Anne Hathaway: accent was worse than nudity

HOLLYWOOD sweetheart Anne Hathaway would rather strip off for a film than attempt nailing a British accent.

The American star is playing a Yorkshire lass in her latest movie, an adaptation of hit novel One Day.

But despite her being the world`s most bankable actress, there was still an outcry from critics when it was revealed a Yank would be playing the role of Emma Morley.

Anne, a household name thanks to movies including The Devil Wears Prada and Alice In Wonderland, says: "I was more nervous about the accent than nudity.

"I mean, you can do sit-ups as prep for the nudity. But there aren`t a lot of vocal sit-ups that you can do.

"Maybe it`s because I have more experience in my life being naked than pretending to be British.

"So I got more comfortable quickly with the nudity than I did with the accent."

The 28-year-old is no stranger to peeling off - she stripped for roles in Havoc, Brokeback Mountain and Love And Other Drugs.

And One Day was no different. Anne had to get her kit off for a skinny dipping scene with co-star Jim Sturgess.

He plays Dexter Mayhew, who almost gets together with Emma after the pair celebrate their graduation on July 15, 1988.

David Nicholls` book - which has sold more than a million copies and been translated into 37 languages - then catches up with each of the characters on that same date for the next 20 years.

The question is, will the confused pair ever become lovers?

New Yorker Anne moved to Britain during filming, which was mainly in Edinburgh and London, and it helped her to pick up her new dialect.

She says: "I stayed in the accent and used British-isms. I was a little disappointed because I hoped I would start dreaming in the accent.

"You know, that one morning I would just wake up and be in the accent. But that never happened.

"But once I was in it, the American accent became the `other`. It was hard to mix the two so I just wound up staying in it all the time.

"At the wrap party it freaked people out when I started talking like me. I asked them, `What`s going on?` And they said, `It`s a bit jarring. You`re kind of a different person now.`"

The will-they-won`t-they troublesome romance of One Day - which hits cinemas tomorrow - is something which Anne can relate to.

Her ex-boyfriend, Italian property developer Raffaello Follieri, who she dated for four years, was jailed for four-and-a-half years for fraud and money laundering in 2008. She split with him just two weeks before he was arrested.

But Anne`s experiences of heartache haven`t deterred her from taking on romantic roles, such as this latest one.

She says: "I love to have my heart challenged, ripped out and woken up in unexpected ways.

"And the thing I love about romance is the more specific the characters are, the more fun the stories are."

Anne didn`t stay single for long. She has now found love with 30-year-old actor Adam Shulman.

She says: "Adam totally ruined my plan. I was really looking forward to a little alone time - then I fell in love like a fool."

Smitten Anne has even talked about tying the knot. She says: "I am open to marriage. I was at my best friend`s wedding and I watched this person commit herself to a man who she loves and I watched how happy it made her. She looked like she was riding a bubble the whole night."

But like all couples, Anne and Adam have their ups and downs. After a recent row Adam went to see One Day, which is already out in the States, without her. But he was so moved by Anne`s performance that he couldn`t stay mad at her for long.

She says: "He came home and we hadn`t made up yet. I said, very quietly, `What did you think?` He said, `OK, I was so mad at you but, oh God, I`m destroyed right now, it was so good.` He was like, `I so didn`t wanna enjoy it, but Emma got me. It wasn`t you, it was Emma.`"

And her man is not alone - Anne is also a huge admirer of Emma.

She says: "One of the reasons I had a lot of fun with Emma was that she`s not the sort of person who is interested in changing.

sections: Celebrities