“This woman has an Oscar and yet she got emotional at what she could’ve easily written off as the ‘little teenybopper movie’ she did at the beginning of her career.”
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Anne Hathway watched The Princess Diaries for the first time in decades, and her reaction was everything fans hoped it’d be.
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In a new video with Vanity Fair, Anne sat down to reflect on her Hollywood career, starting with “the film that changed [her] life” — The Princess Diaries.
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As you’ll know, Anne starred in the 2001 classic as Mia Thermopolis, heir to the throne of the fictional land of Genovia. It remains one of her best-loved performances to date, so much so that she returned for a second movie in 2004 — and may even come back for a third.
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While rewatching a clip from the film that helped launch her career, Anne was overcome with emotion as she expressed how special it was to work with the likes of Julie Andrews and director Garry Marshall at such a young age.
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“I was 17 years old when we made this, and so I hadn't met as many people yet in my life,” she said, hitting pause only a few seconds into the clip. “So I knew Garry Marshall was really special and I knew Julie Andrews was really special. But now sitting here watching this from this point of view, they're two of the most magical people I have ever met.”
Admitting that it’d been “maybe 20 years” since she last watched the film, Anne became visibly choked up, holding back tears as she said: “I'm a little bit speechless with this one. Actually, it's very emotional to see it.”
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Of course, Anne has come a long way since her days in Genovia, and in light of what a successful career she’s had, fans loved hearing her talk so fondly about The Princess Diaries — particularly when many actors aren’t so proud of where they started.
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“This woman has an Oscar and yet she got emotional at what she could’ve easily written off as the ‘little teenybopper movie’ she did at the beginning of her career,” one fan wrote on X, amassing more than 65,000 likes.
“I just love when actors see and admire the different phases of their career and can speak to how it impacted them,” they added.
“i absolutely LOVE when actors/actresses embrace the roles that got them to where they are rather than sh*tting on them in desperation to be separated from it,” commented someone else. “that's our princess forever.”
“She real af for this,” added another, who called for “more established actors” to “show reverence” for the movies that put them on the map.
As you might remember, Anne’s emotional comments come only a few months after Jacob Elordi sparked a viral debate over his criticism of The Kissing Booth franchise, which turned him into an overnight sensation in 2018 before he was cast in Euphoria.
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“I didn’t want to make those movies before I made those movies,” he said of the Netflix trilogy during an interview with GQ in November. “Those movies are ridiculous. They’re not universal. They’re an escape.”
In light of the fact he’s taken on more highbrow roles in recent years, Jacob was accused of being “pretentious” by disregarding his earlier work, which was targeted towards a younger female audience.
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Notably, his comments sparked comparisons to A-listers like Robert Pattinson and Harrison Ford, who also attempted to distance themselves from the franchises that made them famous once their careers had fully taken off.
So, if you’re in the mood for a trip down memory lane, here’s where you can watch Anne react to some of her most iconic movie moments with Vanity Fair.
View this video on YouTube
- The Princess Diaries
- Disney Plus
- Movies
- Ellen DurneyBuzzFeed Staff
