The actress plays the role of Solène in the upcoming romantic comedy

Anne Hathaway is opening up about how being a mom helped her in her latest role.

Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE at The Idea of You premiere in New York City on April 29, Hathaway, 41, shared that the love she feels for her own children — sons Jonathan, 8, and Jack, 4, who she shares with her husband Adam Shulman — helped her to understand her character Solène.

“I don’t think it’s necessary to be a mother to play a mother. I think that should be open to lots of different actors,” Hathaway tells PEOPLE. “But for me, in terms of understanding the depth of love that you can feel for this person and what you would be willing to do, I felt like it allowed the love for Hayes to be even bigger for Solène because she loves her daughter more than anything.”

“I mean, we love our children beyond words and for her to choose her daughter over him, I don’t know, it just made their love that much more important,” she adds.

In the romantic comedy, Hathaway plays a 40-year-old divorced mother who strikes up an unexpected romance with a young pop star called Hayes (Nicholas Galitzine) after meeting him at Coachella.