Anne Hathaway gave a mildly interesting interview recently to UK newspaper The Independent. She talked in general terms about getting over her split from her boyfriend of four years, Italian conman Raffaello Follieri, using a prepared quote about how transformative difficult life experiences can be. Dating at work is usually no-no for 25 year-old Hathaway. She doesn’t say it’s off limits, just that she tries not to get with her co-stars. She says she considered plastic surgery to fix her totally normal nose, but that she ultimately made the decision not to get rhinopasty and thinks that having a non-altered face helps her stand out in Hollywood.

On her breakup and what she looks for in a relationship

“The worst thing that happens to you can be the best thing for you, if you don’t let it get the best of you,” she said, quoting the humorist Will Rogers in the aftermath of what has been a difficult few months…

Today, she says: “I try not to date where I work. It makes life easier. Besides, the possibility has never really arisen. I don’t say no to anybody, because I’d hope that people wouldn’t say no to me just because I’m an actor – but they’d have to be pretty extraordinary.

“The goal is to find someone you can be yourself around, who makes you laugh, who challenges you in a good way, and where you just spark off each other. My parents have been married more than 25 years, with all the glory and all the pain you can imagine, but they’ve stayed together. I want a strong marriage like that. I’ve always wanted a family. I’m not one of those people who says, ‘What’s the point of marriage?’,” says Hathaway, who is also an advocate for gay marriage, abandoning her youthful plans to become a nun after her older brother Michael came out.

On wanting a nose job

While Hathaway’s beauty has landed her a contract with Lancôme, she claims to suffer the same insecurities as the next woman: “Growing up, there’s a lot of pressure on young girls. You just want to be cookie-cutter beautiful. And sometimes you think, ‘Oh, maybe I could change something about myself to fit that mould’.

“I’m no exception. When I was growing up, I wanted a nose job, but now, my nose is what lets me change my face a lot, and I can be glamorous as Agent 99, then look rough as a drug addict for Jonathan Demme. Your face needs to have character if you’re an actor, otherwise you’re just a face.”

[From The Independent]

Hathaway also says she’s “the world’s biggest klutz” and that it was hard for her at first to play Agent 99 in Get Smart because the character is “someone who’s intimidating and completely in control of every situation.”

25 year-old Hathaway comes across as a sweet if naive girl. You have to wonder what she was telling herself in order to date Follieri for years and stay with him for months after he was accused of fraud and embezzlement. It wasn’t until the Feds stepped in that she finally got out of that relationship, and she must have known what was going on. At least she’s staying out of trouble, going to work and remaining virtually scandal-free. She must be made of Teflon because you would expect some of Follieri’s grime to have rubbed off on her. She still seems squeaky clean – if a bit boring. My expectations for her behavior are completely skewed by panty-less party girls who can’t even act, though. Intellectually, I would rather see a calm, well-spoken bright-eyed Hathaway than a disheveled drunken starlet, although the drunk ones are more entertaining to watch.

Anne Hathaway is shown out in NY on 7/13/08. Credit: DAVE KRIEGER/CARLOS VILA/bauergriffinonlin.com