Julia Roberts has one of the most successful and enduring careers in Hollywood, but along the way, she’s developed a reputation of being a tough cookie on set. Yes, the “difficult reputation” rap that many women face in the entertainment industry — sexism rearing its ugly head. The 56-year-old actress is well aware of the rumors out there and she’s finally addressing them head on.
In a new interview with her Notting Hill director Richard Curtis for British Vogue, Roberts was reminded of a story from the last week of the shoot on the 1999 film. Curtis recalled that she told him that “you have to be careful on movies, careful you’re not too friendly” because “someone will always slightly take advantage of it.” He continued, “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.”
As an A-list actress for decades, there is likely the nagging feeling that someone wants something from you at all times. It’s easy to understand why Roberts had to set boundaries, she called it a “tricky situation.” She explained, “I feel I sometimes have to hold back because there’s too many question marks over what the space will expand into. And sometimes people are so familiar with me. I’ll say “Hi!” “Oh, my God, hi!” I have hugged, warmly, total strangers.”
Curtis also pointed out that there’s a “tough side” to the Oscar winner which Roberts believes gets misinterpreted from time to time. “I think I speak very plainly. That’s kind of how I see myself. I’m very forthright,” she said. “There are a lot of personalities in the world that don’t accept that easily, and it can seem really harsh, even if I feel like I’m just being honest about something and just saying this is how I see it. I never am trying to be unkind.”
Some of the “difficult reputation” might have come out of her 1991 appearance as Tinkerbell in Steven Spielberg’s movie, Hook. The duo didn’t really get along and it was rumored her nickname on set was “Tinkerhell.” It should also be noted that the filming was concurrent with the meltdown of her engagement to Kiefer Sutherland when they called off their wedding at the last minute and she ran off with Jason Patric.
At the age of 24, she handled the rumors in a self-assured way, telling Entertainment Weekly, “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**k is going on?” I don’t think that’s an outrageous question, I don’t think that’s temperamental either. So I don’t know what to tell you. I’m not, like, perfect. I have normal frustrations like everybody else, but I don’t consider myself temperamental.” It’s wild to think that these rumors have haunted her decades later in her career, but it hasn’t ruffled Roberts’ feathers too much — she’s just a straight shooter.
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