Fresh from the success of Pretty Woman (1990), Julia Roberts became a headliner overnight. Steven Spielberg wasted no time in giving her a role, in this case that of Tinker Bell, in Hook (1991).
But the collaboration went very badly.
Steven Spielberg, usually reluctant to criticize his actors, suggested that his relationship with Julia Roberts had been difficult, declaring very diplomatically on the show 60 Minutes< /span>“The collaboration was not ideal. The timing probably wasn’t the best for her and me. »:
Spielberg magnanimously referred to the problems that Julia Roberts was experiencing in her private life at the time, and which may have influenced her behavior on the set of Hook< a i=2>.
The actress had actually made the headlines for having canceled her wedding to Kiefer Sutherland a few days before the ceremony, suddenly leaving with the latter’s best friend, actor Jason Patrick…
Still, Julia Roberts gave the Hook team a hard time, which ended up nicknamed “Tinker Hell” (instead of Tinker Bell).
The actress complained constantly, was unpleasant with her colleagues and lacked professionalism…
One day, says the author of Steven Spielberg: A Biography, she arrived on the set 2 hours late and declared “I’m ready, we can shoot. » Spielberg then coldly retorted: “It’s me who decides when we can shoot, Julia. » Which, for Spielberg, is the equivalent of a big rant.
For her part, Julia Roberts seems to have never understood what Spielberg was criticizing her for. In reaction to the famous interview he gave to 60 Minutes, the actress declared to Vanity Fair magazine, a few years later: “I saw this interview with Steven and my eyes popped out of their sockets I was so stunned. I could not believe it. How could this person I knew and trusted say such a thing. It was a painful lesson to learn. It was the first time I saw someone turn their jacket around like that. »
When we see the long list of problems that Julia Roberts subsequently had with actors, directors and film crews, we would however be tempted to side with Spielberg on this one…