Julia Roberts Admits She Was Desperate To Work With This Director

Julia Roberts has maintained her status as one of Hollywood’s most discerning stars, appearing in only a handful of films over the last decade. Despite her selective nature, she remains incredibly popular with audiences, often pivoting toward high-quality television projects like the psychological thriller Homecoming.

This shift allowed her to explore complex character arcs that are sometimes absent from traditional blockbusters, earning her significant critical acclaim and a Golden Globe nomination in the process. Before this television success, Roberts experienced a cinematic resurgence with the 2017 drama Wonder.

The film, which followed a young boy navigating the challenges of facial disfigurement, became a massive global hit, grossing $315 million against a modest $20 million budget. Critics and fans alike hailed her performance as one of the finest in her career, proving her enduring ability to anchor an emotional narrative.

This victory followed a somewhat turbulent period after the release of Eat Pray Love in 2010. Seeking a fresh direction, Roberts eventually signed on for the 2012 fantasy comedy Mirror Mirror, a retelling of Snow White directed by Tarsem Singh Dhandwar.

Though it was a costly production with a $100 million budget, the film managed to turn a profit despite intense competition at the box office from The Hunger Games. Roberts was famously drawn to the project not by the script, but by the director himself, whose original vision she found irresistible. “It was just Tarsem. I’m so crazy about that guy, there’s no two ways about it.

He’s so remarkable, and his point of view is so original and massive,” she remarked at the time. She admitted that she was willing to join the project simply to experience his unique creative energy, regardless of the subject matter.

Following that fantastical turn, she earned another Academy Award nomination for her work in August: Osage County before continuing her run of prestige projects. Most recently, she headlined the 2025 psychological thriller After the Hunt, directed by Luca Guadagnino.

The film featured Roberts as a college professor whose life begins to collapse following a scandalous accusation against a colleague, played by Andrew Garfield. Though After the Hunt received mixed critical reviews and struggled at the box office, Roberts’ central performance was widely lauded as a standout.

Her work in the film even positioned her as a contender during the awards season, where she received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. As she moves into the year, the actress is currently in pre-production for the highly anticipated thriller Panic Carefully.

This new project reunites her with Leave the World Behind director Sam Esmail and features a star-studded cast including Elizabeth Olsen, Eddie Redmayne, and Joe Alwyn. The film is currently scheduled for an IMAX release on February 26, 2027.

Additionally, reports from earlier this year suggest that a long-awaited Ocean’s 14 is officially moving forward at Warner Bros., with Roberts expected to reunite with George Clooney and Brad Pitt for a new heist adventure.

With a production start date for the sequel reportedly eyed for later this year, the actress is set for one of the busiest periods of her recent career. Between her collaboration with Esmail and the potential return of Tess Ocean, she continues to balance high-concept thrillers with the blockbuster reunions that fans have spent years requesting.

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