Anne Hathaway: as the crowned princess of teen royalty flicks, she seemed destined for a life within the castle walls. Now she's tossing the tiara—and busting out

It wasn't so long ago that 22-year-old Anne Hathaway was living out a teenage actress's dream career with a string of movies (The Princess Diaries [2001], The Princess Diaries 2, and Ella Enchanted) that had the bejeweled young star prancing around in castles, having high tea with Julie Andrews, and kissing posh princes. But the leading lady of fairy-tale romance was bound to eventually ache for a return to the real world. This month she forays into the decidedly unfancy landscape of director Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain, a rugged cowboy drama co-starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, and she is currently gearing up for her role in the big-screen adaptation of the best-selling roman a clef The Devil Wears Prada, in which she's slated to star opposite the legendary Meryl Streep. Hathaway will also make an appearance in A Moment in the World, a documentary organized by her interviewer Angelina Jolie that placed roughly 25 participants in various locations on a specific day (Hathaway was in Cambodia), each instructed to videotape their surroundings at the same specific moment in time.

ANGELINA JOLIE: Hi, Annie, how are you?

ANNE HATHAWAY: Good. And you?

AJ: I'm good. So, I might ask you some strange questions. Some things that maybe I would have preferred to have somebody ask me.

AH: Okay. Well, then I hope you don't mind if I turn it back on you and ask what your answer to your question is? [both laugh]

AJ: No. It's nice to be able to say, "No, I'm the interviewer this time."

AH: Okay, okay. I'll respect your professional position.

AJ: I think everybody has a defining moment in their life when they changed--whether you became an adult, or a woman, or you just grew. Do you remember some of those moments?

AH: Two moments really stick out in my mind, which happened within about a month of each other. The first was when I was having a massive anxiety attack in a hotel room on the floor, just sobbing hysterically over something or another, and the thought of leaving my room was terrifying to me. But then all of a sudden I realized that I was beating myself up too much and there was no reason to be so afraid. I guess in that moment, just realizing that I had a choice was really important to my mental well being. And there was another time in my life that someone was hurting me very badly, and I had to make a conscious decision to distance myself from that person or just be dragged down with them. And it was that decision that kind of indirectly led them to a place in their lives where they could change and really objectively look at what they were doing and who they were hurting. It was a gamble, but it worked out and we're still really close. So those are two experiences from which I grew, because I put my own health before the needs of others.

AJ: And that's a big lesson to learn. Were you very young then?

AH: I was about 18 when all this happened.

AJ: That's pretty young. That sounds about right.

AH: For those bad feelings to start kicking in? [laughs]

AJ: For those moments where you suddenly realize you've become more of a self.

AH: And I guess it's worth it even if it's only you respecting yourself. That's an important relationship to have.

AJ: Absolutely. Probably the most important, because you really can't do much without that.

So, what do you fear in life?

AH: Loneliness is my least favorite thing about life. The thing that I'm most worried about is just being alone without anybody to care for or someone who will care for me. That horrible feeling of isolation is something that I hope I never have to deal with again.

AJ: Everybody has defining characteristics when they're under pressure, like when there's an extreme emergency. When the chips are down, are you the person that steps up and gets front and center and does something, or are you the person that panics?

AH: I'm pretty good at remaining calm during an emergency. My house burned down when I was 12, which made me really pragmatic about what needed to be done. But I can be bad in that I compartmentalize a lot of emotions and push them away to deal with them at a later date.

AJ: Ah, I see. So, are you working right now?

AH: No. I'm a lady of leisure for a couple weeks. I'm on vacation.

AJ: Oh, how nice.

AH: It's very, very nice. I'm actually on a boat right now.

AJ: So, you're traveling with your boyfriend?

AH: Yes.

AJ: That's so nice. Have you been together a long time?

AH: About a year and six months.

AJ: That's pretty long.

AH: It's exciting to be able to be able to speak with even the tiniest smidgen of authority, because when we first met, I would be talking about my feelings for him, and everyone would be like, "Wow! How long have you been together?" And I'd say, "Three weeks!"

AJ: Well, I've had great loves in my life, and whether or not they worked out in the end, they remain the great loves of my life and great friends. And I knew when I met them that they were going to be very important people to me. [a child coos in the background]