The one thing Julia Roberts hates about modern Hollywood: “It’s so awful”
Hollywood has changed a lot since Julia Roberts entered the industry back in the 1980s as a hopeful new star.
Her first acting job might have been an uncredited role in a movie that went straight to video called Firehouse, a film few people have certainly seen, but it didn’t take many years for Roberts to prove she was capable of much more. The actor’s third film, Mystic Pizza, earned her positive reviews, although her role in the largely forgotten Dennis Hopper movie Blood Red had a whiff of nepotism to it, with Roberts’ brother, Eric, just so conveniently starring in the leading role.
Still, she experimented during these early years, also landing some rather forgettable TV jobs (what actor can’t say that?), before enjoying a golden run with Steel Magnolias, which earned the star her first Oscar nomination, and Pretty Woman, demonstrating Roberts’ knack for taking on leading roles. This was a huge turning point in her career, and before she knew it, she was a Hollywood star, spanning genres as easily as Hugh Grant’s character falls for her in her hit rom-com Notting Hill.
In many ways, Roberts is the ultimate Hollywood star, a well-loved figure who has taken on such a vast array of titles in an effort to prove herself that she has subsequently become a household name. She rarely does anything controversial or taboo, simply taking on roles guaranteed to improve her star power and keep her perfect reputation intact. Still, this didn’t come straight away for Roberts, and she spent the early years of her career trying to figure out what works best.
However, Roberts is aware that not all actors coming up today have the chance to experiment with the kinds of movies they want to make. It’s an incredibly cutthroat business that has become more competitive than ever – for many, it’s a case of ‘one strike and you’re out.’ There is no room for error in modern Hollywood; it can mean risking your position and falling behind.
These days, nepotism and long-standing industry connections are going to get you the furthest. Although Roberts is no stranger to this, emerging the decade after her brother had earned widespread acclaim for roles in the likes of King of the Gypsies (and whose daughter, Emma Roberts, has become a successful star, too), she can acknowledge how difficult it now seems to be for young actors to find their place in Hollywood.
Talking to Vanity Fair, she explained, “We were talking about Mystic Pizza earlier, and I’m sitting here thinking to myself, It’s too bad that young actors coming up now will never get that kind of experience. The business is so different; you can never be that new girl that has that moment of “Where’d she come from?” Those gradual steps that you get to take.”
The actor highlighted that now there is just “the express elevator and there’s rehab,” adding, “It’s so awful; nobody gets a fair trial-and-error period that everybody deserves and everybody needs. I was lucky that I made a few movies in a row that people really responded to—not me particularly but the films as a whole were appreciated.
“Then you have a couple that aren’t when you think they’re going to be, and that’s OK. You can keep going. People can keep hiring you. But that doesn’t happen now, and it’s a pity because it is a way to develop yourself and figure out what kind of actor you are.”
