Twenty years into her career, Anne Hathaway is used to being cast a certain way.
“I’m not usually sent roles that are defined by the male gaze,” she said. “Normally I get sent women who live and think for themselves — to the extent that we do in this very sick world.”
But at first glance in “Serenity,” Steven Knight’s noirish thriller, opening today, Hathaway’s character appears to have spent her lifetime catering to the pleasures of men. As Karen, Hathaway makes a jaw-dropping entrance — long blond tresses and soul-crushed eyes, a femme fatale in white — in the only bar on Plymouth Island. And she has a proposition for her ex (Matthew McConaughey), a struggling boat captain: Take her violent new husband (Jason Clarke) out fishing, then drop him in the ocean for the sharks, in exchange for $10 million. It’s the first entry in a big year for Hathaway, who stole the show from Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett in last spring’s “Ocean’s 8.”
When she’s not on set, Hathaway, 36, lives in New York with her husband, the producer, actor and jewelry designer Adam Shulman, and their son, Jonathan. (“He’s like butter,” she said, sighing deeply. “Those moments they cuddle up into you just because they want to.”)
Calling from a family vacation spot somewhere north of Los Angeles, Hathaway spoke about “Serenity,” “Ocean’s 8” and Hollywood’s echo chamber of men.
Here are edited excerpts from the conversation.
QUESTION: Karen is a dramatic pivot from the roles we’re used to seeing you in. Were you immediately game?
ANSWER: I was very surprised when I got the script for “Serenity” and found out that Steven wanted me. I was just very honored and couldn’t wait to roll up my sleeves and dye my hair.
Q: We know that secrets lurk on Plymouth Island, and there will be no spoilers here. But what was your reaction to the script when you first read it?
A: It knocks you. I was on the edge of my seat. I couldn’t wait to turn the page and see what was coming next, as it became more surreal and thrilling. I really love being a part of provocative movies that require a certain muscularity from the audience, a certain level of mature film viewership. One of my favorite things about “Serenity” was how provoked I felt by it both in my mind and in the pit of my stomach.
Q: You seem to enjoy a comic thrill ride, like Daphne Kluger, the narcissistic actress in “Ocean’s 8.” From what demented place did you conjure her up?
A: Well, it was fun to apply a lot of observation that I’ve made over the past 20 years or so about the incredibly ridiculous world of celebrity — to send that up with my tongue firmly in my cheek. She was just such a trip. I loved playing someone who was so transparent and yet so blind to herself.
Q: You went into “Ocean’s 8” saying, “Do not embarrass yourself in front of your heroes.” What on earth were you worried about?
A: Oh, I think I was worried that everyone would like each other and secretly not like me and I’d just be kind of outside of it. In the past I’ve let my excitement get the best of me, and I just wanted to sit back and enjoy the experience and not try to fill it with my own enthusiasm but to take in how truly glorious it was to be in the presence of so many queens.
Q: You’re one of the more than 300 women in film, television and theater involved in the Time’s Up initiative. What’s your take on the movement’s accomplishments this past year?
A: All I can represent is my own experience, which is I was ignorant of all the effort that has gone into keeping women separated. And now that I’ve found my sisters and my arms are linked with them, I’m never letting go.
Q: On Instagram, you cited a recent study that found that female-led films earn more than ones starring men — and yet pay inequity is still a huge issue.
A: The reason I think that there’s resistance is that Hollywood has been full of men who would describe themselves as good, but who have been in echo chambers full of other men who look and think like them. This doesn’t make these men bad, but it does mean that the conversations being had at the highest levels of power are, by default, limited.
