The Oscar-winning actress talks to Shondaland about her new role as WeWork’s Rebekah Paltrow Neumann in the Apple TV+ series “WeCrashed.”
Anne Hathaway has made a career of reminding audiences that no matter whom she’s playing on-screen, there’s a complex person inside her characters. The Devil Wears Prada’s Andy Sachs, while used and abused by Miranda Priestly, fought for her own career ambitions while learning which costs (her friends, her reputation) were worth it in that fight. Hathaway’s Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises illustrated a Selina Kyle who, sure, was just another Batman love interest — but also one who battled to avenge what was wrong in the world while pragmatically accepting the realities of that world. Even as Fantine in the film adaptation of Les Misérables, Hathaway was more than just the beautiful voice behind a few sad songs; she embodied the agony of a mother who would make any sacrifice necessary for her child.
Hathaway’s prowess is on display yet again in the new Apple TV+ series WeCrashed. Based on the hit Wondery podcast, the show follows the meteoric rise (and crash) of entrepreneur Adam Neumann and his coworking-space company, WeWork, which went from a $47 billion valuation over a decade to losing billions of dollars in less than a year, due in large part to aggressive expansion and poor management.
Jared Leto plays the brilliant but troubled Adam Neumann, while Hathaway plays Rebekah Paltrow Neumann, Adam’s wife, partner, spiritual guru, and co-conspirator. For the Oscar-winning actress, the opportunity to play Rebekah was a welcome challenge. “I thought, what if we just remember that she was a person? What if she had really good intentions that she wasn’t able to fulfill in a way that she would have liked? To me, that’s an interesting character. That’s a story that I think we can all relate to.”
As the series makes its debut, Shondaland caught up with Hathaway via Zoom to discuss her process of stepping into the role of Rebekah Neumann, how she values her worth as an actress in Hollywood, and the importance of amplifying the voices of Black women and women of color on social media.
REBECCA THEODORE-VACHON: While I was watching WeCrashed, I had to keep reminding myself that this really happened, because Rebekah and Adam Neumann are such over-the-top personalities. In preparing for this role, what was your entryway into playing such a mercurial character?
ANNE HATHAWAY: I worked with Amy Hammond, who’s a researcher that I worked with on a lot of my projects. And she helped show me Rebekah’s world, which was fascinating to understand certain things that might seem unusual if you didn’t grow up in that world but would have been less remarkable if you grew up in it. So, some of the more extreme examples of wealth that you could take for granted, that was really great [for] understanding kind of her starting place. And then, Rebekah is very open about her interest in spirituality, and she had spoken in interviews about which books were important to her. So, I made sure that I read those. And there was a passage in one of those that really jumped out at me, which was “judge all persons favorably.” When I read that, I felt like I had found my North Star in approaching the character, because we all know what happened at this point there. I mean, there’s been a podcast, there’s been books, there’s been a documentary, there’s a lot of information about the facts of the thing. And I’ve read the media narrative about her, which is not generous.
RTV: Rebekah and Adam have a very complicated dynamic. I feel like there’s love in this relationship, but there are definitely some toxic behaviors that are fueled by their respective insecurities. How did you and Jared work to bring that dynamic to life on-screen?
AH: I wish there was a process! Jared’s an unbelievable actor, and he showed up on his first day of filming as Adam Neumann, and I responded to him as Rebekah Paltrow Neumann. There’s something about the truth to their bond that he and I were both tapped into. And it was just there, and we didn’t have to strategize about it. I think we just listen to each other. And I love how free Jared is as a performer, so I was just really down to play. We just had so much fun. And then in between takes, we were very gentle with each other. There wasn’t a lot of chitchat. I think we just both stayed in a state of gratitude that the connection was so strong between us.
RTV: Rebekah is a cousin of Gwyneth Paltrow, and it seems she feels in the shadow of Gwyneth because she’s an aspiring actress herself. When you were coming up in Hollywood, were there any actresses in your circle about whom you felt the way Rebekah did
AH: I always felt empowered by other actresses and by their greatness. Not in the sense that I even was convinced that I could achieve it, but I’m always so thrilled by what’s possible. And so, whenever I saw an actress really succeed, I was inspired. It’s the same way I felt working with Jared on this one. When he came in and he set the bar so high for himself, I was inspired by it. And it made me want to set the bar higher for myself.
