Note to Us: Do not start a brawl with Julia Roberts. The Oscar-winning actress, who brings her bright presence to Marie Claire‘s December issue, discusses a range of topics in the cover story including fighting Meryl Streep in one memorable scene for their upcoming film, August: Osage County — and fighting in general.
The 45-year-old star, who refuses to use social media (“It’s kind of like cotton candy: It looks so appealing and you just can’t resist getting in there, and then you just end up with sticky fingers and it lasted an instant.”) also confesses in the interview that unlike many of her famous counterparts, she actually does not Google herself. “I have too much potential for collapse,” says the star of classics like Pretty Woman, My Best Friend’s Wedding and Mystic Pizza.
“There’s an anonymity that makes people feel safe to participate in hatefulness,” Roberts, once Hollywood’s highest-paid woman, tells Marie-Claire. “I like a good old-fashioned fistfight if people are pissed off at each other. I just feel like if you’re really mad and want to have a fight, then put your dukes up.”
Roberts delves into detail about her family dinner fight scene with Streep’s character in the movie: “I tell you, Meryl’s strong!” recalls the amused actress. “I’m just thankful I didn’t hurt her.” In total, the brawling scene took three days to complete filming and “may have covered her in bruises from repeated bangings against the table,” the writer notes.
Although the two women got into it for the scene, Roberts gushes about working alongside Streep in the movie: “I had many imaginary conversations with Meryl about working together,” she admits. “When a person goes from being on a pedestal in your mind, to even cooler, better, and more fabulous up close, you get to understand them a little more intimately.”
The mother of three kids with cameraman husband, Danny Moder — Henry, 6, and twins Hazel and Phinnaeus, 9 — provides some insight on life beyond her acting career. “It’s my privilege and honor to cook three meals a day for my family,” says Roberts on running her household. “And it’s a luxury on a level that I didn’t even realize, because it can be relentless for me on some days. You have pride in how you take care of your family.”
Roberts’ latest movie, August: Osage County, costars Streep, Juliette Lewis, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ewan McGregor, and Abigail Breslin. The film adaptation of Tracy Letts‘ Pulitzer Prize-winning play tells the individual story lines of the members of a broken family, who reunite in Oklahoma in the home of an unruly matriarch played by Streep.
