Anne Hathaway reveals her secret to learning a Yorkshire accent for her role in ‘One Day’

Anne Hathaway donned a white lace Alexander McQueen dress at the London premiere of One Day, Lone Scherfig’s adaptation of David Nicholls’ book of the same name, where she revealed her secret to learning a Yorkshire accent for the role of Emma.

“It was really hard,” she confessed. “I worked with a dialect coach, and in the evenings I watched Emmerdale a lot. It was certainly helpful with the accent, that’s for sure.”

Not only did the Academy Award-nominated actress watch Emmerdale, a long-running soap opera that can be seen on ITV in the U.K., but she also approached Yorkshire natives and asked them to speak.

“Emmerdale’s great,” she said. “We don’t have programs like that in America, so it was actually quite exotic for me.”

Scherfig was criticized for casting an American as the female lead in One Day, but Nicholls downplayed the concerns that were initially expressed by loyal fans of his novel.

“I understand the trepidation, but British actors are constantly playing American roles and it’s always seen as a rather good thing,” he noted. “I see no reason why it shouldn’t be a good thing working the other way.”