Julia Roberts’ films always make us feel giddy and give us butterflies in our stomachs. Whether it’s Pretty Woman or Runaway Bride, the actress has time and again given us movies that are our comfort films to binge-watch while destroying a pint of ice cream. Apart from her rom-coms, she has also done films that range across genres. She’s simply versatile!
In 1999, Julia Roberts played the role of Anna Scott in Notting Hill, a romantic comedy written by the one and only Richard Curtis. While the film was as adorable as it gets, it turns out Richard Curtis was pretty terrified of the actress on set. Well, does it have something to do with her setting boundaries after a series of bad experiences?
Richard Curtis Was Scared of Julia Roberts
Earlier this year, Julia Roberts and Richard Curtis sat down for a conversation for British Vogue. During the discussion, Roberts admitted that things had changed a lot over the last 25 years.
Her stating, “We have better, more fun conversations now than we had 25 years ago” prompted Curtis to recall how he was scared of her back when they were filming Notting Hill.
He remembered the rule Roberts had set for herself which wouldn’t allow her to get too friendly on set. Curtis stated,
I was scared of you then. Do you remember what you said to me on the final week of Notting Hill? You suddenly started coming to the set every day, even when you weren’t shooting, and you said you have to be careful on movies, careful you’re not too friendly.
Roberts, who didn’t remember this bit of her life asked, “Why?” to which Curtis replied,
Because you said someone will always slightly take advantage of it. That someone will always suddenly ask you to meet their mum and come to dinner and everything. And you just felt you had to focus on your job.
When he asked her if she still, to this day, felt that she had to hold back because people only saw her as THE Julia Roberts, she answered,
That’s a tricky one, because I feel I sometimes have to hold back because there’s too many question marks over what the space will expand into.
Other times, Roberts puts a friendly foot forward, greeting and hugging total strangers with as much warmth as possible. A perfect balance between boundaries and courteousness.
Julia Roberts’ Experience with Steven Spielberg
In 1991, Roberts played the role of Tinkerbell in Steven Spielberg’s Hook. Rumors swirled around stating that the two personalities butted heads on set and that Roberts was even nicknamed “Tinkerhell” due to her attitude.
When asked about it, she simply stated that she had never heard the nickname before. However, she did admit that she had her moments on set, just like anyone would have if they sat idle in their trailers for hours on end.
She told Entertainment Weekly,
No. I never heard it. But I’m a normal person. I mean, if I sit in my trailer for six hours doing nothing, I’m going to say, ‘What the f— is going on?’ I don’t think that’s an outrageous question, I don’t think that’s temperamental either.
Despite the rumors, Roberts stated that she and Spielberg did get along. When EW recalled sources talking about “friction” between them, she boldly replied,
‘A source says…’ If they don’t have b*lls enough to say who they are, I think they should shut the f*ck up.
Clearly, either the sources were lying or Roberts’. Although, we can understand her being frustrated at having to wait for 6-8 hours on set doing absolutely nothing when she could have been using her time for something better.
Notting Hill is available to rent/buy on Prime Video.
Hook is available to watch on AMC.
