Julia Roberts inNotting Hill(1999).Photo:Polygram/Kobal/Shutterstock
Polygram/Kobal/Shutterstock
Notting Hillcould have featured a very different actress in the role of — well, the actress.
In a conversation with the 1999 romcom’s screenwriterRichard CurtisforBritishVogue’s February issue, cover starJulia Robertsadmitted that “one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do” was play the lead role of Anna, an A-list star like Roberts herself.
“I was so uncomfortable!” Roberts, 56, told her longtime friend and colleague. “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,” she added.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.
Julia Roberts for BritishVogue’s February 2024 issue.Lachlan Bailey for British Vogue
Lachlan Bailey for British Vogue
Roberts also told Curtis, 67, that she “loathed” the clothes Anna was initially supposed to wear duringthe iconic scenewhere she tells Will (Hugh Grant), “I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.”
“My driver, lovely Tommy, I sent him back to my flat that morning. I said, ‘Go into my bedroom and grab this, this and this out of my closet,’ " Roberts recalled. “And it was my own flip-flops and my cute little blue velvet skirt and a T-shirt and my cardigan.”
Of the “I’m just a girl … " line becoming as famous as it did over the nearly 25 years sinceNotting Hill’s release, Roberts said, “I mean, it was a great scene.”
Julia Roberts on the cover of BritishVogue’s February 2024 issue.Lachlan Bailey for British Vogue
“But who knew that that would becometheline,” she added.
Curtis, who is also responsible for writing other other classic romantic comedies likeLove Actually,Four Weddings and a FuneralandBridget Jones’s Diary, recently spoke with PEOPLE about his newChristmasmovieGeniestarringMelissa McCarthy.
At one point in the conversation, he said he “couldn’t believe” he was able to nab McCarthy, 53, for the lead role, and that it reminded him of another time he was able to get exactly who he wanted — namely Roberts, forNotting Hill.
“I’ve actually got a photograph of me sitting in a chair receiving the phone call when Julia Roberts said yes toNotting Hill,” said the filmmaker. “Because we’d offered it to her and we thought, ‘That’s never going to happen.’ And it was a bit the same with Melissa.”
source: people.com
