Anne Hathaway is not one to be typecast. A gritty, down-to-earth princess, a young lover diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s disease, a sister recovering from alcohol abuse… and the list goes on. Yet, different as each role may be, Anne brings an arresting demeanour and vulnerable relatability that is impossible to ignore and has seen her win a slew of glittering accolades.

Stepping into her 40s this November, Anne remains fervently dedicated to her craft. Today is the US release date of Armageddon Time, a film by James Gray on 1980s America and the social and racial complexities that come with realising the American Dream. Anne plays Esther Graff, where she stars alongside Jeremy Strong and Anthony Hopkins. “It was a challenging, surprising and incredibly rewarding experience”, Anne recalls. “James has an endearing habit of cackling behind the monitor – we got into a twenty minute improv one day with the cast reacting to something on TV and me coming in and out of the scene trying to feed everyone pickles and I thought he was going to pass out he was laughing so hard. It sounds random but it’s one of my favourite memories.” 

This light-hearted camaraderie stands in sharp contrast to the darker nature of the film, which is something that Anne acknowledges. “The movie’s subject matter and themes are weighty, so we laughed and got goofy whenever we could.”

Besides her role in Armageddon Time, the actress will play Dr. Rebecca Saint John in Eileen, a film adaptation of the eponymous novel set to be directed by William Oldroyd. Anne is also set to star in Rebecca Miller’s She Came to Me, and her recent Apple TV+ series with Jared Leto, WeCrashed, was released to great acclaim. If three feature films and a TV series wasn’t enough, the actress just wrapped filming Mother’s Instinct with close friend Jessica Chastain, marking another film with heavy subject matter, this time toeing the line of Anne’s limits. “That was the hardest role I have played”, Anne reveals. “It touched my worst fear and I almost backed out of the film because I didn’t know if I could go there as an actress.”

A mother to a 6-year-old and a 2-year-old, Anne joins the chorus of voices whose lives have been forever changed by their children. While some take a step back from their careers, Anne felt decidedly the opposite, detailing her growing drive and commitment to acting in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. In her newfound sense of self came something of a fashion renaissance, which was in no small part due to her ongoing collaboration with stylist Erin Walsh. Anne nailed dopamine dressing in a loud Christopher John Rogers three-piece set on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert shortly before she stole the show at Cannes Film Festival in an array of breathtaking ensembles. Arriving at the premiere of Armageddon Time (which was met with a 7-minute standing ovation), Anne channelled her inner Mia Thermopolis, looking every bit the Princess of Genovia that won our hearts some 21 years ago.