Celebrity Celebrity Relationships Celebrity Friendships Anne Hathaway Looks Back at Making 'The Princess Diaries' : 'I Got to Hug Julie Andrews Every Day' Actress Anne Hathaway calls starring in Garry Marshall's romantic comedy The Princess Diaries "very, very magical." By Dana Rose Falcone Dana Rose Falcone Dana Rose Falcone is a Staff Writer covering TV at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE for seven years. Dana Rose's work has previously appeared in Entertainment Weekly, Men's Fitness and Us Weekly. People Editorial Guidelines Published on January 31, 2019 09:00AM EST The Princess Diaries launched a then 18-year-old Anne Hathaway to fame when it debuted in 2001. The first film’s success prompted a sequel, and the actress, now starring in the dramatic thriller Serenity, recently revealed that a script for a third movie exists. And Hathaway always knew the story of Mia Thermopolis’ journey to Genovian royalty, based on Meg Cabot’s book series, would be a hit. “Getting the script, it just had that feeling,” Hathaway, 36, tells PEOPLE’s Editor-in-Chief Jess Cagle in the new PEOPLE cover story, excerpted from the latest installment of The Jess Cagle Interview (streaming now on PeopleTV). “I touched it, and it was electric.” Watch the full episode of The Jess Cagle Interview: Anne Hathaway, streaming now on PeopleTV.com, or download the PeopleTV app on your favorite device. Everett The Oscar winner remembers freaking out when she met director Garry Marshall during the audition process. “Pretty Woman [was] my favorite movie growing up,” Hathaway says. “I get to meet the director of that, how extraordinary. Oh my God, he’s also from that movie Soapdish that I love.” RELATED VIDEO: Anne Hathaway Opens Up About Her Past Insecurities – and Has Great Advice for Her Critics And starring opposite Julie Andrews marked “a dream come true” for Hathaway. “Getting to make it and be on set every day, I got to hug Julie Andrews every day,” she says. “That part was also very, very, very magical. Then it came out and it was received. That part even, by the way, was magical.” To read the full Anne Hathaway interview, pick up the latest issue of People on stands Friday. Hathaway jokes that The Princess Diaries turned her into “a superstar to six-year-olds,” and she acknowledges, “I got very, very, very famous.” Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP/REX/Shutterstock To this day, Hathaway still credits the film for all her good fortune. “I live my life as if I’ve won the lottery,” Hathaway says, “not as though I was famous.”