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One of the most beloved romantic comedies of all time nearly looked a lot different.
In a new interview with Deadline published Tuesday (January 6), Julia Roberts explained why she almost turned down her role in Notting Hill. She went on to star in the 1999 film as A-list actress Anna Scott, who strikes up a romance with bookshop owner William Thacker, played by Hugh Grant.
"Gosh, I just remember when my agent called me about Notting Hill and I thought, 'Well, that sounds like the dumbest idea of any movie I could ever do,'" she said. "'I'm going to play the world's biggest movie star and I do what? And then what happens? This sounds so f---ing stupid.'"
However, once she read Richard Curtis' script and saw the love story unfold on page, she changed her tune, admitting, "I was like, 'Oh. This is so charming. It's so funny. Oh, s---."
Despite this, the Pretty Woman star was still not fully on board with the concept. She had a lunch meeting with Curtis as well as producer Duncan Kenworth and "beloved" late director Roger Michell where she planned to pass on the film, but once again, she found herself pulled into the movie magic, per E! News.
"And they were just so charming and sweet and funny," she said. "And I thought, 'Wow, this is really going to happen.'"
Roberts finally signed on as one of the two main leads and ended up having a memorable experience making the movie.
"It was cast to perfection, all the friends, everybody," she said. "It was so great. And we had a beautiful time. And I think Roger, he just created the film in a way that it just, at every turn, succeeded."