Anne Hathaway shares childhood picture of her in costume ahead of The Witches release

Anne Hathaway dressed as a witch as a child
Anne Hathaway

Anne Hathaway has evidently been preparing for her role in The Witches since childhood - with the actor sharing a throwback picture of herself in a spooky costume.

The Academy Award-winner plays the Grand High Witch in the latest HBO adaptation of the classic 1983 book by Roald Dahl.

Also starring Stanley Tucci and Octavia Spencer, the movie can be streamed on HBO Max from today.

To mark the occasion, Hathaway posted a childhood throwback picture of herself in a black witches hat, worn over a curly multi-coloured wig.

Anne Hathaway in The Witches
AP

On Instagram, she wrote: “How it started, how it’s going. #TheWitchesMovie”

Hathaway, 37, takes over the starring role that was famously played by Anjelica Huston, 69, in the iconic 1990 film.

The actor, who won her Oscar in 2013 for playing Fantine in Les Misérables, paid tribute to Huston on social media earlier this month.

“Would you please take a moment to join me in celebrating Anjelica Huston’s flawless and iconic turn as The Grand High Witch?

“Her performance is magnificent - witty, unforgettable, scary as hell and sheer perfection (the scene where she pushes the baby down the cliff still gives me chills to this day.) I just wanted to say, one AH to another, that I tip my wig to the O.G.G.H.W. Anjelica Huston.”

However, the star told People she was keen to put her own mark on the character.

She said: “The Grand High Witch was a total collaboration between costumes, hair and make-up, the writers, my dialect coach, the effects department, stunts, [director] Bob Zemeckis and myself.

The star in a promotional image for the HBO movie

“She is such a weirdo - so silly and over the top - and everyone had to work together to be on the same page so it felt big and entertaining but never too much.”

The film sees Hathaway reunited with Tucci, 59, for the first time since 2006 when they co-stared in The Devil Wears Prada.

On the pair working together again, she told People: “So much has changed in each of our lives. But he is still the same wry, funny, sweet person he was then.

“He was always getting me to laugh and break character on The Devil Wears Prada, so I felt really proud when I got him to giggle and break with my accent on The Witches.”

The film was originally set to be released in cinemas this month - but will now debut on the small screen due to the pandemic.