Anne Hathaway's long road back from her oily-boyfriend, dog-abandoning private hell had one final hurdle Monday: The Italian premiere of Get Smart, where Raffaello Follieiri's compatriots bared their red-carpet fangs at the actress — who apparently, despite her ever-expansive doe eyes, didn't see it coming. Thank God, though, Steve Carell was there, defying his typecast incompetence in his helpless co-star's service:

Personal questions were strictly forbidden at the Italian premiere of Get Smart on Monday - but that didn't stop one reporter from asking the movie's star, Anne Hathaway, "Was the separation from your ex-boyfriend painful?" ...

After the reporter lobbed the question, Hathaway remained silent and attempted a faint smile.

But, as if on cue, her costar Steve Carell valiantly stepped in to declare: "In my role of agent [for] Miss Hathaway, I would like to say that she does not answer questions relating to this subject."

We hear Hathaway's Italian inquisitor bristled, then laughed in response: "Oh, you are agent now? Ees funny!" At which time Carell reissued his edict a little more strenuously, coaxing a full chorus of press-line chortles and one audible cry as he briskly walked a disconsolate Hathaway into the theater: "George Foreman Grill! Your foot ees better now, no?" Oh, but for the good old days, when Hathaway walking with a man in Rome meant the high likelihood of a concealed weapon within arm's reach.

• Steve Carell's Red-Carpet Rescue of Anne Hathaway [People]

Tags: anne hathaway | get smart | man trouble | rafaello follieri | steve carrell