Vive la France! The 2012 film version of Les Misérables – the epic period musical with a star-studded cast — has taken its audience on an emotional and suspenseful journey long after its release.
The Academy Award-winning movie is set in France during the 19th century and tells the story of Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) who has been hunted for the past decade by policeman Javert (Russell Crowe) for breaking parole. Valjean agrees to care for a child named Cosette (Amanda Seyfried) after her mother, Fantine (Anne Hathaway), dies. However, due to Javert’s relentless pursuit, Valjean can never truly find the peace he is looking for.
Despite Hathaway’s Oscar win for her harrowing performance, the Princess Diaries star wasn’t the producers’ first choice for the role of Fantine, she told the Hollywood Reporter in a December 2012 cast interview.
“There was resistance because I was between their ideal ages for the part – maybe not mature enough for Fantine but past the point where I could believably play Cosette,” she explained. “And I did what I do when I really want a role: I got fiery and told my agent, ‘Just get me in the room.’”
Hathaway revealed she went to great lengths in order to portray the iconic character, including losing 10 lbs. before shooting began on the film — and an additional 15 to portray a dying Fantine, who passed away in the first act of the movie after contracting a disease from sex work.
“I just had to stop eating,” Hathaway explained to The Hollywood Reporter. “All for a total of 13 days’ shooting.”
Jackman also dropped 15 lbs. to play the heroic Valjean, he told THR at the time. As his character progressed and became more successful, he eventually opted to gain back the 15 lbs. lost – as well as 15 more.
The Wolverine actor described the film shoot as a “harrowing emotional experience, but in the end, it was worth it.”
Jackman and Hathaway – along with the rest of the Les Mis cast – reunited at the 2013 Oscars to sing an ensemble performance of “One More Day.”
Later that night, the Tom Hooper film went on to win three Academy Awards: Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Hathaway, Best Makeup and Hairstyling and Best Sound Mixing.
Scroll down to see what the cast of Les Misérables has been up to since 2012:
Vive la France! The 2012 film version of Les Misérables – the epic period musical with a star-studded cast — has taken its audience on an emotional and suspenseful journey long after its release.
The Academy Award-winning movie is set in France during the 19th century and tells the story of Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) who has been hunted for the past decade by policeman Javert (Russell Crowe) for breaking parole. Valjean agrees to care for a child named Cosette (Amanda Seyfried) after her mother, Fantine (Anne Hathaway), dies. However, due to Javert’s relentless pursuit, Valjean can never truly find the peace he is looking for.
Despite Hathaway’s Oscar win for her harrowing performance, the Princess Diaries star wasn’t the producers’ first choice for the role of Fantine, she told the Hollywood Reporter in a December 2012 cast interview.
“There was resistance because I was between their ideal ages for the part – maybe not mature enough for Fantine but past the point where I could believably play Cosette,” she explained. “And I did what I do when I really want a role: I got fiery and told my agent, ‘Just get me in the room.’”
Hathaway revealed she went to great lengths in order to portray the iconic character, including losing 10 lbs. before shooting began on the film — and an additional 15 to portray a dying Fantine, who passed away in the first act of the movie after contracting a disease from sex work.
“I just had to stop eating,” Hathaway explained to The Hollywood Reporter. “All for a total of 13 days’ shooting.”
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Jackman also dropped 15 lbs. to play the heroic Valjean, he told THR at the time. As his character progressed and became more successful, he eventually opted to gain back the 15 lbs. lost – as well as 15 more.
The Wolverine actor described the film shoot as a “harrowing emotional experience, but in the end, it was worth it.”
Jackman and Hathaway – along with the rest of the Les Mis cast – reunited at the 2013 Oscars to sing an ensemble performance of “One More Day.”
Later that night, the Tom Hooper film went on to win three Academy Awards: Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Hathaway, Best Makeup and Hairstyling and Best Sound Mixing.
Scroll down to see what the cast of Les Misérables has been up to since 2012:
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Hugh Jackman
Since his star turn as Jean Valjean, for which he won a Golden Globe in 2013 for Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy, Jackman continued his reign as a household name. The actor went on to star in hit project after hit project, including the X-Men franchise, Prisoners, The Greatest Showman, The Front Runner, Bad Education and more.
In 2019, Jackson’s role of Wolverine in the X-Men series earned him a Guinness World Record as the actor with the longest run as a Marvel superhero. A phenomenal year for the actor, 2019 also saw Greatest Showman win an Oscar. The Australia native also debuted on his first solo tour, performing songs from the movie’s soundtrack.
In February 2022 — more than a decade after winning a 2004 Tony Award for The Boy From Oz — Jackman returned to the Broadway stage in the revival of the Music Man, which scored him a Tony nomination later that year.
The Kate and Leopold star married actress Deborra-Lee Furness in April 1996 and the two later adopted two children: Oscar and Ava.
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Anne Hathaway
After her moving performance as Fantine in Les Mis, Hathaway went on to star in many award-winning films. In 2014, she portrayed a NASA scientist in Interstellar, which won an Oscar for Best Achievement in Visual Effects in 2015. Her roles in 2018’s Ocean’s 8 and 2019’s The Hustle earned her People’s Choice Awards nominations. In 2019, the Devil Wears Prada star received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The actress and singer, who is a strong advocate for gender equality, is also a board member of the Lollipop Theatre Network and a UN Women Goodwill ambassador.
As for her personal life, Hathaway married actor and businessman Adam Shulman in September 2012. The couple welcomed their first son, Jonathan, in 2016, and their second son, Jack, in 2019.
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Russell Crowe
After Les Mis, the Beautiful Mind star made waves in Man of Steel (2013), Noah (2014), Winter’s Tale (2014), The Nice Guys (2016), The Mummy (2017) and Thor: Love and Thunder (2022). The Gladiator actor made his directorial debut with the film The Water Diviner in 2014.
In addition to getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2010, Crowe — already the recipient of 3 Oscars and 6 Golden Globes — earned a 2020 Golden Globe for his work in The Loudest Voice.
Crowe — who is also a musician and writes for the band Indoor Garden Party with Alan Doyle — the New Zealand native has co-owned National Rugby League team South Sydney Rabbitohs since 2006.
Crowe married Australian singer Danielle Spencer in April 2003. The pair — who share sons Charles and Tennyson — called it quits in October 2012 and finalized their divorce in April 2018. The Insider actor began dating Britney Theriot in November 2020.
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Eddie Redmayne
After his portrayal of student revolutionary Marius in Les Mis, Redmayne went on to star in The Theory of Everything — for which he won the Oscar for Best Actor in 2014. One year later, he scored another best actor nomination for The Danish Girl (2015).
The My Week with Marilyn star continued his success with leading parts in the Fantastic Beasts film series, The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020) and The Good Nurse (2022). Eleven years after winning a 2010 Tony Award for his work in Red, Redmayne returned to the theater in a production of Cabaret from 2021 to 2022.
Redmayne married Hannah Bagshawe in December 2014 and welcomed daughter Iris in 2016 and son Luke in 2018.
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Amanda Seyfried
Post Les-Mis, the Mean Girls star proceeded to star in multiple hit movies, including A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014), Ted 2 (2015), First Reformed (2017) and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018).
Some of Seyfried’s most well-known projects since the 2012 film include Mank — which earned her a Best Actress Academy Award nomination in 2020 — as well as her portrayal of Elizabeth Homes in the 2022 Netflix series The Dropout, for which which she won an Emmy Award. The Pennsylvania native was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world in 2022.
As for her personal life, she married her The Last Word costar Thomas Sadoski in March 2017 and welcomed daughter Nina in 2017 and son Thomas in 2020.
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Samantha Barks
After performing in the 2010 to 2011 West End production of Les Mis, Barks played lovesick Éponine in the 2012 film — the daughter of the Thénardiers (Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen). When she finished filming the movie, the British actress continued her theater career and went on to star in musicals such as The Last Five Years in London and Pretty Woman: The Musical on Broadway. Since 2021, Barks has played the role of Elsa in the West End production of Frozen.
Barks married her Pretty Woman costar Alex Michael Stoll in 2022.
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Helena Bonham Carter
Carter, along with Cohen, played one of the Thénardiers, a pair of swindling innkeepers. The A Room with a View star went on to appear in films and shows such as Cinderella, Ocean’s 8, Enola Holmes, Burton & Taylor and Netflix’s The Crown. The Emmy award-winning actress won two Screen Actors Guild Awards for her role of Princess Margaret in The Crown.
Carter was in a relationship with director Tim Burton until their separation in 2014. The duo share two children together – son Billy (born in 2003) and daughter Nell (born in December 2007). The King’s Speech star began dating historian Rye Dag Holmboe in 2018.
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Aaron Tveit
Broadway icon Tveit played the role of Enjolras, a leader of Les Amis de I’ABC in the film adaptation of Les Mis. After the film, he went on to star in shows and films such as Graceland, Grease, BrainDead, The Good Wife, Out of Blue, American Horror Stories and the 2021 musical series Schmigadoon!.
From 2019 to 2021, the Gossip Girl alum starred in the Broadway production of Moulin Rouge! and went on to win the Tony Award for his performance in 2020.
Tveit has been in a relationship with Broadway actress Ericka Hunter since 2021.
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Daniel Huttlestone
Huttlestone played Gavroche, the young and heroic street urchin in the award-winning film. Since Les Misérables, the British actor has starred in the film version of Into the Woods, as well as London Town and The Lost City of Z.
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Sacha Baron Cohen
Carter’s counterpart in Les Mis, Cohen went on to star in numerous well-known films including Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013), Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016), The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020), the Borat sequel Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020) and Luca (2021). He also appeared in popular television shows like the 2018 political satire Who is America? and the 2019 drama The Spy.
Named by The Times in 2018 as one of 30 best living comedians, the Curb Your Enthusiasm alum was nominated for a best supporting actor Oscar for his work in the Trial of the Chicago 7. He went on to win the Writers Guild of America award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm in 2021. Cohen was also awarded the Anti-Defamation League’s International Leadership Award in 2019 for opposing bigotry and prejudice.
The award-winning actor married actress Isla Fisher in March 2010 and the couple share two daughters, Olive and Elula, as well as son Montgomery.
