"Simply disgusting"

Anne Hathaway was forced into “kissing tests”

Anne Hathaway denounces the "simply disgusting kissing tests" she was forced to do at the beginning of her career.(Bild: APA/AFP/ANGELA WEISS)

"I just thought it was disgusting!" If the leading actors don't have the right chemistry, it often means a flop at the box office. This is particularly true of romantic films. Anne Hathaway now reveals how directors and producers had to make sure until the 2000s whether the young film beauty and a certain male colleague were compatible for love scenes. 

In "V" magazine, she said: "It was normal back then for actresses like me to be asked to make out with different male colleagues - to see who they had the most chemistry with."

Hathaway hated "disgusting" rehearsals
Hathaway hated being forced to get up close and personal during auditions - several times over. "I was told in all seriousness: 'You've got the part and there are 10 candidates coming today. Aren't you happy that you can make out with all of them?"

The opposite was the case for Anne and caused the young actress to doubt herself: "I asked myself: 'Is there something wrong with you that this doesn't sound great to you, but disgusting?"

Didn't want to be "labeled as difficult"
But Hathaway didn't dare complain or even refuse at the time: "I was afraid of being labeled difficult. I was so young and was terrified of losing everything. That's why I pretended to find it exciting and went through with it."

Anne Hathaway used to have to "make out" with various male colleagues.(Bild: APA/AFP/VALERIE MACON)

However, the 41-year-old emphasizes that it was not directed at her personally at the time: "It wasn't a power play. Nobody tried to be mean to me or hurt me. It was just different times and we know better now."