An Oscar is a prestigious award bestowed upon Hollywood’s most talented people. Some actors spend decades pursuing the coveted prize.

In contrast, other performers seem to earn an Oscar quickly.

It wasn’t long before Hathaway signed on for other prominent roles, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement and Hoodwinked!. 

Hathaway starred alongside Hugh Dancy and Cary Elwes in the 2004 family comedy Ella Enchanted.

The iconic role pivoted Hathaway’s acting career from her early career’s innocent and charming roles into more mature roles in movies such as The Intern, Becoming Jane, and Les Miserables.

Anne Hathaway’s Best Supporting Actress role in Les Miserables.

The Oscar-winning actress poured her heart and soul into the role; she lost 25 pounds and dealt with resulting health issues in her pursuit of accurately portraying the miserable life of Fantine.

Fantine is impregnated out of wedlock by a wealthy student, who abandons her as soon as he learns of Fantine’s pregnancy. Fantine loves her daughter completely; however, she experiences extreme poverty and terrible hardships.

Hathaway’s powerful performance in the nearly 3-hour long film Les Miserables totaled just 15 minutes. However, she packed  soulful performance into every moment of her role in the 2012 film.

Hathaway was awarded the 2012 Oscar for “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role.”

Although she only has 15 minutes of screen time, it is evident that Hathaway spent months preparing for the role, getting into character, and perfecting her portrayal of Fantine. She made every second of screen time count and indeed provided the audience with an Oscar-Worthy performance.