Anne Hathaway Says She Wasn't Getting Hired Post-Oscar, Nolan Saved Her

Anne Hathaway says people in the public really didn't like her after she won her Oscar -- so much so, studios steered clear ... that is, until Christopher Nolan came knocking (again).

The actress opened up about to Vanity Fair about all the hate she was receiving in the early 2010s -- which reached its peak in 2013 when she took home a statuette for her role in "Les Misérables" ... when she gave a heartfelt (but to some, cringe-worthy) acceptance speech.

This phenomenon -- known at the time as "Hathahate" -- had actually been building up for a few years, going back to 2011 when she hosted the Oscars with James Franco. Even then, people were saying they found her a little too sincere, awkward and "annoying."

Welp, AH now says she was well aware of all this ridicule during those days -- and as it turns out, she says it was affecting her career ... even though she was an Oscar winner.

She says, "A lot of people wouldn’t give me roles because they were so concerned about how toxic my identity had become online. I had an angel in Christopher Nolan, who did not care about that and gave me one of the most beautiful roles I’ve had in one of the best films that I’ve been a part of." Of course, she's referring to CN's 2014 smash hit "Interstellar."

She adds, "I don’t know if he knew that he was backing me at the time, but it had that effect. And my career did not lose momentum the way it could have if he hadn’t backed me."

As we all know, Anne and Chris had history before he brought her on for 'Interstellar' -- having hired her for his third Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises," but it sounds like the fact he gave her another opportunity came at just the right time for Anne.

In terms of weathering the hate storm -- whether it was back then, or even now -- Anne says you gotta continue to be bold and be yourself ... even if everyone hates your guts.

Pretty crazy to hear that Anne was seen as a pariah in Hollywood for a little bit -- she's obviously one of the biggest A-listers around ... and yet, she says she hit a rough patch.