ANNE HATHAWAY Known for fairy-tale roles, actress moves into adult fare

She gained fame with 'The Princess Diaries,' but will be topless in 'Havoc.'
By JOE NEUMAIER
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
NEW YORK -- Anne Hathaway says her life is like a fairy tale.
The charming 21-year-old has become Hollywood's favorite girl for funky storybook fables.
First, there was the "The Princess Diaries," in which she played a misfit teenager who discovers she's really royalty.
Now she's the title character in "Ella Enchanted," as a maiden under a spell of eternal obedience who needs a romantic remedy.
And in August, she returns with Julie Andrews and Hector Elizondo in "Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement."
All of this has won her lots of fans -- with numerous Web sites devoted to dewy pics of the mocha-eyed brunette.
"I think people have an image of who I am, and it's incomplete," Hathaway says as she curls her feet under her on a couch. "The characters I've played have a lot of exemplary attributes that young girls admire. But if I said I'm a role model, that's like making a silent pact to be perfect -- and I am obviously not that.
"I have some clue as to who I am, but I'm figuring things out. I'm still working on myself."
Enjoys being single
A student at Vassar College (she intends to major in English and international politics), Hathaway says she hasn't found her Prince Charming in real life. But she thinks that's a good thing.
"I'm sort of enjoying being single. It's nice to be able to slip in and out of roles, and relationships!"
Reports of her kissing her "Ella" co-star Hugh Dancy were exaggerated, she says. "Hugh gave me a kiss hello, and suddenly they say we're making out on a dance floor!
"But I do have a fear of commitment. I like to keep my options open. There's no controlling fate, but right now it's all out there for me."
That future includes going from fairy-tale romance parts to more adult roles. She has a frank sexual drama called "Havoc" due later in the year, and just signed for director Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain," as the wife of a gay cowboy (Jake Gyllenhaal) who rides the range with his buddy (Heath Ledger).
Risqu & eacute; role
"I know people are going to focus on the fact that I'm topless in 'Havoc,' but it was necessary for the film," she says.
"My character is a shallow girl who's so jaded about her own sexuality that she has no problems sharing it.
"And I can be bawdy and quirky, but I'm not vulgar. ... I've never had any problems with my body, no problems with nudity.
"I'm not advocating young girls see 'Havoc.' It's going to be R-rated for a reason." "Ella Enchanted," on the other hand, is a much sweeter story.
"I like genuine romance, but I hate sentimentality," she says. "'Ella' has a huge romantic element to it, but doesn't feel sappy.
"Women in fairy tales are lauded for being beautiful and pure and good -- all those boring things! Ella is smart and politically aware, sassy and spunky."
Hathaway, whose father is a lawyer and mother an actress, was born in Brooklyn and raised in Millburn, N.J. At 15, she got a role on the short-lived Fox sitcom "Get Real." Then came "The Princess Diaries" in 2001 and comparisons to another beautiful and funny actress, Julia Roberts.
"That's a huge compliment," Hathaway says. "I'll never say it upsets me.
"I just want to make sure that people don't think that her career is necessarily what I want.
"Yes, I'd be lucky to have a career like that, but I don't want anyone to think that if I stray outside of it, I failed."
A self-described klutz, Hathaway fell off her chair when she auditioned for "Princess" director Garry Marshall -- who made Roberts a star with "Pretty Woman."
"That's something you never get over, being a klutz," says Hathaway. "I might become less gawky, but I'll always be goofy."