Anne Hathaway quit a popular 2007 movie over VERY graphic scene: 'I don't think this is for me'

Anne Hathaway was originally set to play Katherine Heigl's role in the iconic 2007 film Knocked Up but quit over one particularly graphic scene.

Seth Rogen, 44, who starred in the beloved Judd Apatow-directed comedy, revealed the details of Hathaway's, 43, exit from the film on the latest episode of The A24 Podcast with his The Invite director/co-star Olivia Wilde, 42.

Knocked Up follows a 'drunken one-night stand' between successful TV reporter Allison Scott (Heigl) and slacker Ben Stone (Rogen) that results in an unplanned pregnancy.

'It was Anne Hathaway who quit the movie,' Rogen shared with Wilde, as per Variety, who was also among the actresses who auditioned to play Allison Scott.

According to Rogen, Hathaway wasn't fond of the film's infamous birthing scene, particularly the extremely graphic visual of Allison 'crowning' in the delivery room.

'That was what I remember being told. Crowning is a tough one,' he said.

Despite the scene being entirely done with prosthetics and not requiring any actual nudity, Hathaway felt that that level of raunchiness was not her 'brand.'

'She didn't want the crowning of the baby to be visually representative. Even though it wasn't going to be hers… It's obviously not real,' Rogen explained.  

'But she didn't even want…she felt that it was not her brand.'

Rogen shared that he and Hathaway had already 'started rehearsing the movie' when she made the decision to back out.

'Maybe she was just like, 'I don't know if this is for me.' I don't know. I will take what she said at face value, which was the crowning.'

He continued: 'She had a sense, and she knew it was not for her. And history will tell… she has been right about a lot more things than I have over the years.'

Rogen agreed that Hathaway made the 'right' decision for herself at the time and that Heigl, who would eventually land the role, ended up being the perfect fit for the film.

'So I think she was probably right. [Heigl] knew what was right for her, yes. And then Heigl was great. Katie Heigl was great.' 

The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Hathaway for comment but has yet to hear back. 

Knocked Up was released in theaters on June 1, 2007. It marked director Judd Apatow's second major directorial film based on a script he wrote.

The film, which had a $25 million budget, also starred Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Jonah Hill and Apatow's wife Leslie Mann.

Knocked Up received critical acclaim and it raked in $219 million at the worldwide box office.

The film's global success resulted in the 2012 'quasi-sequel' film, This Is 40, which saw the return of Mann, Rudd and Segel.

Rogen's remarks about Hathaway's Knocked Up departure come just weeks after she announced she is expecting her third child with husband Adam Shulman.

The longtime couple are already parents to sons, Jonathan, ten, and Jack, six.

Hathaway revealed her pregnancy news in an Instagram video on June 19, sharing the first look at her baby bump with fans.

She included the Barbara Lewis song Baby, I'm Yours in the post and also made this the caption of her announcement.

At the end of the clip, Hathaway flashes a huge grin before walking out of the frame.

Hathaway has previously opened up about her 'complicated' journey to motherhood and her desire to welcome a third child into their family.

She made the claims speaking to WSJ Magazine in March 2022, saying: 'I could see us going for another one. There's this tendency to portray getting pregnant, having kids, in one light, as if it's all positive. But I know from my own experience, it's so much more complicated than that.'

Hathaway also spoke about how motherhood changed her for the better and altered her experience of living, telling the publication: 'I didn't feel fully landed and fully here until I was a mom.

'It's not like I was lacking integrity, but it made me want to be completely, on every level, true to my word. And that meant stopping any nonsense that I had going on inside myself. And it's little breaks that you give yourself sometimes when you know that you're not being your best self.'

Anne has historically kept her family life out of the spotlight and previously revealed the reason behind her decision.

In a November 2023 interview with PORTER, she said: 'It's something I feel is not just essential for my health – I'm on a team, it's my family, and it's not just about me.

'My family has needs, and one of the needs of children is that they need to be able to define their own lives.

'It doesn't even occur to me to link the two up, except through gratitude that they serve each other so beautifully. But they serve each other through me, and not through a space that's outside of myself.'

Hathaway met her husband at the Palm Springs Film Festival in 2008 and the couple wed in 2012 in Big Sur, California. 

The actress has had a great year with the success of The Devil Wears Prada 2.

Next Hathaway will star in The Odyssey with Matt Damon, Charlize Theron, Zendaya and Robert Pattinson.