
Julia Roberts speaks candidly about her husband, holiday traditions and co-star Nicole Kidman
By Dagmar Dunlevy
For an actress as talented and popular as Julia Roberts, the career possibilities are endless – including roles that were originally intended for men. In her latest film, Secret in Their Eyes, (adapted from a 2009 Argentine movie and 2005 novel), Julia, 48, portrays a ruthless detective who seeks out the murderer who devastated her family. The Oscar winner jumped at the challenge – and the opportunity to work on the film with her cinematographer husband of 13 years, Danny Moder, with whom she has three children, twins Hazel and Phinnaeus, 10, and eight-year-old Henry. Here, Julia opens up about life on-set with her husband and co-star Nicole Kidman, how she helps her Hollywood marriage thrive and why she’s looking forward to baking with her kids over the holidays.
Secret in Their Eyes is Julia and husband Danny's seventh movie together. Photo: © Getty Images
In the film, you play a character initially
written for a man. How did you end up taking on this
role?
I was sent the script and [director
Billy Ray] asked me to read it. He pointed out it
was written for a man right now, but if I was
interested they would change it. And I said, “Yes!”
What was your experience like working with Nicole Kidman?
I will say to start with that I do think she’s perfect, so everything I say is clouded by that absolute fact that I have about Nicole Kidman! I’ve known Nicole a little bit for a really long time and I can’t believe it took this long to get together, and then really, it was just kind of a horrible tease because we really weren’t together that much. We spent more time in the makeup trailer together than we did on the set. I like to think of this as a warm-up to some movie that takes six months to shoot and we’re together every day. She’s so talented and she is sickeningly stunning, and all those things really do pale in comparison to her humanness and how incredibly warm she is.
In her new film, Julia plays opposite Chiwetel Ejiofor and "perfect" Nicole Kidman. Photo: © eOne
Is it great to get to work with your husband, Danny?
It does change things. I mean, it’s exciting and it’s definitely nice – especially on like my first
day shooting, there was a scene in my house with Chiwetel [Ejiofor] where I am just sobbing. It was nice to know [Danny] was in the house that day, and I think it was the most
fulfilling for me in working with him. I won’t speak for him though. I’m sure it was really fulfilling working with me! [Laughs] He’s really good at his job. He works really hard. He’s very devoted.
What's your secret to a happy marriage?
I don’t know if I can speak to marriage per se so much as marriage to my husband, which I don’t recommend for anyone but me! [Laughs] But I think it’s just about really being committed. A girlfriend of mine said a great thing one time. She has also been married for a very long time and she said that she’d heard this quote: “If you want an interesting relationship, stay in one.” And that, I think, is so true because 15 years later, I find the continuous excavation of our relationship and our family fascinating. So that’s the real key – to stay invested and interested in your partner.
You’ve
always had a green thumb. What do you
like
to grow at your home in Malibu?
We eat everything we
grow in the garden. At the moment, I
think all we have is beets and tomatoes and lettuce.
Then we have a pair of avocado trees that
are very generous, and our chickens – eggs from
our chickens, yeah!
With
the holidays approaching, what traditions
do
you keep?
We always make tons of
Christmas cookies – that’s something fun before
Christmas to do with the kids. And all the
icing and sprinkles – the enormous bomb that
goes off in the kitchen of colours and [decorations],
that’s always fun! We have kind of
basic Christmas morning traditions. We make
a lot of food and a fire and [have] our Christmas
tree and friends coming over, so it’s a pretty
cozy holiday for us.