Anne Hathaway was ready to find out how far she could make it through the Hot Ones gauntlet. Her doctor had another idea.
The pregnant actress said she had hoped to appear on Sean Evans’ spicy-wing interview series while promoting Verity, especially because a fictional Hot Ones appearance had already been built into the movie. “My doctor said I couldn’t do it because I might go into early labor,” Hathaway said during a Sept. 25 appearance on Talk of the Townsends, according to PEOPLE.
Us Weekly reported that Hathaway ate the first three wings for real while filming before switching to dummy wings, deliberately saving the full 10-wing challenge for herself instead of completing it while playing a character.
The real version will have to wait. Hathaway said she still has not completed the gauntlet and left the door open to trying it later: “Maybe next year.”
Hathaway Ate the First Three Wings for Real While Filming
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Hathaway said she ate the first three wings for real before production switched to dummy versions for the rest of the sequence, because she had never done Evans’ full challenge in real life and did not want her first attempt to happen while she was pretending to be someone else.
She compared the decision to experiencing a major personal first on camera while playing a role. Us Weekly quoted Hathaway explaining that she wanted the eventual challenge to be “a real thing” instead of something she encountered for the first time as Verity Crawford.
Her plan had been to finish the circle by going on the actual show during the film’s promotional run, until pregnancy changed what her doctor was comfortable with her doing.
The ‘Hot Ones’ Scene Was Hathaway’s Idea for Verity
The scene grew out of a larger conversation about how famous Verity Crawford should appear within the movie. Hathaway said an Alex Cooper and Call Her Daddy appearance was already scripted, but she questioned whether that alone was enough to establish Verity as a major cultural figure.
Her solution was to expand the character’s fictional press tour. Hathaway suggested adding a Gayle King interview and an appearance with Evans on Hot Ones, joking that the combination would create a “triple crown trifecta.” Us Weekly reported that both Cooper and Evans appear as part of Verity’s media presence in the finished film, turning recognizable pieces of real-world celebrity culture into evidence of how famous Hathaway’s fictional author is supposed to be.
Amazon MGM describes Verity Crawford as a renowned author at the center of the psychological thriller, with Dakota Johnson playing struggling writer Lowen Ashleigh and Josh Hartnett playing Verity’s husband, Jeremy.
Pregnancy Changed Hathaway’s Plan for the Press Tour
Hathaway announced in June that she and husband Adam Shulman are expecting their third child. A representative confirmed the pregnancy to ABC News, which reported that the couple already share sons Jonathan, 10, and Jack, 6.
Hathaway said she had assumed the Verity press tour would be the obvious moment to attempt the real challenge because audiences would already see her character doing a fictional version of it, but she dropped that plan once her doctor advised against it.
Earlier this summer, she said she and Shulman had approached the possibility of another child with “very low” expectations because of her age and their past fertility experiences, describing the pregnancy as something they do not take for granted.
‘Verity’ Arrives in Theaters October 2
Verity is directed by Michael Showalter and adapted from Colleen Hoover’s bestselling psychological thriller. The story follows Lowen, a struggling writer who is hired to complete Verity Crawford’s unfinished book series after Verity is seriously injured, only to uncover disturbing material inside the author’s home.
Amazon MGM confirms that Hathaway, Johnson and Hartnett lead the cast and that the film opens worldwide in theaters Oct. 2. The official trailer also establishes the darker tone surrounding Hathaway’s character, which makes the fictional celebrity-interview appearances an unusual contrast.