Photo: Coolspotters.com

Anne Hathaway’s incarnation of Catwoman has become somewhat of an intrigue among fans. She recently sat down with the LA Times on the set of the Dark Knight Rises–the latest Batman installment due out in theaters this summer–to give some insight on her sexy new role and where she got her inspiration. “What’s come before doesn’t limit or even affect this new version,” the Oscar-nominated actress said about the Catwoman role. “It doesn’t affect me because each Catwoman is defined by the context of the Gotham City created around her.” She explained that Catwoman is greatly influenced by Gotham and whoever is creating Gotham at the time, e.g., Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman was informed by Tim Burton’s Gotham and Eartha Kitt was informed by Adam West’s Gotham. “You have to live in whatever the reality of the world is and whatever Gotham is,” Anne revealed.

For her ferocious feline part, Anne said she was deeply inspired by Batman creator Bob Kane’s original inspiration for Catwoman: screen siren Hedy Lamarr. “I know this sounds odd, but her breathing is extraordinary,” Hathaway said of the Golden Age star. “She takes these long, deep, languid breaths and exhales slowly.” Anne goes on to illustrate her point saying there’s a scenebof Hedy in the 1933 film Ecstasy exhaling a cigarette and that she probably took five breaths during Hedy’s single exhale. “So I started working on my breathing a lot,” Anne said about prep for her role.  Anne’s breathy new Catwoman will be intriguing indeed, but in the meantime, she’s casual-cool in short cowboy boots and sporty-chic Carrera shades.  –rpuccia

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