Riding high on the critical acclaim of his The King’s Speech, director Tom Hooper can afford to go A-list for his musical adaptation Les Miserables. According to Broadway World, Anne Hathaway is the newest name rumored to be joining the growing cast as the innocent orphan Fantine. If all goes well, she will join an all-star cast led by Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe.
It looks like something good came out of Hathaway’s hideous performance as host to the Oscars earlier this year. She and co-host James Franco certainly fizzled as far as repartee or any actual humor went. But she did prove she has some pipes as she sung a little duet with Jackman (who is an accomplished stage performer and singer himself). It is reportedly at his urging that Hathaway was offered the role.
Hooper’s film version of the beloved musical “Les Miserable” looks to be shaping up nicely. The musical ran on Broadway for decades, and is based on the classic novel of obsession and mercy by Victor Hugo. Not only is Les Mis one of my favorite musicals, but I can think of few better actors than Jackman and Crowe to take on the enormous tasks of playing Valjean and Inspector Javert.
What do you think of this casting news and can Hathaway be trusted to play/sing the leading female role in Les Miserables?