"Les Misérables" stars some heavy hitters. Hugh Jackman as ex-prisoner Jean Valjean. Anne Hathaway as Fantine. The movie musical of Jean escaping his criminal past and adopting Fantine's daughter is garnering a lot of Oscar buzz.
SHIREEN SANDOVAL: "Has anyone said Oscar to you yet?
ANNE HATHAWAY: "Yes."
SHIREEN SANDOVAL: "I don't have an Oscar, so I have to give you my lint roller. It's very important to me."
HUGH JACKMAN: "Thank you very much, Shireen."
And while big names turned in big performances, some small names did, too. Like newcomer Samantha Barks, who plays Eponine.
SHIREEN SANDOVAL: "Obviously you have familiarity with this piece of work. How did you get this role?"
SAMANTHA BARKS: "I've got history with the part. I played it on the West End and at the 25th anniversary concert, which I think put my name into the mix as people to be considered."
SHIREEN SANDOVAL: "Right."
SAMANTHA BARKS: "But that was it. After that it was hard, hard work, and I really was put through my paces, and obviously so. It's a huge gamble to cast me in this role. I've never done a film before. I have no screen experience."
After she snagged the role, she had to warm up to Hollywood.
SHIREEN SANDOVAL: "The first day of filming, just tell me what was going through your mind."
SAMANTHA BARKS: "Okay, so in my mind I was going like, 'it's no big deal, it's just Hugh Jackman.' Aaah! Actually, on the first day I was filming with Hugh Jackman, what are they going to be like, are they going to be nice? Are they gonna be, 'I've never met people like this'!"
She had me at "On My Own."
SHIREEN SANDOVAL: "When I saw you on film, I was like, 'who is that girl?'"
SAMANTHA BARKS: "Oh wow!"
SHIREEN SANDOVAL: "'She is gonna be a star'."
SAMANTHA BARKS: "Thank you very much."
SHIREEN SANDOVAL: "A huge star and you made me cry!"
SAMANTHA BARKS: "I'm sorry, but good."
Samantha played opposite rising star Eddie Redmayne.
SHIREEN SANDOVAL: "Were you a big fan of the theater production before the movie thing?"
EDDIE REDMAYNE: "I saw it when I was a kid and loved it, so when I got offered to be a part of it, it was a bit of a dream come true."
Before the dream became reality, Eddie phoned it in.
EDDIE REDMAYNE: "I was making a film and it was a night shoot, and I heard they were making this film and I was playing a cowboy at the time, and I put myself on the phone singing the song that Marius sings in the piece, and that was the start of it."
After that…
EDDIE REDMAYNE: "It was like X Factor or American Idol. It was so hard. The last audition was Tom (the director), the composer, the lyricist, the musical director and the producers, about four of them. They sat behind a panel, and I have a new found respect for American Idol."
Dance: 10, looks: 3. Wait, wrong musical. In "Les Mis," both Eddie and Sam are a perfect 10, and they can definitely carry a tune.
"Les Misérables" stars some heavy hitters. Hugh Jackman as ex-prisoner Jean Valjean. Anne Hathaway as Fantine. The movie musical of Jean escaping his criminal past and adopting Fantine's daughter is garnering a lot of Oscar buzz.
SHIREEN SANDOVAL: "Has anyone said Oscar to you yet?
ANNE HATHAWAY: "Yes."
SHIREEN SANDOVAL: "I don't have an Oscar, so I have to give you my lint roller. It's very important to me."
HUGH JACKMAN: "Thank you very much, Shireen."
And while big names turned in big performances, some small names did, too. Like newcomer Samantha Barks, who plays Éponine.
SHIREEN SANDOVAL: "Obviously you have familiarity with this piece of work. How did you get this role?"
SAMANTHA BARKS: "I've got history with the part. I played it on the West End and at the 25th anniversary concert, which I think put my name into the mix as people to be considered."
SHIREEN SANDOVAL: "Right."
SAMANTHA BARKS: "But that was it. After that it was hard, hard work, and I really was put through my paces, and obviously so. It's a huge gamble to cast me in this role. I've never done a film before. I have no screen experience."
After she snagged the role, she had to warm up to Hollywood.
SHIREEN SANDOVAL: "The first day of filming, just tell me what was going through your mind."
SAMANTHA BARKS: "Okay, so in my mind I was going like, 'it's no big deal, it's just Hugh Jackman.' Aaah! Actually, on the first day I was filming with Hugh Jackman, what are they going to be like, are they going to be nice? Are they gonna be, 'I've never met people like this'!"
She had me at "On My Own."
SHIREEN SANDOVAL: "When I saw you on film, I was like, 'who is that girl?'"
SAMANTHA BARKS: "Oh wow!"
SHIREEN SANDOVAL: "'She is gonna be a star'."
SAMANTHA BARKS: "Thank you very much."
SHIREEN SANDOVAL: "A huge star and you made me cry!"
SAMANTHA BARKS: "I'm sorry, but good."
Samantha played opposite rising star Eddie Redmayne.
SHIREEN SANDOVAL: "Were you a big fan of the theater production before the movie thing?"
EDDIE REDMAYNE: "I saw it when I was a kid and loved it, so when I got offered to be a part of it, it was a bit of a dream come true."
Before the dream became reality, Eddie phoned it in.
EDDIE REDMAYNE: "I was making a film and it was a night shoot, and I heard they were making this film and I was playing a cowboy at the time, and I put myself on the phone singing the song that Marius sings in the piece, and that was the start of it."
After that…
EDDIE REDMAYNE: "It was like X Factor or American Idol. It was so hard. The last audition was Tom (the director), the composer, the lyricist, the musical director and the producers, about four of them. They sat behind a panel, and I have a new found respect for American Idol."
Dance: 10, looks: 3. Wait, wrong musical. In "Les Mis," both Eddie and Sam are a perfect 10, and they can definitely carry a tune