For almost everyone in Hollywood, an Oscar win is the pinnacle of success.
Hard work, long hours and years of trying to crack into the industry all culminate into one night of little gold statues, red carpets and a way to very much put your name on the industry’s map.
So why was it so different for Anne Hathaway?
In an interview with The Guardian, Hathaway admitted her Oscar win in 2013 for her supporting role in Les Miserables wasn’t quite how she had always dreamed it to be. In fact, upon hearing her name read from that little gold envelope, she struggled to crack a smile at all.
“I felt very uncomfortable. I kind of lost my mind doing that movie and it hadn’t come back yet,” she said.
For a while there, Hathaway found herself wrestling with the idea that her instinct upon winning was so totally in opposition to what her head told her she should be feeling.
“Then I had to stand up in front of people and feel something I don’t feel which is uncomplicated happiness. It’s an obvious thing, you win an Oscar and you’re supposed to be happy. I didn’t feel that way.
“I felt wrong that I was standing there in a gown that cost more than some people are going to see in their lifetime, and winning an award for portraying pain that still felt very much a part of our collective experience as human beings.”
After trying to crack her million-dollar smile when accepting the award and playing the part of gracious winner, it seems Hathaway’s acting skills didn’t stretch as far as the podium. Because people could tell she wasn’t happy.
“I tried to pretend that I was happy and I got called out on it, big time. That’s the truth and that’s what happened. It sucks.”
Despite acknowledging the entire experience, both the win and the push-back from those who dubbed her insincere, was difficult, she learned something invaluable.
“What you learn from it is that you only feel like you can die from embarrassment, you don’t actually die.”
How’s that for insight.
Feature image: Getty.