s ensemble. What began as an actress accidentally auditioning for the wrong villain has clearly grown into one of the more consistent director actor partnerships in modern blockbuster filmmaking.
Would you have wanted to see Hathaway’s demonic Harley Quinn energy make it to the big screen, or are you glad Nolan redirected her toward Catwoman instead?
