Anne Hathaway

For anyone who has seen Anne Hathaway act in a movie, or perhaps co-host an awards show, it’s clear that she is a woman whose emotions run close to the surface. And considering the tools she’s been given to express those emotions—clear brown eyes, luminous skin, and a face that curls easily into a smile—it’s not hard to be seduced into feeling like you know what she’s thinking at any given moment. It’s a testament, though, to Hathaway’s remarkable command of those tools that she has managed to parlay her early work playing earnest, endearingly clumsy girls thrust into modern-day fairy tale scenarios in films like The Princess Diaries (2001) and Ella Enchanted (2004) into the varied, complex career that she has now. Among other things, she has proven herself an adept character actress (as the emotionally tangled wife of a closeted cowboy played by Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain, 2005), a comedic whiz (as an aspiring journalist thrust into the world of fashion in The Devil Wears Prada, 2006), a dramatic powerhouse (as the drug-addicted, walking-disaster sister of the bride in Rachel Getting Married, 2008, a performance for which she received both Oscar and Golden Globe nominations), and a leading lady (reteaming with Gyllenhaal as a commitment-averse woman with early-onset Parkinson’s in Love & Other Drugs, 2010)—not to mention the closest thing her generation has to a full-blown acting, singing, dancing, tear-jerking, joke-cracking, mass-appealing entertainer.

In One Day, the lovelorn new drama from An Education director Lone Scherfig (based on the 2009 novel of the same name by David Nicholls), Hathaway stars as a young working-class woman with high-minded aspirations (viz., teaching, writing, changing the world) who, after a night of celebrating her graduation from university, wakes up in her single bed alongside a wealthy caballero (Jim Sturgess) with an entirely different set of priorities (viz., drinking, traveling, drugs). They spend that day together and strike up an unlikely friendship before he sets off for a post-grad jaunt around the globe and she nabs a waitressing job. From there, the narrative charts the myriad ways their lives intersect over the ensuing two decades as their feelings evolve and change, drawing them toward one another even as they are driven apart.

Chelsea Handler recently caught up with the 28-year-old Hathaway, who was in Positano, Italy, enjoying a brief vacation with her boyfriend, Adam Shulman. This followed a whirlwind month in which she served as master of ceremonies at the White Fairy Tale Love Ball at Valentino’s estate, Chateau de Wideville, during couture week in Paris, performed her duties as a member of the wedding party at a friend’s nuptials in Barcelona, and wrapped the London portion of The Dark Night Rises, for which she risks life, limb, and toxoplasmosis to don a series of skin-tight costumes and play Batman’s vixen-ish adversary, Catwoman, in the third and final installment of Christopher Nolan’s re-booted Batman franchise.

CHELSEA HANDLER: Where are you?

ANNE HATHAWAY: I’m in Italy.

HANDLER: I just came from Venice. I just got back to L.A. yesterday.

HATHAWAY: Really? I’m in Positano.

HANDLER: Oh, you’re so lucky. Are you on vacation?

HATHAWAY: I am. I managed to steal a few days.

HANDLER: With your lover?

HATHAWAY: With my man, yes. This is one of my favorite places in the world.

HANDLER: Isn’t Positano ridiculous?

HATHAWAY: It’s ridiculous. It kind of reminds me of Southern California, but without strip malls and a bit more charm.

HANDLER: You can get a good strip mall put in there if it means that much to you.

HATHAWAY: I’m fighting for it actually. I’m petitioning. I’m like, “Here’s how you get Hollywood in Positano: You need a nail salon and a yogurt place . . . “

HANDLER: Speaking of which, let’s talk about Jersey. I want to know your thoughts on being from New Jersey, and Jersey Shore, and how you think that show has helped our reputation as Jersey girls.

HATHAWAY: I think that Jersey Shore is awesome. I’ve gone to Cape May every summer of my life.

HANDLER: I’m talking about the show, Anne.

HATHAWAY: I know—I’m getting there. When I first saw the show, I thought, Wow, they are having a very different experience there than my experience in Cape May. I thought the first season of the show was awesome because it was authentic, but I don’t watch it any more because now they know that there’s a camera there. The Situation is totally self-aware. He’s referring to himself as The Situation non-stop. In the episode I saw, his car got towed, and he was like, “We’ve got a situation here, and The Situation is the situation.”

HANDLER: Did you honestly stop watching though, because you found there were too many similarities between you and Snooki?

HATHAWAY: Absolutely. I like to watch MTV for escapist pleasure, but when I saw Snooki, I saw my twin. I couldn’t lose myself in the show anymore because there I was.

HANDLER: I had to actually stop watching the show because I was like, “This girl reminds me too much of Hathaway.”

HATHAWAY: I’ve heard that from many people. That being said, I think JWoww is amazing. I love JWoww. She’s intense. See, JWoww to me is proper Jersey because she will scrap for a friend.

HANDLER: That’s actually very true. I don’t know how much scrapping people in L.A. or in our business actually do—physical scrapping. But it would be good to know that you had a friend that could physically back you up if necessary.

HATHAWAY: It’s nice to know that. My best friend got married this past weekend in Barcelona, and I was one of her bridesmaids. She’s one of my best friends from Jersey, and this guy was messing with her, and I was totally like, “Who am I punching?” She was like, “No one. You’re not going to punch anyone. And I was like, “Fair enough, but if a fight breaks out, who do you want me to swing at?”

HANDLER: I can’t see you in a physical altercation.

HATHAWAY: Well, we haven’t hung out yet.

MY FEELING about GROWING UP IN NEW JERSEY WAS, ‘HOW COME I’M NOT in NEW YORK?Anne Hathaway

HANDLER: What were your feelings about New Jersey growing up? My feelings were that I wanted to get out as quickly as possible.

HATHAWAY: I wanted to be in New York. My feeling about growing up in New Jersey was, “How come I’m not in New York?” That being said, I’m older and I have a better worldview now, and so I think I grew up in an incredibly privileged position. The town I grew up in is beautiful. I got a great education, and I’m very grateful for it. But it’s not a place I wanted to stay. I left when I was 16, just to follow my dreams . . .

HANDLER: Where did you go when you were 16? Straight to New York?

HATHAWAY: To L.A., actually. I’d been going to New York to audition while in high school, and then when I was 16 I wound up getting a TV series that took me to L.A. The other thing I want to say about Jersey is they need to get on the New York bandwagon and legalize gay marriage.

HANDLER: Yeah. That would be a good idea for any state.

HATHAWAY: But I think everybody should do that. It’s not a specifically Jersey thing.

HANDLER: Well, your brother is gay, right?

HATHAWAY: My older brother is gay.

HANDLER: We talked about that last time you were on the show. I’m convinced that my older brother is gay, too, although he has yet to come out of the closet.

HATHAWAY: He doesn’t admit it?

HANDLER: He doesn’t admit it. I keep telling him he’s gay, but he keeps pretending that he’s not.

HATHAWAY: I’m convinced that a few guys I’ve dated are gay, and they won’t admit it. I think we’ve all done that.

I think that when actors, are living very public lives, it affects your ability to get lost in their performances.Anne Hathaway

HANDLER: It’s so funny because I was watching One Day this morning, and it reminded me a little bit of Love & Other Drugs. Obviously, the characters that you portray in each film are totally different, but the relationships in both of them take place over a period of time. I thought there were a lot of similarities in the stories or the themes of the movies, although they are completely—

HATHAWAY: I don’t . . .

HANDLER: Go ahead.

HATHAWAY: I’m sorry. I’m so bad. I interrupt everybody. I’m so obnoxious. Pardon. I just get really excited when I talk—and especially when I talk to people who are fun to talk to—and I jump in at the end of every sentence and nobody ever gets to finish a thought. I’m working on it. I’m sorry.

HANDLER: Don’t worry. I’m the queen of interrupting. So what do you think about what I said about the similarities between the two films?

HATHAWAY: I agree with you. I think they’re totally different movies, and I think the things they have in common is that they’re high-stakes love stories. With Love & Other Drugs, the story was about two young people who had to commit to some very grown-up things, and two people who got together not wanting to have anything serious and were then confronted with a very serious and heartbreaking reality. One Day is definitely heartbreaking in a few ways, but one of the main ways is that my character and Jim Sturgess’s character are just people from two different worlds who love each other in so many ways and can’t quite seem to get it together.

HANDLER: When I saw Love & Other Drugs, it was the first time I’d seen you in a really bawdy, sexy role. I had never really seen you in that capacity before. And watching this movie this morning, I was thinking, Wow, this is interesting, too, because you’re lucky to be in a movie where the two main characters are in almost every single scene. There is so much of you in both of these movies, and there’s so much work for you to do. Is that more burdensome when you take on a role. Is it more exciting for you to have that much responsibility, or do you prefer it when some of the weight falls on other people, like in the new Batman movie you’re doing where you play Catwoman?

HATHAWAY: Honestly, I think it depends on how much prep time I have. Because in Rachel Getting Married, I’m in almost every scene in that movie, but I had a year’s prep time. So when I began production, I was so deep into the character that I didn’t feel any pressure whatsoever. With One Day, we were on shaky ground with the financing for so long that the prep time actually was affected. I didn’t know if I was playing the character or not. I felt like, “Gosh, if I could just have a moment to breathe, then I could work a few things out.” Some days, I was Emma Morley during four separate years of her life. When that happens, you just have to take a deep breath, jump into the deep end, trust your director, and go. Also, it didn’t help that she’s an iconic British literary character that is absolutely beloved. I don’t think too many people were thrilled that an American was playing her. So there was that pressure to contend with as well.

HANDLER: What do you do to prepare for something like that if you have a shorter amount of prep time?

HATHAWAY: In this case, I turned to the book. I’ve got to say, having the book as my guide was a godsend because normally you create a whole backstory for your character; you create a whole inner life and an inner monologue. Whenever I felt lost or unsure or like something was a little vague and I wanted to get more specific with it, I had the book. The movie is different than the book, but I tried to get as much of Emma from the book into the movie—just little things here and there. One of the things was the accent. I wanted to make sure that the accent changed over the course of the movie, and that it wasn’t just a standard Yorkshire—I don’t know if that even exists—or a standard London accent. I wanted to make sure that the accent grew with her.

HANDLER: You mean in terms of the nuances of how her accent  changed when she moved from place to place?

HATHAWAY: Yeah. How it was affected by her education, by where she was working, who she was hanging out with. So having the book as my guide to answer a lot of those questions was enormously helpful.

HANDLER: So when you’re doing something like this—or any movie for that matter—what terrifies you? What’s the scariest thing for you as an actor to confront?

HATHAWAY: Oh, I’ve just given you such a gift. You don’t even understand. Okay, so Marcel the Shell is this YouTube video that Jenny Slate, who used to be a cast member on SNL, did. She did this voice of this tiny shell, and it’s just his perspective on life and talking about himself. In the beginning he’s like, “So, my name is Marcel . . . Oh, no, that’s not what I meant to say . . . It’s not the first time I’ve done that . . . My name is Marcel, and I’m partially a shell, as you can tell by my body, but I also have shoes and a face, and I’m a good person and like that about myself . . .” So I guess my perspective on myself is that I aspire to be like Marcel.

My favorite fashion is daring. i love it as an art form. I love It when people are able to interpret thoughts and feelings on fabric.Anne Hathaway

HATHAWAY: There are a few things. One is not taking full advantage of every opportunity—missing out on something for whatever reason, being distracted, and not making the most of every opportunity that you’re given. Look, Chris Nolan makes it so easy for you to act, so the thing that I’m terrified about right now is not living up to his expectations, which is actually a kind of uniform thing. Not living up to the expectations of the director is pretty terrifying. Being exposed as a fraud—that’s pretty terrifying. Then I think there’s a vanity aspect of it. All of a sudden, you walk on the camera, and your ass looks horrible . . . The last one I can live with, but the other two are way more important.

HANDLER: Well, for me, it would be about the ass.

HATHAWAY: You’re just like, “Okay. My acting wasn’t the best. But damn, my ass looked tight.”

HANDLER: “It wasn’t jiggly at all. It wasn’t nearly as bad as it looked all summer.”

HATHAWAY: “I bounced quarters off it and they went in all directions.”

HANDLER: So how do you prepare to play a character like Catwoman? Do you just rent a bunch of cats? Sit-ups?

HATHAWAY: You know what? I actually had this moment when I convinced one of the assistant directors on the London portion of the film to get a cat with me, the idea being that we were going to get a kitten from a rescue shelter, and he was going to live with me, and I was going to observe it, and when I left London I was going to give it to her. Then, thankfully, her husband pointed out that that was a terrible idea on so many levels, not least of which being that it would probably be really confusing to the cat. So I turned to YouTube instead and got a National Geographic video on cats.

HANDLER: But as of now you’re still cat-less?

HATHAWAY: I am still cat-less. My man is allergic to cats, so that decision is made for me. What we give up for love, Chelsea.

HANDLER: Tell me about it, girlfriend. Tell me about it. I just sold my dog.

HATHAWAY: You sold your dog?

HANDLER: The best part was that it was on eBay. Didn’t even give the money to charity. Bought some shoes instead . . . I’m kidding. I would never sell my dog for a man. I’d sell the man. [Hathaway laughs] So the last time I saw you was at your château. It was right before the Oscars, and you were very humbly asking me for advice about your big night. I exchanged a couple of e-mails with you afterwards, telling you how great I thought you were, and you said something like, “Well, too bad the rest of the world thinks I’m an idiot. But whatever . . . Screw ’em.” I believe I told you that was going to happen, regardless of what you do or how you do it.

HATHAWAY: Yes, you did. I got some great advice leading up to the ceremony, but yours was my favorite. Do you remember what you said to me? You said, “Make sure you savor the first laugh. You have no idea how much you’ll be waiting for it, and everything is going to fly by after that.” So I did, and I thought of you in that moment.

HANDLER: How did you feel after your show? Because I will tell you, honestly, that you seemed joyous while you were doing it. I thought you just came out glowing. You didn’t seem nervous—you just seemed like you were really enjoying yourself. Is that how you were actually feeling?

HATHAWAY: Yes. You know, it’s not like I’d had this big dream to do this thing, and it’s not like I had a set of skills I’d been honing for years and years that I was going to showcase on this night. To me, it seemed like such a random opportunity, and such potential for fun, that I really was enjoying myself completely. It’s actually been very nice because the critical reaction was what it was, but since then . . . Like, just today, I was sitting, having lunch, and a really nice Canadian couple on vacation with their daughter came up and made a point of saying, “We just loved you at the Oscars.” It’s been so amazing and lovely, the feedback that I’ve been getting even months after the show. But then the other side of it was that I was obviously a little bummed out by the critical response because you work so hard at that. What I never appreciated about any of the hosts was just how much time and work goes into this huge production. Almost immediately afterwards, I went to Africa for the first time with an initiative that I work with called The Girl Effect, and I just realized that all these feelings that I was having, maybe even the negative ones, were a privilege to be had, and that good, bad, middling, whatever the Oscars were . . . I mean, I met a woman on this trip who got married at the age of 5.

HANDLER: Ewww . . .

HATHAWAY: Yeah. I mean, I’m trying to be diplomatic on behalf of the organization, but . . . Yeah . . . Some amazing work has been done, though, through this organization called Berhane Hewan, and a lot of people are now coming out against underage marriage, so many of these young girls are now getting educated and lives in these villages are improving. So I went from the most over-the-top, glamorous, grand experience to watching these girls from the age of 7 to probably 16 who had written a very involved skit, which they excellently performed, on why underage marriage is bad and the problems that it causes. That experience just knocked my head absolutely into the right place.

HANDLER: Africa is a good place to go right after something like the Oscars.

HATHAWAY: It’s the only place to go. And it motivates you, especially, when you think about how much attention the Oscars gets, and then you see people who don’t receive a lot of attention, but quite frankly could use some.

HANDLER: Obviously, the problems that a lot of people in this industry have are high-class problems. So many of us are so lucky to be so successful and doing something that we love to do—and not to be crass, but making a fortune doing it . . . So it’s very hard to keep perspective when you can get into a place where you feel self-doubt or you feel like you’re being beat up upon and you start to feel sorry for yourself. How do you view yourself? I know how I view you, and I know what your reputation is—that you’re a good girl,  people like you, and you have a sunny disposition. But a lot of people who come off that way don’t necessarily see themselves that way. How do you see yourself?

HATHAWAY: I see myself as improving. I think I’m a very curious person, and I like that about myself . . . I sound like Marcel the Shell. Have you seen that?

HANDLER: No, I haven’t.

HATHAWAY: Oh, I’ve just given you such a gift. You don’t even understand. Okay, so Marcel the Shell is this YouTube video that Jenny Slate, who used to be a cast member on SNL, did. She did this voice of this tiny shell, and it’s just his perspective on life and talking about himself. In the beginning he’s like, “So, my name is Marcel . . . Oh, no, that’s not what I meant to say . . . It’s not the first time I’ve done that . . . My name is Marcel, and I’m partially a shell, as you can tell by my body, but I also have shoes and a face, and I’m a good person and like that about myself . . .” So I guess my perspective on myself is that I aspire to be like Marcel.
HANDLER: What do you think your best quality as an artist is?

HATHAWAY: Work ethic. I heard Elia Kazan once said of Vivien Leigh—which I couldn’t believe, because they worked together on A Streetcar Named Desire [1951], and she gives the most amazing performance as Blanche DuBois. But I guess he was pretty tough on his actresses, so he said that she’s not the best actress in the world, but she’d have crawled over broken glass if she thought it would help her performance. That’s how I see myself as an actress. I may not be the best in the world, but I love my craft more than just about anything, and I will give everything I have to it, whatever the cost . . . I feel like such a jerk when I say “my craft,” but I do feel that way.

HANDLER: What do you think your weakest trait is? What do you think you could improve upon the most as an actress?

HATHAWAY: Oh, god. The list is endless.

HANDLER: That’s a very dangerous question to ask an actor.

HATHAWAY: One of the reasons why it’s dangerous is that if you point out what you don’t like about yourself, then I think people can start to look for that.

HANDLER: That’s actually a really good point. So don’t answer that. You’re actually completely right.

HATHAWAY: It’s part of the reason why I try to stay out of the spotlight as much as humanly possible, because I think that when actors, whether or not they’ve chosen it or it has been thrust upon them, are living very public lives, it affects your ability to get lost in their performances.

HANDLER: I agree. I do remember an actress once talking about what her least favorite body part is, and every time I see her in anything, I look straight at that body part. You can’t help it. It’s like, “Don’t think about an elephant . . . ” Okay, now we’re going to talk about your private parts . . .

HATHAWAY: Oh, my private parts. Pardon me. Pardonnez-moi.

HANDLER: What’s the last book you read?

HATHAWAY: The last book that I read and finished was Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder. The book that I’m reading right now is Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie.

HANDLER: I tried to get through that. Good luck.

HATHAWAY: It’s my vacation book. Was it not the right one to bring on vacation? I love it.

HANDLER: It’s a pretty tough read. In the middle of it, I was like, “Who’s on the rowboat? What city are we in? Who’s rowing it?” I’ll be curious to see if you finish it.

HATHAWAY: Well, I just read a passage that blew my mind. It’s the first description of the main character’s grandfather’s nose. He talks about why the nose is important, and he says that it’s where the outside world meets the inside of you, and if you’re in a situation that you’re unhappy in, your nose won’t let you rest and won’t give you any peace until you get out of that situation. I just reflected back on my life in every bad situation I’ve ever been in, and I’m like, “Oh my god, I always had a sinus infection.”

HANDLER: That’s so funny. That’s the first book I’ve ever started that I never finished. I got three quarters of the way through, but I just could not do it. But I know you’re an Ayn Rand fan, right?

HATHAWAY: Yeah, I am.

HANDLER: What’s your favorite Ayn Rand book?

HATHAWAY: Atlas Shrugged.

HANDLER: Did you like that better than The Fountainhead?

HATHAWAY: I did. When I began Atlas Shrugged, I was really excited, because Ayn Rand said that The Fountainhead was the overture to Atlas Shrugged. I was like, “Ooh! What am I getting into?” Whether or not you agree with Ayn Rand-and I have certain issues with some of her beliefs-the woman can tell a story. I mean, the novel as an art form is just in full florid bloom in Atlas Shrugged. It’s an unbelievable story. The characters are so compelling, and what she’s saying is mind-expanding. I really enjoyed that book, and it was kind of prophetic. I read that book for the first time during the Bush Administration and I was like, “People are governing with their feelings as opposed to their intellect. This is happening.” And she wrote this how many years ago?

HANDLER: Not only that, but I think a book like The Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged is kind of a way to look at leading your life with your professionalism permeated by your value system and your moral rectitude. You’re able to kind of see everything as one whole thing rather than kind of compartmentalizing different things in your life, and being morally bound to your personal life and not your professional life or vice-versa. When I read The Fountainhead, I was 17, and I thought, “I am never, ever going to have a book impact me this much.” And I don’t know that I’ve had one that did. That book definitely changed me for good, and I think the biggest compliment that you can say about any book is that it does that.

HATHAWAY: It’s so true. If you’re going to sum up both of those books, then I think what they say is don’t be a hypocrite.

HANDLER: Exactly.

HATHAWAY: And whatever you are made of, be the best of that.

HANDLER: Speaking of art, and other kinds of forms of art, do you ever have any desire to do anything else other than acting?

HATHAWAY: You know, I’m working with Joseph Gordon A. Levitt right now, and he has this website called hitRECord, which is an artistic collective, so I’ve been exploring some things I’m interested in—you know, a little bit of writing, a little bit of shooting, a little bit of drawing, a little bit of this, a little bit of that. I’d love to be an artist that’s multifaceted. At the moment, I am not. But wouldn’t that be cool if I was like, “Yeah, let me pull out my guitar and play you a song.” I would adore that. I am so far not gifted in that way. But I am a very hard worker and a very determined person, so who knows?

HANDLER: Let’s talk about fashion. I know you’ve been dying to talk about this, so I’ll just cut to the chase. I feel like you’ve gotten much more into fashion in the last couple of years—and you’ve become a little bit more daring. In fact, if I’m going to be honest, my assessment of the situation is that ever since you’ve had a little bit of nudity in your professional life, you’ve become a little bit more of a risk-taker fashion-wise.

HATHAWAY: Oh, my gosh. I hadn’t thought of it that way. But let’s explore that.

HANDLER: I think nudity is related to everything.

HATHAWAY: [laughs] Thank you for calling me daring. I think that’s one of the best compliments you can give a person.

HANDLER: You are daring. Absolutely.

HATHAWAY: See, my favorite fashion is daring. I love it as an art form. I love it when people are able to interpret thoughts and feelings on fabric or some kind of material. One of my favorite dresses that I wore recently was the Armani dress that I wore to the Golden Globes. It had those fabulous, big, like, almost Dynasty shoulder pads and was covered in paillettes. My hair kept getting caught in them, but it was so fun to wear it. I find fashion so fun. It’s a fun way to make a mistake, too. [laughs]

HANDLER: So who are some of your style icons? Who do you like that you see in a dress?

HATHAWAY: Right now, I’m obsessed with Kate Middleton. Obsessed. I loved the Royal Wedding. I was so cynical going into it, and pseudo-political about the whole thing, but as soon as I saw her I was utterly charmed. I’m just completely enchanted by Kate and William. With everything she’s doing right now, I say, “Yay, Kate.”

HANDLER: I didn’t watch the whole wedding, but I remember when I watched the recaps on the news, you really saw a couple walk into the church, and when they walked out, it was like they had just grown up-like their whole world had changed in that moment. It was like they transformed before our eyes, and you don’t get to see that happen to people very often. So it was hard not to fall in love with them in that regard.

HATHAWAY: The moment for me was when Kate let go of her father’s hand and she walked the last few feet to William. I was hanging out with my friend Chris, in London, and I didn’t mean to say it out loud, but I just went, “Oh, you’re a brave girl.” I looked at him, and all of a sudden, I’m like, “Marriage is such a brave thing.” I was texting with my mom the whole time, and she says, “Gee, it’s such a fairy tale,” and I thought that marrying your best friend is really the new fairy tale, even if he happens to be a prince. I just thought, “That’s it. You marry your best friend. That’s the new fairy tale.”

HANDLER: Could you ever imagine giving your life away like that? Could you ever imagine marrying somebody of that stature and having to be on public display for the rest of your life?

HATHAWAY: Well, bringing it back again to my respect for Kate Middleton, they seem to have struck a really amazing balance between having a completely normal private life and understanding the responsibilities that their positions require. If I loved someone enough and they were into having that balance, yeah, I could see myself doing it. No one has asked me, by the way.

HANDLER: You’ve never been proposed to?

HATHAWAY: I’ve never been proposed to, no.

HANDLER: Are you open to getting married?

HATHAWAY: I am, actually. I just went through a phase where I wanted to look at it from every angle to make sure that I wasn’t just falling in step with some kind of prescribed fantasy. But like I said, I was at my best friend’s wedding just two days ago, and I watched this person who I love like a sister, and who has changed my life and continues to change my life for the better, who I feel as close to as I do my family, commit herself to a man who she loves, and I watched how happy it made her. I mean, she looked like she was riding a bubble the whole night. I thought, “Weddings are important because they celebrate life and possibility.”

HANDLER: By the way, I can hear the smile on your face.

HATHAWAY: I actually have a very earnest look right now.

HANDLER: While you’re whispering at your boyfriend, “Do you hear this conversation?”

HATHAWAY: [laughs] There’s a smile on his face—mainly because I’ve been such a pain the past few months, going, “Well, is marriage really a tool of oppression?” or “It was once just an exchange of property!” I have been utterly without romance regarding marriage for the past few months, so I think he’s relieved that I’m kind of over it.

HANDLER: Well, Positano will do that to you.

HATHAWAY: Not to mention Kate Middleton’s hair. Jesus, that is bouncy. All the things that must be done to allow the crown to stay on . . . I can’t even imagine.

Chelsea Handler Is A Comedian, Talk-Show Host,  And A New York Times Best-Selling Author.