Anne Hathaway Admits Her Intense Process Left Some Directors On Edge

Anne Hathaway says her prep can be... a lot. Not diva stuff — more like a brain-melt of questions before anyone calls action. She talked about it with director David Lowery on The A24 Podcast while they were digging into their new movie, Mother Mary. And yes, a few filmmakers have apparently been spooked by how deep she goes before day one.

The prep that freaks people out (on purpose)

Hathaway doesn’t roll in and wing it. She treats pre-production like a mental boot camp: interrogate the script, poke every scene, test every line. It can look chaotic from the outside, but the whole point is to leave zero uncertainty once the cameras roll — and to make the director’s life easier, not harder.

"I know for a fact it’s freaked some of them out. And I’ve had to say to them, I do this because I’m not gonna ask a single question when we’re on set."

She says she questions everything she can in advance, even the lines she already loves, so she can be a true second-in-command once production starts — the actor who shows up, hits her marks, and doesn’t burn time chasing clarity mid-shoot.

"One of the things that I try to explain to directors who don’t know me is that I interrogate everything in prep. Like, every single thing. Even lines that I absolutely love, I just ask every single question."

So what is Mother Mary, exactly?

• What it is: a 2026 musical psychological drama- thriller written and directed by David Lowery
• Who is in it: Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel lead the cast, with Hunter Schafer also starring
• The setup: a world-famous pop icon bails to the English countryside to reconnect with her estranged costume designer, Sam Anselm; old professional grudges resurface — along with a literal supernatural presence
• Release: A24 put it out April 17, 2026, then expanded it country-wide on April 24
• Reception: reviews landed in the mixed-to-positive zone, but the box office did not — about $3 million on a $20 million budget
• Where to watch: it’s now on VOD (as of May 19, 2026)

Why this approach matters for this movie

Mother Mary goes to some strange, unsettling places — including a climactic, cathartic ritual where the characters try to physically cast out the spirit of their shared trauma. It’s the sort of sequence that only works if the actors are completely locked into the logic of the story. Hathaway’s method — chew through every question in prep so there are none left on set — is built for exactly that. Solve the map early, then surrender to the moment when you step onto the stage.

Box office aside, the performances are what people keep talking about, and you can see how that exhausting pre-work shows up on screen: once the shoot starts, she’s not searching — she’s executing.

How do you feel about Hathaway’s ask-everything-now, ask-nothing-on-set style — helpful, or nightmare fuel for directors? Tell me below.