Julia Roberts simply revealed why she thought her iconic movie Notting Hill was the “dumbest thought” when she was first approached about becoming a member of the solid. Within the 1999 rom-com, Roberts performs actress Anna Scott reverse Hugh Grant’s bookshop proprietor Will Thacker, with the 2 falling in love regardless of their wildly completely different existence.
Whereas the movie went on to gross $363 million on the field workplace, obtain an 84% Rotten Tomatoes rating, and turn into one of the vital beloved rom-coms of all time, Roberts wasn’t bought on the concept at first.
Throughout an interview with Deadline, she admitted that when her agent first advised her about Notting Hill, she mentioned, “Properly, that sounds just like the dumbest thought of any film I may ever do… This sounds so f***ing silly.”
“Gosh, I simply bear in mind when my agent referred to as me about Notting Hill and I believed, ‘Properly, that sounds just like the dumbest thought of any film I may ever do. I’m going to play the world’s largest film star and I do what? After which what occurs? This sounds so f***ing silly.’”
The award-winning film star modified her thoughts as soon as she learn the script and realized that Notting Hill was “so charming” and “so humorous.” She then had lunch with director Roger Michell, producer Duncan Kenworthy, and screenwriter Richard Curtis to debate the venture.
Whereas she had deliberate to reject the position, the artistic staff was “simply so charming and candy and humorous,” which additional bought her on the concept of starring in Notting Hill, a movie that she believes had good casting and succeeded past what she may have hoped for.
“After which I learn the script, and I used to be like, ‘Oh. That is so charming. It’s so humorous. Oh, s***.’ After which I went to lunch with Richard [Curtis] and [producer] Duncan [Kenworthy] and beloved Roger Michell, might he relaxation in peace. And so they have been simply so charming and candy and humorous. And I believed, ‘Wow, that is actually going to occur.’ And we had a gorgeous time doing it. It was solid to perfection [by Mary Selway], all the chums, all people. It was so nice. And we had a gorgeous time. And I believe Roger, he simply created the movie in a approach that it simply, at each flip, it succeeded. It achieved its targets with each…Alec Baldwin! That’s sensible casting.”
Roberts additionally opened up about humor and admitted that the “pleasure of life” is to make different folks chuckle, particularly her husband, Daniel Moder. The actress hopes that the comedy in her films, together with Notting Hill, does the identical for others.
“As a result of there’s a math, however I believe it adjustments relying on the sort of comedy that it’s. Garry Marshall would all the time say {that a} joke is in three components, like a drum beat. I imply, folks have their alternative ways of taking a look at it. For me, I believe it might simply rely on what the purpose is. However I imply, the enjoyment of life is making folks chuckle for me. Particularly my husband, if I could make my husband actually chuckle — as a result of he makes me actually chuckle — then it simply fills me up.”
Earlier than 1999, Roberts had solidified herself as a film star via movies like Mystic Pizza, Metal Magnolias, Fairly Girl, and My Greatest Good friend’s Marriage ceremony.
Regardless of her preliminary reservations about starring in Notting Hill, the rom-com went on to be a monetary and significant hit. Roberts landed a number of award nominations, together with on the Golden Globes, Nickelodeon Children’ Selection Awards, Individuals’s Selection Awards, and Satellite tv for pc Awards. The movie itself was nominated for Greatest Image on the Golden Globes, with Grant receiving a Greatest Actor nod.
After Notting Hill, Roberts went on to star in different iconic and in style movies, together with Runaway Bride, Erin Brockovich, Ocean’s Eleven, and August: Osage County. Erin Brockovich was the film that lastly landed her an Oscar victory for Greatest Actress.
Her most up-to-date movie was 2025’s After the Hunt, which earned Roberts a Golden Globe nomination for Greatest Actress in a Movement Image – Drama. The awards present will air dwell on January 11. The opposite actors within the class embody Jessie Buckley, Jennifer Lawrence, Renate Reinsve, Tessa Thompson, and Eva Victor.
Roberts might have been uncertain in regards to the premise of Notting Hill when her agent first referred to as her in regards to the venture, nevertheless it’s a superb factor she got here round and accepted the supply as a result of her filmography of iconic roles would not be full with out it.
- Launch Date
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Might 28, 1999
- Runtime
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124 minutes
- Director
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Roger Michell
- Writers
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Richard Curtis
- Producers
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Duncan Kenworthy