Julia Roberts almost gave up on ‘Notting Hill’; know why

Julia Roberts almost didn’t play in A place called Notting Hill. The film, which would become one of the actress’s classics, celebrated 25 years since its release in the United States this Tuesday (28) – but the story could have been quite different.

The film tells the story of the unlikely romance between Anna Scott (Roberts), a Hollywood star, and William Thacker (Hugh Grant), owner of a modest bookshop in Notting Hill, London.

The success that would last for decades after its release, however, was not predicted by Julia Roberts herself, who revealed in an interview with British Vogue in January 2024 that playing a super actress was, in her words, “uncomfortable.”

“I mean, we talked about it many times, but I almost didn’t take the role, because it was… oh well, it felt weird, I didn’t even know how to play that person.”

How did Julia Roberts end up on ‘Notting Hill’?

The script for Notting Hill arrived for Julia Roberts in June 1997, but the proximity of Anna Scott’s role to the actress herself would have bothered her at first:

“How boring. How tedious. How stupid for me,” the actress reportedly said to her agent when she read the script, as she recalled in 1999 to Vanity Fair (via Yahoo! Entertainment).

However, she ended up changing her mind, partly due to the fact that the text was written by Richard Curtis, at the time known for the success of Four Weddings and a Funeral. “Screw it, I’m going to make this movie,” he concluded at the time.

Was ‘Notting Hill’ a hit?

Invitation accepted, Roberts would then begin to study the character, who would end up inspired by stars such as Grace Kelly It is Audrey Hepburn. The effort would earn recognition, grossing $27.7 million in its opening weekend in the United States and Canada, as well as a nomination for Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy Film for Julia Roberts.