Anne Hathaway on Deciding to Get Sober and How She Relates to 'The Idea of You' (Exclusive)

Anne Hathaway is "grateful" for so many things in her life these days, including hitting five years of sobriety and her starring role in Prime Video's The Idea of You.

Talking with ET's Rachel Smith from the premiere of her new film in New York City on Monday, the 41-year-old actress opened up about her recent New York Times interview, in which she discussed hitting half a decade without alcohol after previously announcing her sobriety during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2019.

"I'm really grateful to just have been able to take the step that I needed," Hathaway says from the movie debut of the Robinne Lee book adaptation.

In her recent NYT interview, The Princess Diaries alum was asked about celebrating her 40th birthday in 2022 and what that "milestone" meant to her. In response, she said she has found many other big moments in life worth commemorating.

"I don't normally talk about it, but I am over five years sober," she told the publication. "That feels like a milestone to me. 40 feels like a gift. The fact of the matter is I hesitate at calling things 'middle age' simply because I can be a semantic stickler and I could get hit by a car later today. We don't know if this is middle age. We don't know anything."

That "gift" of hitting 40 has come with many nuggets of knowledge and wisdom, as well as more interesting roles like that of her character, Solène, in The Idea of You. In the film, Solène -- a 40-year-old single mom -- falls in love with 24-year-old boy band sensation Hayes Campbell, played by Nicholas Galitzine.

Hathaway says that much like her character, she has found age to be the gift that keeps on giving. She tells ET that she knows herself better now than she did some two decades ago, which is something she can appreciate.

"I certainly am way more comfortable in my skin in my 40s than I was in my 20s. I felt lost in my 20s," she shares. "I felt this pressure to have it all figured out and I thought that because I didn't know everything about myself, I was somehow doing something wrong."

She adds, "But it turns out, that's what your life's for."

So what takes priority in Hathaway's life now? The actress says her family -- namely her husband, Adam Shulman, and their two young sons -- will always be her No. 1 commitment.

"When I started out, when I first became a mom, people were like, 'Oh, how are you going to balance it?' and I'm just like, 'Balance? What are you talking about?'" she recalls. "One, as much as I love my career, as much as I love what I do, and you know I'm a beast about it, there's no contest."

Hathaway says that as a woman of a certain age herself, she was more than intrigued when she first read the script for the film, which also stars Veep alum Reid Scott, Ella Rubin, and Bridesmaids co-writer Annie Mumolo. She calls the film a "coming of age" for her 40-year-old character, telling ET that she is "grateful" for the opportunity to bring a layered character like Solène to life.

"I was really excited to be a part of it," Hathaway says.

Watch the trailer for Hathaway's new film in the player below:

The Idea of You premieres on Prime Video on May 2.

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