Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman Have a Virtual Les Misérables Reunion

Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman had themselves a mini Les Misérables reunion during their "Actors on Actors" discussion with Variety.

By emily belfiore Jun 29, 2020 3:33 PMTags

No dream we've ever dreamed could top this! 

On Monday, Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman had themselves a mini Les Misérables reunion for Variety's "Actors on Actors" series. During their virtual sit-down, the duo reminisced over making the 2012 film adaption of the famous Broadway musical, throwing it back to their early rehearsals where Jackman predicted that Hathaway's portrayal of Fantine would earn her an Oscar.

"We rehearsed for nine weeks, and I remember your first rehearsal," he told the Princess Diaries star. "I walked out of that rehearsal, and I rang [wife] Deb [Furness] and said, ‘Whatever money you have, put it on Anne Hathaway winning the Oscar.' I just saw an Oscar-worthy performance." Hathaway went on to win Best Supporting Actress for the role at the 2013 Academy Awards.

Recalling her time with Jackman on set, Hathaway chimed in, "What I learned about you when we were on Les Miz is that you're so charming and so unflappable, but you're actually really serious. I think that someone like Deb is great for you, because I think you guys complement each other." 

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Les Misérables: Flick Pics

She continued, "I remember on Les Miz, I feel like that made all of us stand up a little straighter and dig a little deeper. Because I feel like with musical theater, it's so easy to get caught up in the joy of it." 

As the pair's discussion continued, Jackman opened up about feeling self-conscious during past shoots. But while working on Les Misérables, the style of their performances in the film helped eliminate any reservations he might have had. 

"I remember saying to you on Les Miz, ‘I'm so glad we're doing this live because I hate recording. It's so self-conscious,'" he shared. "You said, ‘You haven't had enough wine.'"

Switching gears, Hathaway and Jackman also swapped their Oscar hosting stories. For The Greatest Showman star, who hosted the 81st annual Oscars back in 2009, he said that despite going into the show with high spirits, he became overcome with nerves when it was time to walk on stage. 

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"Just before I went on, I went into the vortex 30 seconds before [stage manager] Valdez [Flagg]—he's like, ‘Come and stand here by the curtain a minute, 45 seconds, 30 seconds,'" Jackman recalled. "I just started to go into the abyss of fear. I'm looking out and I can see Meryl Streep. I was looking down like this, and we get to 15 seconds. He goes, ‘Good luck out there. Mr. Jackman, don't forget, there's about a billion people watching.'"

He continued, "It just made me giggle and laugh. If you ever watch me walking on, I'm looking back into the wings laughing. I actually think Valdez saved the show for me. I think I might have gone out shaking."

When it came to Hathaway's 2011 hosting gig with James Franco, she said that she went into the 83rd annual Academy Awards with lot of "optimism."

"I was focusing on the parts of the show that I knew worked," the Modern Love star explained. "You know how sometimes your optimism tips into delusion and you're just like, ‘If I'm just really, really nice to everybody, everything's going to work out.' It did not work in that case, but I'm so happy that 50% of the people on this conversation did a really good job hosting the Oscars."

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