Anne Hathaway distrusted Obama when she first saw him

Washington, Aug 27 : American actress Anne Hathaway has revealed that she was not really that keen on voting for presidential hopeful Barack Obama when she first saw him.

She said that her distrust of the Democrat stemmed from past experiences, when politicians she had supported did not turn out to be the way she expected them to.

"I was kind of afraid of Obama the first time I saw him," Us magazine quoted her as saying at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

"I thought, 'I've been burned by guys like you before.'

"I've been burned by politicians before that I wanted to believe in and just didn't live up to it.

"And I was afraid to trust him and I was afraid to have hope when I first kind of became aware of him," she said.

Hathaway said that it was only after hearing Obama's speech on race that she changed her mind about him.

"I just said, 'I can't deny how I feel about you, Barack Obama. I want you to be the president. I want you in the White House'," she said.

Now, the 'Princess Diaries' star not only believes that Obama can "cause change", but also that "he understands how hard it is".

"I just heard the other day, he just paid off his student loans two years ago," she stated.

"And so when people talk about financial issues and the higher cost of education, he really gets it.

"I think he's the sort of person that inspires us all to be our best selves," she added.

Hathaway is among the famous faces under the Creative Coalition banner who are attending DNC luncheons and forums to discuss issues facing the Democratic Party.

ANI