The role nobody wanted Julia Roberts to play: “What’s she doing in this?”
Whether it be her role as Erin Brockovich or Anna Scott, there is a performance in Julia Roberts‘ filmography for everyone, with endearing and heart-wrenching classics that made her one of the most iconic leading ladies of the 1990s.
After her first on-screen role in Satisfaction, the actor starred in Mystic Pizza and Steel Magnolias, shortly reaching global fame through her infamous performance in Pretty Woman, a rags-to-riches tale of a sex worker who falls in love with a rich businessman. Since then, she has been nominated for four Academy Awards and has worked with directors such as Steven Spielberg, Mike Nichols, and Robert Altman, building a rich and diverse career.
However, there was one role that no-one expected her to play, with the Roberts being hounded for her part in a small movie at the height of her success.
After roles in Pretty Woman, Hook and The Player, Roberts was cast in the 1996 film Michael Collins, directed by Neil Jordan and starring alongside Alan Rickman and Liam Neeson. However, while this sounds like a glittering opportunity on the outside, many people were confused by her involvement given that she had such a small part as Kitty Kiernan. After reaching stardom and becoming a household name, the decision to use her talent in such a small capacity came as a surprise to most viewers.
As well as this, the film was shot in Ireland with thousands of extras and members of the public showing up to see flashes of the stars attached to the project, with the story being a historical epic about the creation of the Irish Free State during the 1920s. While the unexpected arrival of fans became disruptive during the production, with people trying to grab Roberts and take pictures of her, the director has explained that he is grateful for her presence in the film and how it likely wouldn’t have been made without her.
Jordan described: “The truth is Michael Collins wouldn’t have been made without Julia. She was really important and had been very interested in the script. She did it for the best reasons. She looked like Kitty Kiernan. The only problem is when you are casting the biggest star in the world in a rather nondescript role, everybody went, ‘It’s Julia Roberts; what’s she doing in this?'”
Despite public speculation about her involvement in the project and whether it was worthy of her talent, Roberts proved to be a key piece of the puzzle and helped attract a wider audience towards this lesser-known story. Following on from this project, Roberts shortly starred in My Best Friend’s Wedding and Notting Hill, which became two of the most beloved romantic dramas of her career. The love story between a movie star and humble bookseller put the West-London neighbourhood on the map and is largely praised as one of the best instalments of this genre due to the witty and painfully British script from Richard Curtis.
While people may have doubted her appearance in a story like Michael Collins, the experience added another feather to her bow and allowed her to expand her career at a time when people thrived on pigeonholing women in the industry, showing that she was determined to forge her own path.
