--- description: For our 2013 Great Performances portfolio, TIME spoke with Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman about their performances in Les Misérables. title: Great Performance: Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1ea3187fd97552d4/6987a35d524fc0d5ecdeedb0/130218095983low.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Great Performance: Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman by [TIME Photo Department](/author/time-photo-department/) ## TIME Photo Department Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 7, 2013 12:59 PM CUT  Hugh JackmanPerformance: Jean Valjean in Les Misérables (Oscar nomination, Best Actor) “One of Victor Hugo’s main themes is how harsh and wasteful the jail system was,” says Jackman, whose Jean Valjean served 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread. “The goal wasn’t to turn you out rehabilitated. The goal was to turn you out as an animal.” Anne HathawayPerformance: Fantine in Les Misérables (Oscar nomination, Best Supporting Actress) “As a woman born in 1982, I take for granted so many freedoms that Fantine wouldn’t even dream of,” says Hathaway, who did voluminous research on everything from 19th century French law to modern-day sex slavery to play a doomed prostitute. Hugh JackmanPerformance: Jean Valjean in Les Misérables (Oscar nomination, Best Actor) “One of Victor Hugo’s main themes is how harsh and wasteful the jail system was,” says Jackman, whose Jean Valjean served 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread. “The goal wasn’t to turn you out rehabilitated. The goal was to turn you out as an animal.” Anne HathawayPerformance: Fantine in Les Misérables (Oscar nomination, Best Supporting Actress) “As a woman born in 1982, I take for granted so many freedoms that Fantine wouldn’t even dream of,” says Hathaway, who did voluminous research on everything from 19th century French law to modern-day sex slavery to play a doomed prostitute.Paola Kudacki for TIME by [TIME Photo Department](/author/time-photo-department/) ## TIME Photo Department Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 7, 2013 12:59 PM CUT **Hugh Jackman** **Performance:** Jean Valjean in _Les_ _Misérables_ (Oscar nomination, Best Actor) “One of Victor Hugo’s main themes is how harsh and wasteful the jail system was,” says Jackman, whose Jean Valjean served 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread. “The goal wasn’t to turn you out rehabilitated. The goal was to turn you out as an animal.” **Anne Hathaway** **Performance:** Fantine in _Les_ _Misérables_ (Oscar nomination, Best Supporting Actress) “As a woman born in 1982, I take for granted so many freedoms that Fantine wouldn’t even dream of,” says Hathaway, who did voluminous research on everything from 19th century French law to modern-day sex slavery to play a doomed prostitute. The Performers Speak: --- [Amy Adams](http://wp.me/p1d6cx-gWR "undefined") [Sally Field](http://wp.me/p1d6cx-gWA "undefined") [John Hawkes](http://wp.me/p1d6cx-gWH "undefined") [Quvenzhané Wallis](http://wp.me/p1d6cx-gWC "undefined") [Anne Hathaway & Hugh Jackman](http://wp.me/p1d6cx-gWP "undefined") [Christoph Waltz](http://wp.me/p1d6cx-gWN "undefined") [John Goodman](http://wp.me/p1d6cx-gWJ "undefined") [Naomi Watts](http://wp.me/p1d6cx-gWF "undefined") [Jessica Chastain](http://wp.me/p1d6cx-gWL "undefined") [**See a Compilation of Highlights from the 2013 Great Performers**](http://wp.me/p1d6cx-gUQ "undefined") [**More Portraits of the 2013 Great Performers by Paola Kudacki**](http://wp.me/p1d6cx-gSU "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3796528/great-performance-anne-hathaway-and-hugh-jackman/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3796528/great-performance-anne-hathaway-and-hugh-jackman/"},"headline":"Great Performance: Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman","datePublished":"2013-02-07T12:59:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T06:02:13.546Z","description":"For our 2013 Great Performances portfolio, TIME spoke with Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman about their performances in Les Misérables.","url":"https://time.com/3796528/great-performance-anne-hathaway-and-hugh-jackman/","keywords":["Oscars","Hugh Jackman","anne hathaway"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1ea3187fd97552d4/6987a35d524fc0d5ecdeedb0/130218095983low.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Photo Department","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-photo-department/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1ea3187fd97552d4/6987a35d524fc0d5ecdeedb0/130218095983low.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"00060_066_V2_CMYK.JPG","caption":"00060_066_V2_CMYK.JPG","creditText":"Paola Kudacki for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3796528/great-performance-anne-hathaway-and-hugh-jackman/","name":"Great Performance: Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman"}}]}] ```