Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie “go deep” in their new thriller ‘Eileen’

In the new movie Eileen, Oscar winner Anne Hathaway plays Rebecca, an alluring psychologist at a juvenile detention facility, who draws Thomasin McKenzie‘s withdrawn title character out of her shell. 

Hathaway tells ABC Audio there were “so many reasons” she wanted to take part in the thriller, which opens this weekend.

“[O]ne of them is I’m really interested in the idea of facades,” Hathaway explains.

“And I think that Eileen and Rebecca each have one,” she continues. “You know, I think that Rebecca’s facade is glamor. Eileen‘s facade is … she just looks like … sort of a nice girl in a nice neighborhood. They each have so much more going on than their surfaces would imply.”

The Devil Wears Prada star adds, “In each in their own way, they want to feel love. You know, I think that Rebecca really enjoys feeling kind of worshiped and adored, and I think Eileen‘s ready to offer that. And I think Eileen really wants to feel loved.”

For McKenzie, it was all about the challenge of playing Eileen, who is, until she meets Hathaway’s character, boxed in at work, and by a domineering father at home.

The character “presented such a wonderful opportunity for me to go as deep as I possibly could into a character’s psychology and explore that kind of level of darkness and loneliness and isolation,” she maintains. 

Fueling that performance? Apparently, treats from the Oscar winner, McKenzie recalls with a laugh. “You always had, like really amazing snacks in your bag,” she recalls, smiling to Hathaway. “And I remember you had these, like, little cookie dough bites. That was so good. And like feeding them to me,” she says with a laugh.