Julia Roberts looks back at ‘cruel’ people in Hollywood

Julia Roberts, a well-established actress, shares that at the start of her career she came across people in the industry who she described as “cruel.”

In an interview with People, she shares, “I don’t think I entered into my career with much confidence. I encountered early on, not a lot but a few critical people who were really cruel.” 

The star continues, “And it was a really interesting challenge for me to decide the kind of person I wanted to strive to be.”

“So it was so much more about who I wanted to be as opposed to what kind of career I wanted to have,” Julia notes. 

“And then I wanted to take the person that I wanted to build and put that person into these different situations of work life,” the actress adds.

Those experiences, Julia says, steeled her enough to move ahead in her career. “Of course, even then, I would have shreds of gratitude. I would think, ‘Okay, there’s a reason why it has to be so hard.'” 

“Now I look at it as some of the lessons that I’m the most grateful for because they proved my endurance to myself.”

In the industry, the Notting Hill actress says the need to be emotionally strong is a key to success. 

“Being insecure, it can be crippling. So if someone embarrassed me, it stopped me. I was apoplectic, so learning to navigate that — because this is not an industry to be in if you can’t take criticism or harshness or being embarrassed,” she concludes.

Julia’s upcoming movie After the Hunt will open in cinemas, though limited, on October 10, and then it will get a wide release on October 17.