The 2008 Toronto International Film Festival Interview with Anne Hathaway, star of "Rachel Getting Married"

‘Rachel’ Brings Oscar High for Anne Hathaway

Veteran director Jonathan Demme’s heartfelt and extraordinary family melodrama "Rachel Getting Married," about the heartache that unfolds when one daughter, just out of drug rehab, returns home to her affluent Connecticut family to help celebrate her older sister wedding, has become the one film at the Toronto International Film Festival with strong Oscar buzz and the type of critical boost that attracts producers to the festival in the first place.

The surprise for audiences lies in its casting. Hollywood princess Anne Hathaway, best known for her roles in fun-loving hits like "The Devil Wears Prada" and "Get Smart," does not play the pretty bride-to-be, that role belongs to newcomer Rosemarie DeWitt. Instead, delivering the performance of her career, Hathaway plays Kym, the dark sheep of the family, a struggling drug addict with short dark hair, pasty complexion and the inability to make good choices.

Kym is not the type of character one connects with Hathaway. Yet, speaking to a small group of reporters at Toronto’s Park Hyatt Hotel, she explains proudly how the role came surprisingly easily to her.

“Jonathan came to me," says Hathaway, looking as polished and perfectly put together as one would expect. "I didn’t have to persuade him that I could do it. He already felt that" "Rachel," which Sony Pictures Classics plans to release in early October with an aggressive Oscar campaign, may not be the first serious turn for Hathaway who provided dramatic support in Ang Lee’s landmark gay romance "Brokeback Mountain." But "Rachel" is all about Kym; providing Hathaway the chance to support a film with the type of complex, riveting leading lady performance that, well, can change one’s career.

“I’m proud of the popular films I made but I never thought of myself as the princess,” says Hathaway, after describing how she turned her toned "Get Smart" body to the type of jiggly thin physique she needed as Kym.

The idea of comic actress taking a crack at a serious role is nothing new but few can claim the type of success Hathaway enjoys with "Rachel Getting Married."

Asked if she is aware of the Oscar buzz surrounding her performance, or whether it’s in poor taste to even care about getting an Oscar nomination, Hathaway laughs.

Of course, she cares. More importantly, starting with her wave of support at Toronto, she will have an army of admirers behind her.

By Steve Ramos, Writer