Julia Roberts Explains Why She Hasn't Made a Rom-Com In 20 Years

Julia Roberts is making her return to romantic comedies with Ticket to Paradise after almost 20 years.

The 54-year-old actress has starred in some of the most memorable rom-coms including Pretty Woman, My Best Friend’s Wedding and Notting Hill.

Now, in a new interview with New York Times Magazine, Julia is opening up about the reason why she stayed away from them for so long.

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“People sometimes misconstrue the amount of time that’s gone by that I haven’t done a romantic comedy as my not wanting to do one,” she shared with the magazine about her decision.

Julia added that if she “had read something that I thought was that Notting Hill level of writing or My Best Friend’s Wedding level of madcap fun, I would do it. They didn’t exist until this movie that I just did that Ol Parker wrote and directed.”

She also explained that the reason she hasn’t committed to another romantic comedy was because of her wanting to be there as her three children grew up.

“Here’s the thing: If I’d thought something was good enough, I would have done it. But I also had three kids in the last 18 years,” Julia shared. “That raises the bar even more because then it’s not only, Is this material good? It’s also the math equation of my husband’s work schedule and the kids’ school schedule and summer vacation.”

She went on, “It’s not just, ‘Oh, I think I want to do this.’ I have a sense of great pride in being home with my family and consider myself a homemaker. For so much of my children’s younger life they would see their dad [Danny Moder] go off and I would work a little, but they almost didn’t notice. It was like I was only gone when they were napping or something.”

“But as they get older, and particularly with my daughter, I do have a sense of responsibility for showing my children that I can be creative and that it’s meaningful to me — so meaningful that for periods of time I will choose to focus on that almost more than my family, which has been hard for me to come to terms with,” Julia said.

Julia will star alongside George Clooney in Ticket to Paradise, which filmed in Australia last year.

“I love to laugh and be funny. You get into that mode of those endorphins going off when you’re clever and people going, ‘Oh!’ Then that becomes this automatic thing where you’re always thinking in terms of creating fun,” she added. “It’s a joy to play in that sandbox. It has been a long time.”

Julia will next be seen in Starz’ Gaslit, opposite Sean Penn. The series will premiere on April 24.