Why Julia Roberts almost turned down Notting Hill

Notting Hill, the classic '90s rom-com, is one of the greats. Starring a young bumbling Hugh Grant, Rhys Ifans and - of course - Julia Roberts, it's the hit of nostalgia that never ages. And while Julia is the perfect person to play Hollywood star Anna Scott, in a new interview she explained that she very nearly turned the role down.

Julia Roberts was recently interviewed by Notting Hill's writer, Richard Curtis, for British Vogue. The actor is the cover star for the February issue, and Julia describes how the iconic role was one of the 'hardest' of her career, as it involved playing a film star. 

"Honestly, one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do was your movie [Notting Hill, 1999], playing a movie actress. I was so uncomfortable! 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."

Julia was starring in a lot of high-profile films in the '90s - think My Best Friend's Wedding, Hook and, of course, the iconic Pretty Woman. As a huge Hollywood star herself, we can imagine the role hit a little close to home. 

The Sleeping With The Enemy actor also didn't take too kindly to her chosen wardrobe for the film, which we can assume was a little more movie-star-centric than what she eventually ended up wearing. Julia explained that she 'loathed' the wardrobe choices so much that she requested to wear her own clothes instead for the scenes. 

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"We had issues about your costume in that film, didn’t we? Where you…" Richard continued before Julia jumped in with "Loathed…" 

And Richard explained: "Loathed being dressed as a movie star. The clothes you’re wearing in the scene where you came back to Hugh and said, “I’m just a girl…” – am I remembering right that they were the ones you rocked up wearing in real life that morning?"

To which Julia replied: "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.' And it was my own flip-flops and my cute little blue velvet skirt and a T-shirt and my cardigan."

Well, now you know!