Julia Roberts: "I don't read anything they write about me."

New YorkLuca Guadagnino, the director who directed Julia Roberts in her latest film, After the hunt (released in Catalonia with the title Witch hunt), has a good way of defining the first moment you meet the actress. She is such a familiar face that it seems like you've known her all your life. Keep Julia Roberts in mind Pretty Woman, Notting Hill either Erin Brockovich, the title that won her her only Oscar, the actress who walks through the door becomes a magnetic star that draws everyone into an orbit around her. Her eyes denote that she has seen it all in the Hollywood industry, and her conversation, which takes place during the promotion of her latest film at the New York Film Festival, is sincere and thoughtful without leaving out a rather heartbreaking irony.

If it's difficult to see Roberts on the big screen, it's because she has decided to prioritize her family and be more selective with who she works with. With Guadagnino, it was love at first sight, and she was seduced by a role, that of Alma, riskier and with many dark sides, the opposite face of her personality. The protagonist is in the middle of accusations of sexual abuse of a student by a colleague from the philosophy department at Yale University, in an ambitious story that touches on thorny issues such as cancel culture.

Witch hunt He's very adept at playing with the truth and letting the viewer draw their own conclusions. During the preparation of the film, did you determine which of the three characters has the absolute truth?

— You won't find it here. And I agree with you. I recently read a very interesting article in the New York Times science section about memory and our culture of self-documentation. Let's say I give a concert—which could happen, without wanting to boast—and I walk away with my experience of that moment. If someone shows me a video afterward, my memory of the concert will never again be what really happened. From that moment on, it will become that video. And there's nothing my brain can do to change it. So when I say you won't find answers in me, it's because you have that experience you lived, and that's great. This is what makes movies so fun. Sometimes we forget to have fun, even when they touch on serious topics, because there are so many juicy things to talk about, dissect, take apart, put back together... It's like Jenga.

With so many possible interpretations, what kind of reflections do you want the film to provoke in viewers?

— We're actually having really good conversations with people while promoting the film, and I think it's partly what you're saying: maybe people come in thinking it's a movie about this or that and then come out saying, "Wow, this is so much more than I expected." There's a kind of inherent excitement when you see a movie that you think will be something and you realize it's more than the sum of its parts, in so many ways. Audiences add layers and layers. For me, it's been exciting to watch. I love talking, as you can see, I love communicating. I love dinner table conversations, and I love that the film brings those kinds of conversations to the surface.

In a tense world, where it seems that if you don't agree with me, you're against me, do you think the film can contribute to less division?

— I guess that's why art exists, right? To provoke, inspire, heal, hurt us, and all these things. You sit in a dark room with other people and you have the feeling that something's going to happen to you. I think it's very beautiful, right now, in this chaotic world we live in, to sit down, have the room go quiet, and darken, and feel like you've disconnected from the world for a few hours. What happens in there will be different for each of us and will depend on our own life experience. But I think that small moment of silence, of calm, and of darkness, before everything starts to happen, is a real elixir, right now.

You have said that you have been following Luca Guadagnino for a long time and that one of your favorite films is In bigger splash (2015). What attracted you to working with him?

— It's great to be in the orbit of someone who is so interested in people, so curious and in love with why we do or don't do the things we do. Discussing Alma, who to me was so strange, complicated, and challenging, made me feel excited about the possibilities of the role, and I also felt encouraged and supported by Luca. He already believed in me even before we knew what we were doing. It was one of the most hectic experiences of my life, and the moment he saw I was scared or hesitant, he'd say, "Come on, let's keep going." And we kept going. And then, as the cast developed and evolved, it all became a true dream. And it remained that way until the last day of filming.

Alma is a philosophy teacher, and during class scenes, she has many debates with her students. How did it feel to master such profound concepts?

— The philosophical concepts were dense, no doubt. I read many books. There's one called Philosophy for DummiesYes, yes, it exists! I have a version with tons of pages marked that I can lend you, if you need it. It's very interesting. And then you just do what you can. You have to let go and fully immerse yourself in the text and the goals you're trying to achieve at that moment. I confess that standing in front of all those students was very intimidating. I didn't enjoy those classroom scenes at all. All those young, longing eyes staring at you, while you're wondering, "How do you pronounce panopticon?" It was a good challenge, but it's also rewarding and fun to play such different roles.

Despite dealing with sensitive topics, the film doesn't neglect its humor, and Michael Stuhlbarg, who plays her husband, Frederik, has some of the best scenes, especially during dinner in the kitchen, where he gets angry and walks out. What was the experience like filming that scene?

— What Michael does is give a true masterclass in the art of being an angry husband. It was incredible to watch. As expected, he took his role, which was already very good to begin with, and did something that no one but us will ever fully appreciate. He made it completely real, complex, detailed, and interesting. He really helped me understand Frederick and Alma, and made my job easier. Every day I arrived on set thinking, "What is he going to do today?" Because he never just did what was in the script. Being a witness was a gift. No one had seen it coming.

With Ayo Edebiri he has some of the most tense from the film. It's a relationship that quickly goes from admiration to envy and hatred. Is it harder to act in this context?

— When we met, I felt an instant affinity. We both really like to act stupid, we have the same sense of humor, which gave me a great sense of security. I feel very understood by her, and I feel like I see her in a very beautiful way too. We immediately felt comfortable with each other, and that helped us get through some really difficult moments, especially when situations get physical. You have to know the people you work with very well, because I've seen how scenes like this ended some relationships abruptly.

In the film, she also has a tortuous relationship with Andrew Garfield's character, which has nothing to do with reality. He has described her as a national treasure. How does that make her feel?

— Andrew is incredible. I've never met anyone so deeply introspective. He's a seeker, an explorer. It's so beautiful to hear him talk about life, people, our needs, and our hearts... It's truly moving. He has a very special place in my world, and it's very touching. I think he says these things to make me uncomfortable. He knows exactly where my most sensitive parts are, so he likes to play with it a little. It was very sweet of him to talk about me like that.

Do the films you participate in enrich you in any way? Is there any lesson you take away from Witch hunt?

— I think what I've learned has less to do with any internal psychological aspect of myself and more with believing in myself, having confidence, and putting as much faith in myself as Luca has, because my character is difficult and demanding. When I don't work much, when it's time to get back to it, all the fears I have every time I make a film come back even stronger. Especially because I'm very selective and look for more difficult roles. And then you get to the set and realize you have to be up to the task. I would place the sweetest moment between the moment you accept the role and the moment you play it. But you can't stay there and you have to be committed to the end. So I think it's simply about realizing that all of this is already within me and that I just have to believe in myself.

Daniel Day-Lewis has even appeared at the New York Film Festival, where he said that one of the reasons he stopped making films was everything that comes after filming: the promotion and scrutiny from the media and the public. How do you handle this pressure?

— Well, with an amazing sense of peace, because it is what it is. Everyone has the right to think what they want, and I think that, as long as you're not trying to be intentionally cruel, you may or may not like what I do, and that's fine. I don't read anything that's written about me. From time to time I stumble upon things, of course, but I don't seek them out. For me, the value of a film, what I get out of it, ends on the last day of shooting. And that's my value. And beyond this is the added value when people see it, enjoy it, appreciate it, or are moved by it. It's the icing on the cake. But the cake is everything to me, regardless of what people think.