Anne Hathaway shears her hair, and shares the story of her best year ever

Newly married Anne Hathaway, 30, looks stunning in a black turtleneck sweater and white flared trousers. Her cropped hair, which was shorn for her role in the film version of “Les Misérables,” suits her. She’s doing interviews to promote the film, which critics say is likely to earn her another Oscar nomination,

Hathaway is glowing. She married Adam Shulman in September, after recovering from a disastrous affair with the Italian businessman Rafaelo Folieri. He was convicted of wire fraud and served time in jail.

Now, she says, Hathaway is having the best year of her life.

You look stunning with short hair.

Thank you. It is what it is for the time being. When it was first cut, as it was growing in, there was a moment where it was about an inch long around and it was this kind of sweet Mia Farrow thing that I really liked. Then it was kind of awkward for a few months, and this is the first cut that I’ve had since then that I am happy with, but honestly, I don’t think about it that much, it’s just kind of my hair at the moment.

Were the Friday nights at Russell Crowe’s hotel sing-a-longs real? Everyone keeps talking about them.

Oh, yeah, they were so real, and it wasn’t a hotel but a cottage he had on the hotel grounds, so it was just kind of homey and very cozy. He would have us over, he would make everyone else steaks and then make fun of me for being a vegan (laughs). But he did make me a very nice carrot salad, so I had that going for me. And then after dinner we would all move into kind of another room and someone would start playing the piano and we would usually all start with singing “Hallelujah,” the Leonard Cohen song. Everybody would take a verse and it would kind of just relax everyone and get everyone singing. It was a way of getting some of the people who were maybe a little shy out of their shells.

People say that you are every girl’s BFF.

Nice, that’s cool, I love everybody (laughs)! So I am glad to hear that.

Is it difficult to maintain those relationships?

I have the most wonderful, wonderful friendships, especially with my girlfriends, my group of friends from high school. We are all still friends and we get together every few months and have dinner together, and we are all still very up to date with each other’s lives. And my group of friends from college, which includes men and women.

How many bridesmaids did you have?

Seven. I have a lot of friends (laughs). Some of my friendships date back to like the day I was born, and most of my bridesmaids I’ve been best friends with for 12 years. We’ve all grown up alongside each other and helped each other grow and rooted for each other and held out faith for each other when we stumbled. I know they have for me.

Does it feel different being married?

It does, in a way that I didn’t realize that I was aching for.

This is a huge year for you and you will most likely earn another Oscar nomination.

Thank you for saying that, I hope that that comes true. We will find out in a few weeks if I am even in the running for it. And I can say with absolute assurance that 2012 has been the best and greatest year of my life.

What kind of mother do you think you’ll be one day?

Well, a cool one (laughs) – a stylish one, all that stuff. I just want to be one that they love, I just want to be their guide towards being good people. And I’ve wanted to be a mom since I was 16.

Do you think it would be hard to say no? Being a good mom also means you have to say no.

Oh yeah, definitely, yes, of course, I was told no many times in my life, it’s a very healthy thing.

You are often compared to Audrey Hepburn.

I know. I think everyone is on glue (laughs).

What about the latest comparison to Liza Minnelli?

I’m compared to Liza Minnelli? Well, she is certainly a bucket full of talent. Wow, that’s very flattering. Thank you. She’s also just the nicest lady, she’s so sweet.

This movie is about passionate love. Do you believe in love at first sight?

I think that I believe in soul mates, I believe in soul recognition, but love at first sight, I think that it doesn’t always pan out and I’m not sure that I believe in the one at first sight. … I do believe that our souls recognize each other on a deeper level than we are conscious of.

How did you celebrate your 30th birthday?

I threw a costume party. I am on the board of the Public Theater, so I asked them to let me use Joe’s Pub and I screened the movie “Auntie Mame” with Rosalind Russell and so we all dressed up as characters from the show and I got drunk and danced with my friends (laughs).

How do you usually celebrate New Year’s?

It’s different. I don’t have a typical way of celebrating it, it’s just wherever my life is at. A few years ago I was at a wedding, sometimes I am with friends, this year I am going to be with friends.

Can you talk about the first time you saw “Les Mis”?

The first time I saw “Les Mis,” I was seven years old and my mother was in it playing the factory girl, and different members of the ensemble. I remember that pretty well, but the first time I really remember connecting with “Les Mis” was when I got to see my mother perform the role of Fantine.

How much did you want this role?

A whole lot. I wanted to be involved in the film because my mother played the part, I always kind of thought that this is her role and untouchable, so I was very familiar with all the other parts. I actually never considered singing “I Dreamed a Dream,” but when I found out that that was the only role that I was up for I just thought, “OK great, then I want to play Fantine” (laughs).

Was it easy going from Catwoman to Fantine?

I found them to be more related than I initially thought they would be. They are both warriors; they are both incredibly strong and all of the physical training that I had to do to play Selena Kyle translated into this and it made me much stronger mentally. It made me much more disciplined and a much harder worker. I needed all of that to play Fantine.

You had a musical sequence with Hugh Jackman three years ago at the Academy Awards. Was that a seed for this project or was it unrelated?

I mean I think it can’t help but be related now. I mean, it’s just that it put it out there into the universe that Hugh and I wanted to do something musical together. We’ve been looking for something since then and of course the project that arose had nothing to do with either of us, it just sort of happened and we happened to get the parts together and I am thrilled. I want to do more, that’s the thing about Hugh Jackman, just you get a taste and you just want more and more and more.

You have come a long way from “The Devil Wears Prada” to here and your roles are getting more serious. What have you learned?

Yeah (laughs), I don’t know where to begin. What have I learned? My only regret from “The Devil Wears Prada” was, I felt so insecure being in the company of the actors I was in, that I didn’t let myself enjoy the experience. I learned from that experience that you need to fight through that feeling, you need to take stock of where you are at and even if you don’t know that you’ve deserved it or earned it, enjoy it.

What was your area of study in college?

When I was at school, I focused on English literature and romantic poetry.

Was your husband on the set with you when you shot this film?

My husband and I, we had worked it out that I was going to do the first part by myself because he has a job, he has a life, he can’t just drop everything to be with me every second, so we planned it that he could only spend a certain amount of time with me throughout the entire shoot. So in the beginning, we were going to be apart and then he was going to come and stay with me when I had to do the weight loss, because I would be so depleted. It was about three days into the weight loss that I realized I was going to have to ask him if he didn’t mind me being by myself because he was making me so happy (laughs). And I was having way too much fun (laughs), and I said, “I really need to be a bit more miserable actually,” and he went home and I crawled inside the misery of the character just fine without him.

How does it feel to call him your husband instead of boyfriend?

I’m so super into it. I say the word way too much, I like saying it. It feels wonderful and natural and still like very delicious.