Anne Hathaway convinced Song One writer/director to age role just for her
Actress Anne Hathaway had to appeal to writer/director Kate Barker-Froyland to "age" the lead female character in their new movie Song One after realizing she wanted to serve double duty as both producer and star of the film.
The Oscar winner, 32, admits she was only meant to work behind-the-scenes with her co-producer and husband, Adam Shulman, on the independent drama, about a woman who begins a relationship with her ailing brother's favorite musician, but she soon found herself thinking non-stop about the character of Franny, so she convinced Barker-Froyland to tweak the storyline.
She explains, "At first, we were just asked to come on as producers
by writer/director Kate Barker-Froyland, and then after a couple of
weeks, I found myself on the subway (in New York), I'd be thinking
about Franny and then I'd just be on the treadmill at the gym,
thinking about Franny, and then all of a sudden, I realized I had a
crush on her.
"But the character was originally written as a 24 year old, and I'm
not delusional, so I knew that me playing her, we'd have to age her
up (sic), so I called Kate and asked her if she would consider me
and she came back a couple of days later and she said she would
love it if I played the part."
Hathaway's role required her to sing on camera, but the Les
Miserables star's performance was a little too good for her
character, so Barker-Froyland had to ask the actress to rein in her
talents.
She says, "My character, she went through something rough when she
was a teenager, she lost her father, and I think that kind of
forced her into an early adult role, so I had to come up with the
voice of someone who maybe had musical talent but had never
explored it because she was busy focusing on being responsible and
doing everything right."