Discussing her inspiration for playing Penelope, the wife of Matt Damon’s Odysseus, in the film, Anne Hathaway said that the “protective” moments were inspired by her own life – as a pregnant mum of sons Jonathan, 10, and six-year-old Jack.
Pregnant Anne Hathaway harnessed her “mama bear” instincts for The Odyssey.
The 43-year-old actress is on the promo trail for her new movie, which also stars Matt Damon, Tom Holland and Zendaya – an adaptation of the ancient Greek epic poem by Homer.
Discussing her inspiration for playing Penelope, the wife of Matt Damon’s Odysseus, in the film, Anne said that the “protective” moments were inspired by her own life – as a pregnant mum of sons Jonathan, 10, and six-year-old Jack.
She told People: “I’m a little bit of a mama bear, nothing comes between me and my cubs. And I definitely think, given everything all that Penelope was going through, given how high the stakes were, given how targeted her son in particular was without his father there, she knew that she had to be protective in more than one way.”
The Odyssey follows Odysseus as he faces an obstacle-filled journey across ancient Greece to reach his home island of Ithaca after helping Greek forces win the Trojan war.
His wife Penelope and their son Telemachus, who had been left at home by Odysseus, are also facing trouble in Ithaca though – with Robert Pattinson’s Antinous trying to wed Penelope and usurp Odysseus in the process.
The Odyssey will be the latest release in a string of movies from Anne, who recently announced that she and husband Adam Shulman are expecting their third child together.
As she walked the red carpet, just months after The Devil Wears Prada 2 was released, she admitted it feels “extremely surreal” that she is where she is at this point in her life.
She grinned: “I’m excited. This is very, very fun. It’s extremely surreal.
‘But I’m at an age and a moment in my career where I know stuff like this doesn’t come around very often, certainly doesn’t last forever, so I’m just gonna surf this wave for as long as it lasts.
“I’m going to enjoy being on my board and then when I fall in the water, that’ll be that moment!”
The Odyssey is due for release on July 17.
Anne Hathaway harnessed inner ‘mama bear’ for The Odyssey
