Once upon a time, Julia Roberts and romantic comedies were the perfect pair. The legendary actress has lent her talent and magnetic on-screen presence to a number of memorable rom-coms over the years. And even though it has been decades since she starred in one, she’s still open to saying yes but it all depends on whether the script manages to exceed her expectations.
In an exclusive interview with The New York Times, the Hollywood icon confessed why she has not led a romantic comedy in 20 years, indicating that she has not found the perfect script all this while.
“People sometimes misconstrue the amount of time that’s gone by that I haven’t done a romantic comedy as my not wanting to do one. If I had read something that I thought was that Notting Hill level of writing or My Best Friend’s Wedding level of madcap fun, I would do it.”
In the 90s, Roberts as a romantic lead was a force to be reckoned with. She earned rave reviews, as well as an Oscar nomination for her role in Pretty Woman, and starred in the aforementioned classics, My Best Friend’s Wedding, and Notting Hill. She dabbled in other romance genres as well, including Eat Pray Love, and the crime flick, Duplicity.
While these gems are years old, fans of Roberts’ rom-com era can breathe a sigh of relief now as the actress is teaming up with George Clooney in the upcoming romantic comedy film, Ticket to Paradise, slated to release on October 21. Till then, you can catch her new political thriller series, Gaslit, on Starz, which is all set to premiere on April 24 and sees the actress as Martha Mitchell, the wife of former United States attorney general, John Mitchell.