Anne Hathaway Nearly Breaks Character During Surprisingly Pleasurable ‘Verity’ Scene

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Anne Hathaway had to fight to stay in character during “Verity,” but the moment that nearly got her wasn’t one of the thriller’s disturbing twists. It was a foot rub. The actress revealed that an unscripted moment with co-star Irina Dvorovenko left her struggling to hide just how much she was enjoying herself. While Hathaway’s character had to remain motionless, the retired principal ballerina gave her a massage that almost ruined the take.

Anne Hathaway Says A Foot Rub Nearly Broke Her Concentration

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Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at Tuesday night’s New York premiere, Hathaway recalled how Dvorovenko came up with the idea while preparing to play Verity’s caretaker, Anna. “She was trying to figure out, as the nurse, how she was going to be caring for me. Obviously, I can’t move in the scene, and she goes, ‘You know what? I’m going to give you a foot rub. Would that be alright?’”

Hathaway agreed, but staying still became more difficult once Dvorovenko got to work. “I had never gotten a foot rub from a ballerina before, but let me just say, they know what they’re doing,” Hathaway added. “I almost broke character because I couldn’t contain the ecstasy that I was experiencing from her really, really gifted hands.”

Dvorovenko’s character cares for Verity Crawford, the author Hathaway portrays in the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s 2018 novel.

Dakota Johnson Plays A Writer Drawn Into Verity’s Secrets

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The psychological thriller follows Lowen Ashleigh, played by Dakota Johnson, a struggling writer hired to complete Verity’s bestselling book series after an accident leaves the author incapacitated.

Lowen takes on the assignment at the Crawford home, where she discovers a secret manuscript containing what appear to be Verity’s autobiographical notes. The discovery raises disturbing questions about Verity’s past and leaves Lowen questioning what she can believe.

Josh Hartnett plays Verity’s husband, Jeremy Crawford. While Hathaway’s challenge involved keeping a straight face during a massage, Hartnett found another part of filming unexpectedly funny.

• Anne Hathaway opened up about her body insecurities despite her ageless appearance.
• Hathaway addressed going into “mom mode” during a red carpet moment she described as “horrifying.”
• Dakota Johnson said she would kiss Anne Hathaway “for the rest of my life.”
• Anne Hathaway addressed criticism of her acting behavior.

Josh Hartnett Says The Sex Scenes Were ‘Really Funny’

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Hartnett admitted that the film’s intimate scenes sometimes made it difficult to stay in character, particularly when translating the details of Hoover’s writing to the screen. “Frankly, the sex scenes, they were really funny. There’s such specific details in Colleen’s writing of these sex scenes, so there were things with the headboard and stuff… it’s very technical,” Hartnett recalled.

The presence of their real-life spouses added to the experience. “Sometimes Annie’s husband was there [on set] or my wife was there, and we’re just like, ‘We have to do this now, so let’s make it fun.’ Of course, that’s the thing that does make us break, because it is a little bit embarrassing, right?” he revealed.

Hathaway also served as a producer on the movie and wanted the adaptation to include “unexpected, sexy, psychological” scenes.

The ‘Verity’ Movie Adds A Disturbing Dream Sequence

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One of those moments appears in the trailer, which shows Lowen kissing Jeremy before pulling away and seeing Verity’s face. Hathaway pointed to the dream sequence while discussing the film’s approach to its psychological and sexual elements.

The kiss was created specifically for the movie adaptation, rather than taken directly from the novel. Director Michael Showalter nevertheless said his main goal was to stay as faithful as possible to Hoover’s book. The author was involved throughout the process, including spending time on set.

Colleen Hoover Helped Guide The Adaptation

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Showalter said he regularly consulted Hoover as the production came together. “Colleen Hoover was very present in this process. She was on set. I texted her, we would talk on the phone,” Showalter said. “I really relied on her opinion and her taste to make sure that she felt we were going in the right direction.”

Hoover also spoke about working with Showalter, telling Moviefone that he regularly sought her feedback and included her in decisions throughout the adaptation. Having worked with different teams on her books’ screen adaptations, the author said she felt confident in his approach. “I couldn’t be happier with the outcome of it,” Hoover said.

“Verity” marks the fourth screen adaptation of Hoover’s work and arrives in theaters Friday.

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