Nicole Kidman wanted a major romantic comedy flick that played a huge role in Julia Roberts’ career. The Days of Thunder actor wanted to star in the latter’s Notting Hill alongside Hugh Grant. Even though Roberts has done movies centered on different genres, she has established a name by starring in some of the highly celebrated rom-com features.
Kidman and Roberts, both have been prominent faces in Hollywood for a long time. The actresses have given their performances in some of the most critically and commercially successful movies. There was a time when Tom Cruise’s former wife desperately wanted to star in the 1999 romantic comedy starring Hugh Grant. She lost the role to Julia Roberts despite the latter’s initial rejection.
According to Nicole Kidman, losing Notting Hill was a very disappointing matter for her and it led her to believe that she was not talented enough.
What did Nicole Kidman say about losing Notting Hill?
The avid fans of romantic comedy flicks can’t forget the 1999 classic Notting Hill starring Hugh Grant, Julia Roberts, Rhys Ifans, and Emma Chambers. The beautiful movie chronicled a sweet love story between a bookstore owner William Thacker played by Grant and actress Anna Scott played by Roberts.
Along with several accolades, the film garnered amazing critical reviews as well as a mammoth box office collection of $363.8 million.
When Nicole Kidman sat in a conversation with Grant, it was revealed that she heartily wanted the role of Anna Scott. As reported by Marie Claire, the Batman Forever actress didn’t think she was talented enough for the role.
“I really wanted the role that Julia Roberts played in Notting Hill.”
“But I wasn’t well known enough, and I wasn’t talented enough”
On the other hand, Julia Roberts also denied the role initially. After reading the script for the first time, she wasn’t impressed enough and openly called it “boring” and “tedious”. In an interview with Vanity Fair, she said:
“How boring. How tedious — what a stupid thing for me to do”
It still didn’t make it easy for Nicole Kidman as it didn’t take long for Roberts to change her mind and get her hands back on the project. However, Kidman also went on to act in some of the best films and became a recipient of an Oscar as well as several prestigious awards as well.
Nicole Kidman also lost an Oscar-winning role to Kate Winslet
While losing Notting Hill to Julia Roberts was a painful affair for Nicole Kidman, she is herself responsible for passing over an Oscar-winning role to the Titanic actress. It is the 2008 movie The Reader that led Kate Winslet to win an Oscar as well as a lot of praise.
But the Eyes Wide Shut actress had her reasons to deny the role. Kidman revealed her pregnancy as the reason she said no to the role. She said to Daily Mail:
“The way I work, it would penetrate my baby.”
Interestingly, Nicole Kidman was also among the list of actresses who turned down Forrest Grump. It is reported that Kidman wasn’t sure of the movie’s success which forced her to not think about the Tom Hanks classic. But it also turned out exactly the opposite of what the actress thought and went on to become one of the best movies of all time.
Notting Hill can be streamed on Hulu.
Source: Marie Claire
