Jackman, Hathaway dream same dream
NEW YORK — They’ve both played superheroes. They’ve both hosted the Oscars. But what unites Les Miserables co-stars Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway most is a deep, some might even say geeky love of musical theatre.
Yes, Catwoman and Wolverine can sing.
Musical ardour does not always burnish the reputations of action stars. But in Tom Hooper’s new film of the famed musical, Jackman, as Jean Valjean, and Hathaway, as the unfortunate Fantine, are finally exercising their musical chops on the big screen.
Jackman has made a home on Broadway and won Tony awards, while Hathaway’s theatre experience is more limited.
Both dove into Les Miserables with zeal, considering it a chance of a lifetime: Jackman carrying the weight of the lead performance and Hathaway with the show-stopping number, I Dreamed a Dream.
The two actors shed considerable weight for their roles (it’s a gaunter, more hardened Jackman than moviegoers are used to) and Hathaway also had her hair trimmed in an oncamera buzz cut. The film is to be released Dec. 25.
Hathaway and Jackman received Golden Globe nominations Thursday. Both recently sat down to reflect on their similarities, “manning-up” in musical theatre and whether they’ll ever get the songs of Les Miserables out of their heads.
Q: You two each grew up dreaming of Broadway, have played superheroes and have hosted the Oscars.
Hathaway: One of us successfully. Q: Do you feel at all simpatico? Jackman: I’ve always felt simpatico with Anne ever since we met. When we first started to really work together on the Oscars thing, I instantly loved her.
Hathaway: Hugh was always this myth in the Broadway and West End community. Hugh’s always been this beacon of light out there, someone who could do theatre and film.
Q: You’re belting out songs with a live pianist accompanying you through earpieces. But the set is totally quiet.
Jackman: It was a weird set to go on. It was a bunch of crazy people in the rain singing.
Hathaway: I really want someone to go and talk to the crew and find out from their perspective what it was like to see dozens and dozens of actors every day standing there looking at the camera and then all of a sudden bursting out into eight-part harmony simultaneously.
Jackman: It was weird how natural it became.