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Anne Hathaway she had to fight to stay in character during “Verity,” but the moment she got 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 how much she liked herself. While Hathaway’s character had to remain motionless, the retired principal ballerina gave her a massage that nearly killed him.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at the New York premiere on Tuesday night, Hathaway recalled how Dvorovenko came up with the idea while preparing to play Verity’s caretaker, Anna. “She was trying to figure out, as a nurse, how she was going to take care of me. Of course, I can’t move into the scene, and she said, ‘You know what? I’m going to rub your feet. Would that be OK?'”
Hathaway agreed, but it became more difficult to stay when Dvorovenko got a job. “I’ve never had a foot rub from a ballerina before, but let me just say, they know what they’re doing,” Hathaway said. “I almost broke character because I couldn’t take the ecstasy I was getting from his very capable hands.”
Dvorovenko’s character cares for Verity Crawford, author Hathaway stars in the 2018 adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s novel.
Dakota Johnson plays a writer drawn into Verity’s mystery
The psychological thriller follows Lowen Ashleigh, played by Dakota Johnsona struggling writer hired to finish Verity’s favorite book series after an accident leaves the author incapacitated.
Lowen does an assignment at the Crawford home, where she discovers a mysterious 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.
Josh Hartnett says the sex scenes were ‘really funny’
Hartnett admitted that the film’s close-ups sometimes made it difficult to stay in character, especially when translating the details of Hoover’s writing to the screen. “Actually, the sex scenes, they were really funny. Colleen’s writing is so detailed in those sex scenes, so there were things with the headboard and stuff… it’s very technical,” Hartnett recalled.
The presence of their real spouse added to the experience. “Sometimes Anne’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.’ In fact, that’s what makes us break, because it’s a little embarrassing, right?” he appeared.
Hathaway was also a producer on the film and wanted the adaptation to include “unexpected, sexual, psychological” scenes.
The film ‘Verity’ adds a disturbing Dream Sequel
One of those moments appears in the trailer, which shows Lowen kissing Jeremy before pulling away and seeing Verity’s face. Hathaway highlighted the dream sequence while discussing the film’s approach to its psychological and sexual elements.
The kiss was created specifically for the film adaptation, rather than being taken directly from the novel. Director Michael Showalter nevertheless said that 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 lead the Changeover
Showalter said he would be in regular contact with Hoover while the production was coming together. “Colleen Hoover was very present in this process. She was ready. I texted her, we would talk on the phone,” said Showalter. “I really relied on her opinion and her taste to make sure 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 transition. After working with different teams on screen adaptations of her books, the author said she felt confident in his approach. “I couldn’t be happier with the outcome,” said Hoover.
“Verity” marks the fourth screen adaptation of Hoover’s work and arrives in theaters on Friday.
