L
ife is pretty good for Julia Roberts
right now. Her Oscar-acclaimed
career has afforded her the luxury of
picking selective projects, and she’s
successfully raising three children –
with husband Danny Moder – away
from Hollywood’s intrusive glare.
Following her big-hearted perfor-
mance in the emotional drama Ben Is
Back, Roberts’ most recent role saw her embody a
paranoid psychologist in the TV series Homecoming.
marie claire sat down with Roberts to discuss her
30-year run as America’s queen of the screen.
marie claire: Your roles have become so
iconic that to some you’ll always be Erin Brockovich
or Vivian from Pretty Woman – yet you never even
aspired to be an actress.
Julia Roberts: Both of my parents were actors, my
brother [Eric], who is 11 years older than me, is an
actor, and my older sister [Lisa] also left home to take
classes to become an actress. So, after high school, I
left as well, mainly because I missed my sister. I moved
to New York with her and found a job in a shoe store.
I was a completely ordinary teenager and I didn’t really
know what I was going to do. It wasn’t a goal.
MC: And yet you became the American star. After
three decades in Hollywood, what has been your
strongest attribute?
JR: Staying focused. You have to know what you want,
be clear about what you are doing and why
you are doing it. The further I go in this industry,
the more I appreciate how lucky I am to work with the
people I’ve worked with. My last role [in Homecoming]
is the most amazing and fulfilling one I’ve ever had.
And it’s really extraordinary that after so many years,
I can still say to myself: this is my best role!
MC: Have you always been confident?
JR: Not at all! I don’t think anyone is born with
self-confidence. Or, if it happens, I don’t think you can
stay that way. When you go to an event and look at the
celebrities on the red carpet, they pose with a lot of ...
you know what I mean! I’d love to know how to do
that! But I can’t. I don’t know, I guess I still feel like a
12-year-old adolescent. Sometimes I would really like
to own the space a little more, but it’s just not my
personality. But I am at the point in my life where I
think I have a very good understanding of who I am.
MC: How do you explain the longevity and success
of your career in an industry that’s so hungry for
new talent?
JR: Things have changed a lot – it’s very different now.
When I started, there weren’t any social networks, the
internet barely existed, people couldn’t take photos
with their mobile phones. There were logical stages of
career progression. You did a film, if it worked you’d
have a chance to work again. If your second film was a
success, you could get a better pay cheque and another
new role. Now someone can come out of nowhere
and achieve incredible things, which I imagine is
very destabilising. Building a career was a lot more
methodical 30 years ago.
MC: In your early career in the ’90s, you did two
or three films a year, then your roles became more in-
frequent. Director Joel Schumacher said you needed
to “get [your] soul into perspective” during that time.
JR: I have never hesitated to turn down projects
I didn’t want to do, and I am grateful that I’ve had that
freedom. There was a period when I was in Mystic
Pizza, then Steel Magnolias with [director] Herbert
Ross straight after, and Pretty Woman the next year.
And in 1991, Flatliners with Joel Schumacher, Sleeping
with the Enemy with [director] Joseph Ruben, and two
other movies. Then I didn’t make any more films for
two years. I really needed a break, and some time to
make decisions.
MC: Were you afraid of restricting your career when it
was in full flight?
JR: I was a little worried, but it didn’t affect my
decision until I was approached by the incredible Alan
Pakula, one of the greatest directors, for The Pelican
Brief [1993]. I came back to make that film, which was
an incredible experience.
MC: What motivates your choice of film today?
JR: I pay even more attention because we have a
family [twins Hazel and Phinnaeus, 14, and Henry, 12]
and it’s not just about me. My husband [a cinematog-
rapher] and I avoid working at the same time. So there
are my projects, Danny’s projects, the kids’ school
calendar – organisation is basically math. I feel very
lucky that I don’t have to work constantly. My mother
worked full-time, 365 days a year, with only two weeks
of vacation, and she took care of us – she had no choice.
I have boundless admiration for those women and
everything they have to do to make ends meet.
MC: Can you describe what excites you and keeps you
passionate about staying in the business?“My mother
worked full-time.
I feel very lucky
that I don’t have
to work constantly”marieclaire.com.au (^) | 67
INTERVIEW