Danielle Robay

Even closer to ourselves.

I'm journalist Danielle Robay, and each week my guests and I come together to challenge the status quo and our own ways of thinking by daring to ask, what if? Why not? And who says? So come curious, dig deep, and join the conversation.

It's time to question everything.

When Hilary Swank was eight years old, a teacher in a small town where she grew up asked her class to write a skit and perform it.

So if 2015 is the perfect traditional adaptation, what could possibly beat it? What is sitting at number one? The absolute undisputed champion of Cinderella adaptations is the 1998 film Ever After.

Directed by Andy Tennant, starring Drew Barrymore as Danielle, Dougray Scott as Prince Henry, and Anjelica Huston as the Baroness.

When I saw this at the top of the list, I actually cheered.

It just feels correct.

She brings a complex, terrifyingly calm psychology to the role.

Yeah, that one scene.

The scene where she coldly tells Danielle that she simply never loved her is far more devastating than any magical curse could ever be.

It roots the conflict in deep, recognizable human emotional abuse.