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Jane Austen’s stories have graced the silver screen plenty of times, but it took a Brooklyn girl to bring Austen herself to the movies.

“Becoming Jane” is a fictionalized account of what might have happened to the real Jane Austen that would have inspired her to write her classic love stories. In the film, out Aug. 10, Carroll Gardens native Anne Hathaway plays the famous British author of “Emma,” “Pride and Prejudice” and “Sense and Sensibility.”

GO Brooklyn recently sat down with the 24-year-old star to talk about “Becoming Jane,” caring for sick pets and spending her earliest years in Brooklyn.

GO Brooklyn: How did you feel about playing Jane Austen in your new movie?

Anne Hathaway: I didn’t feel pressure because it was the first; I felt pressure because it was her.

GO: When did you first discover Austen’s novels?

AH: I was 14 and my brother was at the University of Vermont. [It was] a long car ride, so I read ‘Pride and Prejudice’ on the way up and ‘Sense and Sensibility’ on the way down. I am grateful to any writer that can transport you during a car ride, but this was something else.

GO: Did you need to be talked into this role or was this something you pursued?

AH: I pursued this heavily. [The director] Julian Jarrold liked my first audition and I begged him for a second one. I was extraordinarily nervous before the first audition and I didn’t read very well.

[At] the second one, my dog was sick the night before … so, I had stayed up all night cleaning up my dog’s bodily fluids. I showed up at the audition that day too tired to be nervous and to do anything except get to the end of the audition. I think that worked to my benefit.

GO: You were born in Carroll Gardens, but moved to New Jersey when you were very young. Does your old neighborhood still have a place in your heart?

AH: Oh, yeah. I love going there. I think, in terms of the way I developed in Brooklyn and the way I developed in New Jersey, I felt a lot more comfortable in Brooklyn.

I never identified with New Jersey. It was a nice place to grow up, but I’m not someone who warms particularly up to ‘nice.’ I loved my school in Brooklyn — I was in a Montessori program there and I liked the way they taught. I had great schooling in New Jersey, but it was different [in Brooklyn] — it was more creatively oriented which was better for me.

GO: So, what is the difference between a Brooklyn girl and a Jersey girl?

AH: You are going to get me into so much trouble with that question. I don’t know. I’d probably say Brooklyn girls are more street smart and Jersey girls are better drivers.

GO: Really? You think Jersey girls are better drivers?

AH: Yeah, but in Brooklyn when ever would you drive? I’m not saying Jersey drivers are good drivers — believe me I know.

©2007 Community Newspaper Group