UNITED KINGDOM: Anne Hathaway talks about her struggle to land the lead role in the novel-turned-film "One Day" while her co-star Jim Sturgess says he doesn't see himself as a sex symbol

Record ID: 219627

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: Anne Hathaway talks about her struggle to land the lead role in the novel-turned-film "One Day" while her co-star Jim Sturgess says he doesn't see himself as a sex symbol
  • Date: 25th August 2011
  • Summary: VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS (FILE) (UNIVERSAL PICTURES - MUST COURTESY AND NO ARCHIVE OR WIRELESS USE. NO RESALE) FILM CLIP OF "ONE DAY"
  • Embargoed: 9th September 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom, United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Reuters ID: LVA9PTMXRJ1XJQ1R63L76OBWX2VP
  • Story Text: U.S. actress Anne Hathaway wouldn't take "no" for an answer when she was told the lead role for "One Day" should go to a British actress, she said at the European premiere for the movie on Tuesday (August 23).
    The film, based on the international bestseller by British author David Nicholls, tells the story of two people as their friendship and possible romance blossoms over a 20-year-period.
    The novel unfolds on July 15, St. Trinian's Day in the UK, every year and follows both lead characters as they grow from university graduates to middle age, with the surprises and uncertainties of life developing their characters as human beings.
    After reading the script, Hathaway herself jumped on a plane to the United Kingdom to meet face-to-face with filmmaker Lone Scherfig, who most recently directed the Academy Award-nominated "An Education". Hathaway did her utmost to land the role, even putting together a music playlist to trying to convince Scherfig why she should play the lead character of Emma Morley.
    Her persistence paid off but Hathaway said despite a number of lead roles already under her belt including "The Devil Wears Prada" and her Oscar-nominated performance in "Rachel Getting Married", she said she still has to fight for the big parts in Hollywood.
    "Yeah I mean I auditioned for Catwoman, I had to fight for this role, I just auditioned for something else I really, really want, I mean I think the landscape has changed for a lot of different reasons and it's not a bad thing that people... I think it's a compliment when people think they can't see you in something because it means you did your last part so well they can't see you as something else. Sometimes you need to go in and give people's imaginations a little nudge," she told Reuters Television.
    Her character hails from the northern English city of Leeds and Hathaway's attempts at the accent has been criticised by some.
    Playing opposite her is English actor Jim Sturgess, who plays the lothario role of Dexter. Sturgess has already starred alongside Kevin Spacey in "21" and Colin Farrell in "The Way Back", now with "One Day" his growing legion of female fans could firmly cement his rising star, but the actor says he doesn't seem himself as a sex symbol.
    "No I don't see myself like that. I think after this film I could lose a lot of female fans and I think a lot of girls won't take too kindly to his actions. I don't know, what can you say? The last time I was in here (Westfield shopping mall where the premiere took place) I was in (fast food restaurant) Nando's," he said.
    The author "One Day" David Nicholls said he was as surprised as anybody when the book became the biggest selling novel in Britain in 2010, mostly by word-of-mouth and people passing the book along to their friends. The book has since been published in 31 countries.
    He also penned the screenplay for the movie but even he admitted that early on, he couldn't see the potential of the book for the big screen.
    "No it seemed quite a difficult proposition to me. It's not quite a romantic comedy, it's quite dark in places, the actors have to age a lot. So there are lots of reasons why I didn't think it would make a good film but it's happened surprisingly quickly," he said, adding that "I wanted people to both laugh and cry. I love getting upset in the cinema. I love that whole gasping of breath, that's very much what we wanted so we're really pleased."
    "An Education" director Scherfig said the book only hit shelves when they began filming the movie, so there was no pressure by readers -- until now.
    "It wasn't that widely published yet when we shot the film so it meant that we didn't feel the pressure that you feel now that so many people connect so much to it and where all the sudden you have to emphasize that the film is a completely different experience but also a good experience," she said.
    "One Day" is currently in North American theaters, and opens in British cinemas on Wednesday (August 24) with global rollouts to follow.
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