‘The Devil Wears Prada’: Anne Hathaway Says Nate Was Not the Villain – but, ‘He Did Behave Like a Brat’
Actor Anne Hathaway disagreed about the common thought that Adrian Grenier’s character “Nate” was the true villain in The Devil Wears Prada.
Hathaway played Andrea “Andy” Sachs, a bright-eyed young journalist who lands a job at a fashion magazine as an assistant to Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), otherwise known as “the devil.” Miranda pushes Andy to the point where Andy makes her job a priority over her relationship – which annoys and frustrates her boyfriend Nate. Nate and Andy both try to find footing in their careers as young professionals. But fans felt as though Nate put Andy in a no-win position when he told her to choose her job or him.
Anne Hathaway said Nate isn’t exactly ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ Villain
Fans asked Hathaway if she agreed with The Devil Wears Prada fandom about how Nate is really the villain in the story.
“No,” Hathaway said on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. “I’m sorry I don’t [think he was the villain]. They were both very young. And figuring things out and he did behave like a brat. But I also behaved like a brat in my twenties and I hopefully grew out of it.”
“I think that’s what we all do,” she added. “I would not want to be defined by my worst moment in my twenties certainly. So I don’t hold Nate as a villain actually.”
Nate was a bad boyfriend, ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ star, Adrian Grenier agrees
Grenier also didn’t think Nate was a bad boyfriend either … until fans came for him years later on social media. “I have to admit, I did not see that some of the subtleties and the nuance of this character and what it represented in the film until the wisdom of the masses came online and started to push against the character,” Grenier told Entertainment Weekly.
The Devil Wears Prada was released in 2006 and Grenier had turned 30. “It hadn’t occurred to me until I started to really think about it. And perhaps it was because I was as immature as Nate was at the time,” he admitted. “Nate had not grown up, but Andy was. This is a coming of age for Andy. And she needed more out of life than Nate. And she was achieving it.”
Anne Hathaway said Nate was pouty on his birthday because his girlfriend ditched him
He also reflected on the turning point scene in The Devil Wears Prada when Andy arrives late for Nate’s birthday. “At the end of the day, it’s just a birthday, right? It’s not the end of the world. I might’ve been as immature as him at the time, so I personally couldn’t see his shortcomings. But after time to reflect and much deliberation, I’ve come to realize the truth in that perspective.”
But Hathaway joked that while Nate was immature, it was, after all, his birthday. “I don’t think everybody’s being completely honest with themselves about their own poutiness,” she said. “Nate was pouty on his birthday because his girlfriend wasn’t there! In hindsight, I’m sure he wishes he made a different choice, but who doesn’t? We’ve all been brats at different points. We all just need to live, let live, and do better!”
