Anne Hathaway is quickly emerging as one of Hollywood's most versatile actors. Coming off an acclaimed performance in "Brokeback Mountain," the star of such kid-friendly films such as "The Princess Diaries" and "Ella Enchanted" goes back to her youthful demeanour in "The Devil Wears Prada." Hathaway stars as Andy, a recent Northwestern grad who aspires to be a journalist in New York City. Her only break is to work as an assistant for Miranda Priestley (Meryl Streep), the notorious editor-in-chief of fashion magazine Runway. Miranda lives up to her snarky, rude reputation as she orders Andy around like Cinderella's evil stepmother did to her. Can Andy come to terms with her nasty boss?

Below, Anne talks about "The Devil Wears Prada" in an interview below.

Q: Why did you choose "The Devil Wears Prada"?

ANNE: I really felt connected to the story of a girl who was fresh out of college and really idealistic and how she was going to find away to live in this world. I just loved her story and I've played so many kind of good characters, characters that make good decisions, selfless decisions – I really liked that she kind of did everything wrong. And then obviously Meryl Streep is probably the biggest draw that you can give to any young actor, but especially me. She's been at the top of my hit list for a while now.

Q: Did you have to chase the part or did it come to you?

ANNE: I did have to chase the part down and I hadn't read the book until after I got it, but then when I did get it was very, very happy about it.

Q: Your character goes through an immense transformation once she becomes immersed in the fashion world. Any qualms about pulling it off?

ANNE: No. I was more concerned about the fact – I was like, 'Oh my God, am I going to have to have calling cards that say "Anne Hathaway Makeover Movies?"' but I decided that it wasn't so much of a makeover movie as a wardrobe enhancement. I wanted to make sure that the transformation was so subtle that you kind of didn't notice that it had happened until she was really in the belly of the best, and that was something that I kind of definitely wanted to make sure of. It's almost one of those like, 'When's the moment and when did it actually happen?' So I was definitely concerned with that and that was really nice of Stanley to say.

Q: Were you any kind of a fashion expert before the movie?

ANNE: Oh, gosh. I kind of new a little bit about fashion, but have always been a little intimidated by it.

Q: Why?

ANNE: I felt like it was a little club that I couldn't be a part because I wasn't cool enough to be a part of. I don't really think of it as a club anymore. I mean, ultimately, fashion is the product of collective decisions, but what I do understand now much better in fashion, which I still don't kind of get spending ten thousand dollars for a blouse, but I do understand people's style a lot more and I doreally understand my own more. So a sense of that really grew from involvement on this project. Definitely.

Q: Do you think your personal style is more like Andy before or after Runway?

ANNE: No. No. I've actually never been the beginning Andy. I did always try, but I failed [Laughs]. My style I would have to say is actually really close to Andy at the end of the film – kind of no brand name designers that stick out to you in that outfit, but you know that it's really nicely put together. That's kind of what I try and go for with the exception of Chanel. I will wear the giant C's anywhere.

Q: When you were younger, did you feel the need to please your boss as much as Andy did?

ANNE: I'm a natural people pleaser and so yes I've kind of run up with a lot of times in my career, in my job.

Q: Did [fashion consultant] Patricia [Field] work on the fashion thing with you?

ANNE: She was. I actually – she kind of had to force me to be collaborative because I was totally willing to sit back and let her do absolutely whatever she wanted because she's brilliant. And she was someone that really sat me down and wanted to know what I was thinking about my part. So we kind of came with a strategy for Andy's look together. In the beginning was really afraid to kind of make suggestions. Sometimes I would make suggestions and she might like it and I would really feel good and cool, and then sometimes she would say, 'No. That doesn't really work.' But rather than kind of be dismissive or short with me she would actually sit me down and explain as though we had all the time in the world, and believe me we didn't, explain why one belt worked better than the other. So she wasn't interested in just having it be her way or just getting to that end product. She really wanted to bring me along with me and teach me and I really appreciated that.

Q: How did you feel to be called "fat" in the movie?

ANNE: Oh, [Laughs] I thought that it was just funny. Sadly enough we're not making fun of that mentality. It's really true. I accepted long ago though that I'm a curvy girl and rather than saying that there's nothing wrong with that I'll just say that I'm a curvy girl. There's nothing to justify. Some clothes that are more designed based just actually look better on women that are built like wire hangers because that's just the nature of the design. I won't wear those clothes. I can't. It'll make the dresses look bad and it'll make me look bad in them. So I just kind of try and find the designs that work for me.

Q: You and your costars in 'Brokeback Mountain' received a lot of attention for a while. Was it a surprise to you that the movie received all that attention?

ANNE: I was just thrilled that people went to see the movie[Laughs]. It was kind of one of those things when we were making it where it was like, 'Okay, it's either going to be a cult hit or maybe something a little bit better.' So I was happy that people were mature enough to give it a chance and see it for what it was. It was really amazing to kind of be a part of something like that, and I don't want to exaggerate because I don't want to be one of those self-important people that are like, 'The whole country is looking at us.' – but I understood that it wasn't necessarily me. It was something that I was apart of. So it felt really extraordinary to be a part of something that powerful and it's also a little like a once in a lifetime chance. So I was just grateful to be a part of something that was just so powerful, that made people rethink their stances and their decisions in life and gave people a new touchstone, I think, for representations of gay lifestyles in culture. I mean, that's like a really specific issue and then on a broader issue it just taught people about the truth of love. As an artist you strive for that kind of breakthrough. I couldn't have been more happy to be a part of that.

Q: How were you affected by playing that role and what did it teach you?

ANNE: You know what, it really taught me the importance of trusting your environment because obviously Ang Lee understands me. It's okay. I understand and have accepted that. I really trusted him and I trusted the producers because I had worked with them and I had seen their work. It showed me really the importance of kind of trusting the work that people do around you. I can be a bit of a control freak particularly with my characters and that was kind of an amazing experience where I came in and as opposed to maybe pouncing on everyone and saying, 'No. I think that the character is this way and this way and this way.' I listened to whatever everyone had to say first and found out that actually our instincts were often the same and we could actually enrich each other's versions of the character by collaborating. So that's kind of just a technical experience of making it. That's how I was affected by it.

Q: Has there been a point in your career where you felt like you were being pushed to be a person that you didn't want to be?

ANNE: No. I've been really lucky. I've never been pushed. I don't work with people who are seeking to profit off of me in an unhealthy way. I think that you find that a lot in the music industry. I think that people have these images that they think they have to adhere to and there's usually like a Svenghali in the background that has come up with that. Really with me, what you see is what you get.

The one time in my life that I felt a little bit trapped was right around the time that I did 'Havoc' and people had such a negative reaction against the girl from 'The Princess Diaries' doing 'Havoc' and doing a topless scene. I thought, 'Oh my God, people are just dealing with these broad strokes. How did I let myself become the girl from "The Princess Diaries?"' And it wasn't anything that anyone had pushed me to do, but it was just something that actually, luckily enough, happened. I was in an incredibly successful film, but I didn't know that I was so identified with it and I didn't know that people would just pick up touchstone words like topless and princess and why they wouldn't go together [Laughs]. So I realized after that that I was going to have to become an actress again and not be known as a genre actress, but just an actress.

"The Devil Wears Prada" opens in theaters June 30th.