Actor Anne Hathaway reveals how Christopher Nolan saved her career

Actor Anne Hathaway has praised movie director Christopher Nolan for saving her career. Photo / AP

Anne Hathaway has praised Christopher Nolan for saving her career after she became “toxic”.

The actor, 41, faced fierce criticism and trolling over her acting and wholesome “all-American girl” persona in the lead-up to and the aftermath of her winning the best supporting actress Oscar for her role in Les Miserables.

She has now told Vanity Fair she remembered googling herself after winning her Academy Award in 2013 and saw one of the top search results was an article titled: “Why does everyone hate Anne Hathaway?”

Hathaway said she feels director Nolan saved her by giving her a role soon after in his 2014 Interstellar film. “A lot of people wouldn’t give me roles because they were so concerned about how toxic my identity had become online.

Anne Hathaway and Matthew McConaughey in Interstellar.

“I had an angel in Christopher Nolan, who did not care about that and gave me one of the most beautiful roles I’ve had in one of the best films that I’ve been a part of.”

Hathaway was given the part of Nasa scientist Dr Amelia Brand in the 53-year-old Oppenheimer director’s space travel epic Interstellar, after previously working with by playing Selina Kyle in The Dark Knight Rises from 2012.

She added to Vanity Fair about how she suspected Nolan supported her behind the scenes: “I don’t know if he knew that he was backing me at the time, but it had that effect.

“And my career did not lose momentum the way it could have if he hadn’t backed me.”

As to the trolling and criticism she has faced, she said: “Humiliation is such a rough thing to go through.

Director Christopher Nolan has been described as an "angel" by Anne Hathaway. Photo / Getty Image

“The key is to not let it close you down. You have to stay bold, and it can be hard because you’re like, ‘If I stay safe, if I hug the middle, if I don’t draw too much attention to myself, it won’t hurt.’

“But if you want to do that, don’t be an actor. You’re a tightrope walker. You’re a daredevil.

“You’re asking people to invest their time and their money and their attention and their care into you.

“So you have to give them something worth all of those things. And if it’s not costing you anything, what are you really offering?”