Julia Roberts Once Named the Oscar-Nominated Role She Thought ‘I Was Going to Hell For’
Academy Award winner Julia Roberts was recognized by the Oscars again for her role in the 2014 feature August: Osage County. But she joked that her performance in the film came at a price, as she felt like a terrible person while shooting the feature.
Julia Roberts joked she felt guilty for how she treated her co-star in ‘August: Osage County’
Roberts starred in the 2014 feature August: Osage County alongside the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch and veteran actor Meryl Streep. The feature was about a group of sisters reuniting with their mother after the death of their husband.
Roberts had already scene the play the feature was based on, which had her excited to do the onscreen adaptation. Despite being a little nervous doing so, she was also greatly looking forward to collaborating with Streep for the first time.
“To work with Meryl Streep is a dream come true for anyone. To know her is an honor,” Roberts once said at a press conference according to Yahoo. “She is such a beautiful person and it was intimidating, certainly, to be in these scenes with her.”
However, because of their fictional grudge in the film, Roberts found herself doing things to Streep she found difficult to perform.
“Choking her, and things like that, were not how I pictured it going in my mind all these years. I thought we’d be together, having tea and speaking in fabulous accents all dressed up,” she said.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Roberts went into a little more detail about how she felt having to hurt her idol.
“Attacking her physically was… just… awful. I felt like a terrible person who would truly go to hell. I might actually go to hell now, I’ve attacked her so many times,” she said.
Why Julia Roberts decided to do her Oscar-nominated role ‘August’, even though the play left her feeling ‘pummeled’
Around the time she did August, Roberts became more careful with the types of films that she decided to do. Given her commitments to her family, a project had to be exceptionally special to draw her away from her children for a few months. She felt August was good enough for her attention.
“It’s increasingly rare for me to find things that challenge me as an actor because the challenge of my personal life, and how fulfilling I find it, is tough to compete with. So a piece like this was a dream come true,” Roberts once told Mirror.
August also had an advantage over other projects vying for Roberts’ attention since the actor had already seen the play. The Pretty Woman star admitted seeing the play in person was difficult because of its subject matter, which left her emotionally exhausted. Still, Roberts chose to revisit the story.
“You know, it’s conversation. And it’s also the examination of that thing they call ‘the human condition’, whatever that means to people. How do we not be our parents. Or how do we be that of our parents that we like but avoid what we don’t like. So that’s why we make these sorts of movies and write these sorts of plays and poems and sonnets and novels, because it makes us all ask those questions and look for better, clearer answers,” she said.
Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep were both nominated for Oscars thanks to ‘August: Osage County’
Roberts and Streep both received Academy Award recognition for their performances. But it wasn’t either stars’ first time. Roberts already won a Best Actress Oscar for Erin Brockovich. Meanwhile, Streep won two Best Actress awards for Sophie’s Choice and The Iron Lady. She also received a Best Supporting Actress award for Kramer vs. Kramer.
