Julia Roberts, America’s sweetheart, nearly noped out of the role that would forever etch her in rom-com royalty. Yes, the woman who’s charmed audiences since forever almost ghosted Notting Hill, leaving poor Hugh Grant blinking his way through London solo.
The reason? Prepare yourself for the plot twist of the century: Julia didn’t want to play… an actress.
Gasp! Shock! Horror!
Earlier this year, Julia sat down with writer Richard Curtis (a man who has single-handedly made “awkward British man stumbles into love” a cinematic genre). Richard, who penned Notting Hill and probably dreamed of Julia while sipping tea, asked the burning question: “So, Julia, what’s up with almost bailing on my masterpiece?”
Julia, ever the queen of understatement, confessed to Vogue UK something none of us were ready for. “Honestly, one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do was your movie [Notting Hill, 1999],” she said, probably while flipping her iconic hair. “Playing a movie actress? I was SO uncomfortable!”
Wait, WHAT?! The actress who can make pretending to be a hooker in Pretty Woman look glamorous, a runaway bride look cool, and eating pizza in Eat Pray Love seem like a spiritual experience… was uncomfortable pretending to be herself?
Julia went on, clearly still spiraling over the existential crisis. “I mean, we’ve talked about this so many times, but I almost didn’t take the part because it just seemed – oh, it just seemed so awkward. I didn’t even know how to play that person.”
Yes, Julia Roberts, in all her Hollywood glory, was lost in the acting matrix. Imagine: Julia on set, looking in the mirror, wondering, “How does one ‘act’ like an actress… while being an actress? Is this some sort of rom-com inception? Is Hugh going to pop out from behind this mirror and make things even more confusing with his blinking?”
But thank the rom-com gods she powered through. The world was blessed with scenes of Hugh Grant bumbling through life in bookshops and Julia Roberts delivering that iconic, “I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her,” line. A line so perfect, it probably should be embroidered on pillows.
And so, despite her meta-identity crisis, Julia took the part. But honestly, can we blame her for the confusion? It’s like hiring a chef to cook… for a chef. Or asking a dog to play a dog. Meta overload.
So next time you watch Notting Hill, remember: Julia Roberts almost didn’t take the role because, in true rom-com fashion, playing herself was just a little too… complicated.
