Anne Hathaway has shared a candid response to fans who’ve told her that she looks “really good” for her age.

The actor, 40, addressed some of the comments that she’s received about her appearance during an interview with Today’s Sheinelle Jones on 18 September. While reflecting on how she rose to fame throughout her teens, she also recalled some of the misconceptions that used to exist around ageing in Hollywood.

“I started in this business when I was 17 years old, in a very different era,” she said. “There was this perception that there was going to be a cliff, and that cliff was a really young age. And the world’s changed since then.”

Hathaway went on to share her honest and daily perspective about ageing, after Jones asked her how she’d respond to compliments such as: “Oh, you’re ageing gracefully” or “Oh, you look so good for your age.”

“I don’t think about age,” The Devil Wears Prada star said. “To me, ageing is another word for living.”She continued to explain her feelings about fans’ kind remarks towards her looks, adding: “If people want to pay you a compliment, that’s nice. But also, whatever the hype is, I’m interested in what’s beyond the concept of hype.”

During the interview, Hathaway also expressed her excitement about taking on a new role: global brand ambassador of Shiseido’s skincare line. According to the actor, something that really drew her to the campaign was its tagline: “Potential has no age.”

She also added how the campaign is giving younger women opportunities to embrace ageing, in ways that she didn’t get to during her rise to fame.

“I love putting that out there,” Hathaway said. “I love watching these young people who have so much more freedom than I had. Just imagine what they can do if they never had the concept of a cliff, or a shelf-life, or any of those things.”

Earlier this month, the Princess Diaries star announced her partnership with the skincare company. In a press release, she noted how she was thrilled to advocate for the brand’s tagline about ageing as an ambassador.

“It’s so upsetting to hear age misidentified as a barrier for growth. I would rather celebrate it for the gift that it is. To me, it is an exciting privilege to grow older and hopefully have the opportunity to learn more about oneself,” she said in a press release, shared via Entertainment Tonight.

The Love and Other Drugs star also opened up about the importance of her skincare routine, after seeing the ways that her family members care for their skin.

​​”I have tried to invest in my skin as I observed from the women in my family that my skin would be something that would take care of me if I took care of it,” she said. “I now understand my skin to be connected to my overall health and well-being. Over a long timeline, it becomes apparent that beauty is definitely something that comes from within.”