> At a Glance
> – Julia Roberts thought the Notting Hill script sounded “dumb” when first pitched
> – She changed her mind after reading Richard Curtis’s charming screenplay
> – A lunch with the creative team sealed her decision to star
> – Why it matters: Shows even A-listers doubt iconic roles before history proves them wrong
Julia Roberts nearly let Notting Hill slip away, dismissing the 1999 romantic comedy as the “dumbest idea” imaginable-until a script read and a charming lunch flipped the script.
The Initial Rejection
When her agent first phoned about playing a mega-star who falls for a London bookstore owner, Roberts balked.
> “I thought, ‘Well, that sounds like the dumbest idea of any movie I could ever do,'” she told Deadline in a Jan. 6 interview.
She planned to walk into the creative meeting armed with a polite pass.
The Turning Point
Reading Richard Curtis’s screenplay changed everything.
> “I was like, ‘Oh. This is so charming. It’s so funny. Oh, s—,'” she recalled.
A lunch with Curtis, producer Duncan Kenworthy, and director Roger Michell dissolved her doubts.
- Script charmed her with humor and heart
- Team’s warmth convinced her the project would work
- She realized “this is really going to happen”
On-Set Joy
Filming became “a beautiful time,” Roberts remembered.
> “It was cast to perfection, all the friends, everybody. It was so great.”
She praised Michell’s direction and still laughs at Alec Baldwin’s cameo: “That’s brilliant casting.”
Family First
In a CBS Sunday Morning preview, Roberts stressed that while acting matters, family-twins Hazel and Phinnaeus, 21, and son Henry, 18-comes first.
> “It just never consumed me, being an actor.”
Key Takeaways
- Roberts initially called the premise “f—— stupid”
- Curtis’s script flipped her opinion overnight
- The 1999 hit succeeded “at every turn,” she says
- Family remains her top priority beyond Hollywood
Her near-miss proves even superstars need a second look before making cinema history.
