Anne Hathaway Asked for a Fencing Scene in Princess Diaries 2 Because She Wanted It to Be Sexy. After One Lesson, Production Quietly Switched Her to Archery

“I asked to have a fencing plot line in Princess Diaries 2 because I thought it would be kind of a sexy scene to have like, you know, me and Nicholas fencing. One lesson and the instructor was asked to kind of tell production how I was doing and suddenly I was an archer. No, it’s really hard. That’s how well I did. I couldn’t… It’s really hard. Nothing could have confused me more.”

One fencing lesson was all it took for the “Princess Diaries 2” team to move Anne Hathaway to archery.

A young man guides a woman through her archery form outdoors, helping her draw the bowstring in a garden setting — the sport Hathaway ended up with after her fencing ambitions were quietly shelved. Credit: The Princess Diaries 2.

She’d asked for the fencing plot herself, picturing something between her and co-star Nicholas that read as sexy on screen. Then the instructor was asked to tell production how she was doing.

The fencing scene that never was: two figures in full white fencing gear clash with épées on a manicured lawn while onlookers watch in the background. Made with Google AI.

“Suddenly I was an archer,” she said. “No, it’s really hard. That’s how well I did. I couldn’t. It’s really hard. Nothing could have confused me more.”

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