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From mega-hit franchises to a destructive drug addict to a cowgirl whose husband is hiding a secret love affair, Anne Hathaway has been one of Hollywood’s most versatile leading women for more than 25 years.

With the Oscar winner reuniting with Christopher Nolan as Penelope in “The Odyssey,” the highest-profile stop in a landmark 2026 that also includes “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” Variety ranks her best film performances to date.

Born in Brooklyn and raised in New Jersey, Hathaway made a splash from the start. After a brief stint in the ensemble of the Fox family drama series “Get Real,” things took off in 2001 thanks to the verve she brought to Mia Thermopolis, heir to the throne of Genovia, in Garry Marshall’s “The Princess Diaries.” Hathaway burst off the screen like a breath of fresh air, holding her own against the legendary Julie Andrews. The film grossed more than $160 million worldwide and spawned the 2004 sequel “The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement,” again with Andrews and Marshall.

A star had indeed been born.

From that royal debut, Hathaway moved into a run of eclectic roles, playing Madeline Bray in the Charles Dickens adaptation “Nicholas Nickleby” (2002) and the title character in the fantasy feature “Ella Enchanted” (2004). When she was cast as Lureen Newsome in Ang Lee’s cowboy love story “Brokeback Mountain” (2005), she showed she had chops beyond rom-com cute, and the industry took notice.
She followed with the box office and critical smash “The Devil Wears Prada” (2006) opposite Meryl Streep, then sharpened her comedy alongside Steve Carell in “Get Smart” (2008).

That same year, her profile among actors soared with a tour de force as a drug addict fresh out of rehab in “Rachel Getting Married” (2008). Her work in Jonathan Demme’s searing drama earned her first Oscar nomination, for best actress, and proved she was one of the industry’s most technically gifted performers. Four years later came her musically brilliant Fantine in Tom Hooper’s “Les Misérables” (2012). Playing opposite Hugh Jackman, she made the most of limited screen time and belted “I Dreamed a Dream” in a one-take sensation that won her the Oscar for best supporting actress.

In the years since, Hathaway has continued to stretch, from the blockbuster canvases of “Interstellar” (2014) and the heist spinoff “Ocean’s Eight” (2018) to the A24 thriller “Eileen” (2023) and the romance “The Idea of You” (2024), one of Amazon’s most-watched original films. Now she is in the middle of the busiest stretch of her career, a 2026 that reaches its highest-profile peak with her Nolan reunion in “The Odyssey.”

Here is Variety’s ranking of Hathaway’s 13 best film performances, along with the scenes that capture the essence of her talent.

Honorable mentions: “The Devil Wears Prada 2” (2026); “Interstellar” (2014); “The Intern” (2015); “Eileen” (2023); “The Idea of You” (2024)

“The Odyssey” is one hell of a journey.

Once again, director Christopher Nolan enlists a cast of A-list actors and jumbles timelines to tell his ambitious version of Odysseus’ journey from Homer’s “The Odyssey.”

Set after the conclusion of the 10-year Trojan War, the story follows the hero Odysseus (Matt Damon) as he returns to Ithaca, a journey that takes nearly as much time as the war. Borrowing from the Greek tradition of oral storytelling, Nolan’s nearly three-hour adaptation is told through the accounts of a bard (played by Travis Scott) who spins tales of the great warrior and Odysseus himself as he reflects on the events of his homecoming voyage.

If understanding “The Odyssey” feels like a laborious journey in itself, here’s a breakdown of the timeline, monsters and myths behind Nolan’s epic adaptation. 

The War

In times of peace, Odysseus, king of Ithaca, and his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) had hosted parties in their palace for all — even beggars were welcome. Zeus’ law insisted upon showing hospitality to every guest because anybody could be a god in disguise. Odysseus also prided himself on being the only person able to string his sturdy bow. At these celebrations, he would invite men to try to wield the bow before easily stringing it himself and shooting an arrow through 12 axes as entertainment. 

Before “The Odyssey” kicks off, conflict was brewing overseas. The queen of Sparta, Helen (Lupita Nyong’o), was the most beautiful woman in the world. Prince Paris of Troy took a liking to her, and Helen left Sparta for Troy. Her scorned husband, King Menelaus (Jon Bernthal), turned to his brother Agamemnon (Benny Safdie), the king of all ancient Greece, for help. Agamemnon was also married to Helen’s twin sister, Clytemnestra (also played by Nyong’o), but his loyalty was with his brother. Agamemnon raised an army, thus beginning the Trojan War. 

Before joining the war, Odysseus told Penelope that she must remarry if their young son Telemachus (Tom Holland) came of age before his return from Troy. Odysseus then held a lottery to determine who would serve in Ithaca’s army. When Antinous (Robert Pattinson) tried to have Sinon (Elliot Page) take his place, Odysseus intervened. He selected Sinon to serve so Antinous could stay back and care for his family.

The Greeks spent a grueling 10 years fighting at Troy. As the war dragged on, Odysseus got the idea to build a wooden horse to hide his soldiers, allowing them to sneak through the gates of the city. The rest of the army would sail away to not draw suspicion, and one man would stay behind to present the horse as a peace offering. That one man was Sinon, who was intentionally kept unaware of the plan so he could deliver a convincing performance. 

Days later, Odysseus’ enemies discovered the Trojan Horse but believed Sinon to be a threat, so they killed him. Sinon claimed the horse was an offering to Athena (Zendaya) until his dying breath. The soldiers brought the Trojan Horse inside the gates. Odysseus and his men waited until nightfall to emerge. They rushed to open the gates, where Agamemnon and the rest of the Greek army were waiting, and together they took over the city of Troy, securing their victory. The war was finally over. 

The Journey

The three kings — Agamemnon, Menelaus and Odysseus — parted ways at Troy and began their return voyages.

Helen unwillingly returned to Sparta with Menelaus. To prevent a similar war from happening again, Menelaus scarred her face, permanently marring her famous beauty. Agamemnon was thrilled to return home, where he believed he would be welcomed with open arms by Clytemnestra, despite publicly sacrificing their daughter for good fortune before the war. In Agamemnon’s absence, Clytemnestra plotted her revenge for the death of their daughter. Soon after his return, she murdered him. 

Odysseus and his men were similarly experiencing poor luck. With the ruin of Troy also came the desecration of Zeus’ law, which proved dangerous to the returning Ithacans. They had angered the gods while in battle, especially the god of the sky. The winds unknowingly steered the Ithacans to the island of Polyphemus (Bill Irwin), the one-eyed cyclops. 

While exploring the island for food, the men were trapped in Polyphemus’ cave with the cyclops’ herd of sheep. In a desperate attempt to escape, they stabbed Polyphemus in the eye, blinding him. However, the cyclops was a son of Poseidon, and this attack angered the sea god. With the wind and the sea now working against them, Odysseus and his men were next led to the Laestrygonian giants, who brutally attacked them, leaving them with only one ship and its crew. 

Their next journey was to the island of Aeaea, where Circe (Samantha Morton) turned Odysseus’ men into pigs. The hero ultimately convinced the sorceress to return them to human form, but before they left, Circe told Odysseus his army must visit the underworld and speak to the prophet, Tiresias (James Remar), if they wish to return home. 

The men sailed to the underworld, where they raised an army of the dead. One of the spirits was Sinon, who was upset with Odysseus for betraying him and not telling him the Trojan Horse plan. Sinon also told Odysseus the fallen Ithacan soldiers were unable to rest because they weren’t honored with proper Greek warrior funeral rites. Sinon instructed Odysseus to seek vengeance against Antinous in Sinon’s name and that he must also sail west to honor the lives lost. Agamemnon emerged next and cautioned Odysseus, sharing how he was murdered by his wife after being too confident in receiving a hero’s welcome. He advised Odysseus to return home in disguise and stealthily discover his true allies. Tiresias then told Odysseus how he can return home. First, he and his men must sail past the deadly sirens. Then, they must choose to sail either through the whirlpool Charybdis, which will kill every man on board, or past the sea monster Scylla, who will only kill six men. 

In the end, Odysseus’ choice won’t matter, as Tiresias told him all of his men will die after they reach Apollo’s island and kill the sun god’s cattle. Odysseus was convinced he could cheat the prophecy and decided not to tell his men of their fate (nor their choice between Charybdis or Scylla). He did tell them the danger of the sirens, though, and instructed his men to put wax in their ears so they were not tempted by their fatal song. Odysseus insisted on hearing their song and was tied to the mast. Once they sailed past, he told his men of the song, which left him weeping, and that it revealed everything he could ever want but also why he could never have it. 

Odysseus must then make his choice between Charybdis or Scylla. Confident he could defy the prophecy, he instructed his men to attempt the whirlpool crossing and emerge from the other side. His men, distrustful of what they believed to be bad guidance, steered toward Scylla. As foretold, six men died.

Now realizing Odysseus did not reveal what Tiresias told him, the soldiers demanded he share everything he learned, mainly second-in-command Eurylochus (Himsesh Patel). Odysseus told him of the prophecy and begged his men to promise not to kill any cattle on Apollo’s island, which they neared. They agreed — for a short time.

Soon after their arrival, the men realized they were trapped on the sun god’s island, as the wind wouldn’t allow them to sail away. They grew increasingly tired, hungry and frustrated with Odysseus for withholding information, even proposing to leave the king on the island. Their starvation reached new heights, and the men ultimately broke their promise to Odysseus and killed one of Apollo’s cattle. 

The winds eased, allowing them to continue their voyage home. Odysseus’ men insisted they would rather drown than starve. Soon after, the combined anger of Zeus, Poseidon and Apollo created a storm that killed everyone except the king.

Odysseus washed up on Calypso’s (Charlize Theron) island, where he ended up spending seven years. Calypso had been banished to live on the island of Ogygia after the Olympians defeated the Titans long ago. She fed him lotus flowers that made him forget about Penelope and Telemachus, sending his mind into a peaceful state. After Odysseus finally confronted his trauma and the real reason why he didn’t want to return home, Calypso helped guide him back to Ithaca.

Calypso told Odysseus he must submit to the will of the gods, something he had been loath to do thus far. He built a raft to escape Ogygia, letting the ocean take him under and deposit him on land. Athena appeared to him and revealed that he was finally back in Ithaca.

Home at Last

Odysseus returned to Ithaca 20 years after his initial departure, disguised as a beggar. The first person he found was the blind swineherd Eumaeus (John Leguizamo), who had just been attacked. He then ran into Telemachus, who doesn’t recognize his father until they stumble across Argus, Odysseus’ old dog. After waiting for Odysseus to return, the dog wagged its tail and died. Odysseus instructed Telemachus to tell Penelope nothing of his return, but to convince her she must select a suitor.

Zeus’ law still held weight in Ithaca, despite whispers of “the people from the sea” who plundered everything in their path getting closer to home. In Odysseus’ absence, Penelope held court to dozens of suitors eager to wed and control Ithaca. She fended off their advances, believing her husband would return home, and becomes angered when Telemachus says it is time to choose a spouse. 

Odysseus, still under disguise, begged for food from the suitors at dinner that night. Antinous spit in his bowl, and two of the suitors beat him. Telemachus put a stop to it in honor of Zeus’ law. Penelope wanted to meet the mysterious beggar, not knowing he was Odysseus. Secluded behind a screen, Odysseus told Penelope stories as if he served alongside Odysseus, trying to convince her to let go and find a new suitor. One of Penelope’s longtime slaves recognized Odysseus’ scar on his leg, and he implored her to stay quiet. Odysseus finally named his trauma and why he did not want to go home — because he had broken Zeus’ law after taking Troy. 

Meanwhile, Antinous lurked nearby with a knife, ready to kill Telemachus, but gets distracted by Penelope announcing she is ready to choose a suitor. The next day, the doors are sealed for Penelope’s challenge: The suitors must string Odysseus’ arrow and shoot an arrow straight through 12 axes, just as the king once did. Telemachus and Eumaeus locked the remaining weapons upstairs. The suitors embarrassed themselves one by one, until Antinous demanded Penelope simply choose the best of them. Odysseus then shed his disguise and completes the challenge easily.

A fight broke out as the suitors tried to overthrow Odysseus, and Melanthius (Logan Marshall-Green) managed to break into the room upstairs to retrieve weapons. The king successfully fought a hundred men and emerged victorious, but not before killing Antinous in Sinon’s name. 

Odysseus and Penelope reunited, and Telemachus was crowned the new king of Ithaca as Odysseus vowed to sail west to honor the men who died along the way. The west is symbolic of death in mythology, but also connected to the land of Elysium, the final resting place for Greek heroes.

Having just been announced as the Venice Film Festival curtain raiser, Danny Boyle‘s “Ink” has found a new nome.

Netflix has acquired the U.S. and Latin American rights to the film — about the early years of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire as he planted a flag in the U.K. and starring Jack O’Connell, Guy Pearce and Claire Foy. The film will world premiere in the Venice competition on Sep 2, opening the 83rd edition of the festival.

Based on the Tony-nominated stage play by James Graham (“Dear England,” “Sherwood”), who wrote the screenplay, “Ink” was produced by Studiocanal, Media Res and House Productions, reuniting Academy Award winner Boyle with his “Slumdog Millionaire” exec producer Tessa Ross.

Set in 1969, the film charts the story of how Murdoch and tabloid editor Larry Lamb launched “The Sun,” newspaper. O’Connell stars as “The Sun” editor Lamb with Pearce as Murdoch. Foy plays Jules Davies.

“Long before Fox News, click bait, and Truth Social; decades before Twitter, Facebook, Google & Only Fans, these two men created a new tabloid which against all the odds became the biggest selling newspaper in the world,” said Boyle. “Cheeky, Irreverent, daring: The super soaraway Sun challenged the establishment and remade our world for the modern era.”

As the official logline further details, “Ink” is as “an explosive cinematic rollercoaster about a group of visionaries and misfits who had an idea for a new kind of news — one that would give the people what they want and would change the face of the world we live in today.”

Boyle produces with Ross (“Conclave,” “Zone of Interest”) and Michael Ellenberg (“The Morning Show,” “Pachinko”). Tracey Seaward (“The Two Popes,” “Philomena”) also produces. Anna Marsh, Ron Halpern, Joe Naftalin of Studiocanal are exec producers alongside Tonia Davis, Zoe Edwards, Graham and Sudie Smyth. Media Res optioned Graham’s play, which was directed by Rupert Goold.

The Netflix deal was handled by WME Independent and StudioCanal.

Studiocanal handled worldwide sales and will release the film theatrically in their territories of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Benelux, Australia and NZ. With Netflix now on board, “Ink” has sold in all territories worldwide.

Netflix paid $587 million in cash when it purchased Ben Affleck‘s AI startup InterPositive, the company disclosed in a federal filing.

As part of the company’s Form 10-Q report with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Netflix confirmed that it completed an acquisition in March “for a total purchase price of approximately $587 million. The disclosure came months after a Bloomberg report indicated Netflix’s March acquisition could amount to up to $600 million for Affleck and InterPositive’s investors, even if the total price for the company was less than that amount.

The remainder would be made up through “certain performance targets,” according to the Bloomberg report. Netflix did not respond to an immediate request for comment.

Netflix purchased Affleck’s startup, which he founded in 2022 and operated in stealth mode, in a bid to develop AI tools that kept “filmmakers at the center of the process.” The purchase brought aboard InterPositive’s 16-person team of engineers, researchers and creatives, while Affleck joined Netflix as a senior adviser. The company’s tools allow filmmakers to build an AI model using production dailies to help enhance post-production work such as mixing, relighting shots and adding visual effects, forgoing typical visual generative efforts.

“From the invention of the moving image to the transition to digital, from motion capture to virtual production, technology has evolved alongside the artists who use it,” Affleck said as part of the merger announcement. “Our shared commitment to continuing this legacy makes joining together a natural next step, in addition to Netflix’s decades of experience applying and scaling technology responsibly.”

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos highlighted the company’s integration of generative AI tools and its work with InterPositive during its second-quarter earnings call on Thursday, where it revealed that roughly 300 of its titles have used some form of generative AI this year. Sarandos said that while the InterPositive deal was still in its “early days,” Netflix has seen its impact on productions alongside some of its other in-house tools.

Still, even as he highlighted the use of AI in the docuseries “The American Experiment” to produce sequences “twice as fast and at half the cost of previous options,” he said the company wasn‘t eager to replace human-made work with generative technology.

“We believe it takes great artists to make something great, and AI is not changing that,” Sarandos said. “Movies are being made by people who make movies. AI provides them with better tools to make them even better.”

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Not all 4K TVs are made equally. There are plenty of 4K TVs that are colorful, large and sharp, but not all of them have the same features and settings or have the same picture and audio quality. With so many to pick, it may be tough to find the best one for your home and your pocketbook.

Variety rounded up the best 4K TVs of various shapes and sizes for all sorts of users and situations. We picked from trusted TV manufacturers, like Sony, Samsung, Hisnese, LG and others for their reliability, premium picture quality and overall use.

With prices starting at $3,599.99 at Best Buy, the Sony BRAVIA 9 II 4K TV has Sony’s latest “True RGB” display technology (red, green and blue light) for premium picture quality with more vivid and brighter colors, as well as darker and deeper black levels.

And with sizes up to 85 inches, the 4K TV features accurate colors that comes alive. It’s great for watching action movies and live sports with more immersive picture quality as high-paced action shifts from moment-to-moment.

The Samsung 77-Inch OLED S90H 4K Smart TV is one of the best OLED TVs to buy in 2026 — thanks to its large display that minimizes blooming and haloing around bright images, Dolby Atmos for premium audio quality and built-in smart home features for streaming movies and TV shows from Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, Disney+ and other apps.

The 4K TV supports HDR (High Dynamic Range) for 4K videos with accurate and vivid color contrast and deep black levels. It even has a high refresh rate of up to 165Hz for buttery smooth motion for fast action during live sports, gaming and movies.

The LG 77-Inch LG OLED evo AI G6 4K Smart TV is ideal if you have a large family because it offers very wide viewing angles. This means no matter where someone sits in the living room, everyone is going to have a great view of what’s on TV — thanks to its impressive OLED 4K Ultra HD display. The 4K TV offers brightness, as well as enhanced rich and vibrant colors and inky black levels.

In addition, the 4K TV supports Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HLG 4K picture formats, while it comes with the webOS 26 with Google Gemini operating system out-of-the-box for video and music app streaming — including Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock, Prime Video, Spotify and much more.

Priced at $1,498 on Amazon, the TCL 75-Inch QM7L Series SQD-Mini-LED QLED Smart TV is our pick for the best wallet-friendly 4K TV. It’s no slouch when it comes to offering stellar picture quality with thin bezels, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision 4K support, vibrant color reproduction and expanded brightness levels.

This is a simple and clean smart TV with a very wide selection of apps, including Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Prime Video and others, thanks to Google TV. If you’re on a tight budget, then the TCL QM7L is a great choice to get brilliant picture quality, impressive Bang & Olufsen audio quality and built-in streaming options at an affordable price.

If you’re looking for a 4K TV that supports multiple picture and audio formats, then the Hisense 75-Inch U7 Mini-LED ULED 4K Smart TV is for you. For picture quality, it has Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+ Adaptive, HDR10 and HLG support for high quality 4K images that are crisp and clear with bright colors and deep black levels with IMAX Enhanced performance, while this TV can support Dolby Atmos and DTS:X audio formats.

It even has Google TV built-in for streaming videos and music, while the TV has a high refresh rate of up to 165Hz for smooth motion for gaming and live sports. The Hisense U7 is one of the most versatile 4K TVs for home theaters or basement “man-caves” with impressive picture quality and a wide selection of audio formats.

Let’s face it, most 4K TVs look unattractive and very plain. If you hang one up, then it just looks like a black slab on your wall. However, not all 4K TVs are ugly. Enter the Samsung 85-Inch “The Frame Pro” LS03HW Neo QLED 4K Smart TV, a sleek and stylish TV that’s designed to look like a framed piece of artwork. It features a matte QLED 4K display with an antireflection layer that’s not glossy, while the TV comes with a special “Art Mode” to display pieces, like “Mona Lisa,” “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” “Irises” and others.

Meanwhile, all of the cables, power supply, inputs and other components are encased in a separate Wireless One Connect control box that connects to the TV wirelessly. Now the Samsung Frame Pro TV can always look clean as the centerpiece of your living room.

If gaming is most important for your home, then the Samsung 77-Inch OLED S95H 4K Smart TV is the one for you. For next-gen gaming for Xbox Series X/S, Sony PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2, all four of its built-in HDMI ports support Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) for virtually zero game controller lag, Dynamic Metadata (HDR 10+) for impressive 4K picture quality with incredible color contrast and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) with up to 165Hz for smooth motion.

Who needs a console at all? The Samsung S95H 4K TV also supports cloud gaming apps, like Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and NVIDIA GeForce Now.