Actress Anne Hathaway has her dog to thank for landing the role of Jane Austen in movie Becoming Jane - if the pooch hadn't eaten a hotel slipper she doubts she would have won the part.

The 24-year-old was kept awake most of the night before her crucial second audition after her pet was poisoned by the discarded footwear.

Hathaway credits her tired, bad mood as the reason she won the part of the English writer - because she was able to show Becoming Jane director Julian Jarrold a less cheerful side of herself.

She says, "I was very polite and safe in my (first) interview. So Julian called my manager and said, 'It's not a no, but certainly not a yes.' The night before my (second) audition, my dog decided to eat the hotel slipper, so she was up the whole night vomiting. I slept maybe an hour. When I arrived at the interview, I was tired and wasn't in a very good mood. I guess Julian realized that I wasn't the bright, happy, smiley, untroubled girl from The Princess Diaries. He offered me the role after that. I have to thank the maker of the hotel slipper that poisoned my dog."

-Anne Hathaway Pictures

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)