A Studio Head Allegedly Suggested Julia Roberts for the Role of Harriet Tubman in Harriet
We’ve come a long, long, long, long, long way in Hollywood in the last quarter decade.
Pre-Time’s Up, pre-inclusion rider — things were dark. I mean, we were out here casting Emma Stone as a woman of Chinese descent. We still have a long way to go in terms of representation, but there’s no minimizing the strides that have been made (hello, Black Panther, aka the highest grossing film of 2018).
But as backward as casting was in the dark ages of Hollywood, thankfully someone had the good sense to shut down an executive’s suggestion that … wait for it … Julia Roberts (Julia! Roberts!) play abolitionist Harriet Tubman in biopic Harriet.
In a Focus Features Q&A with Gregory Allen Howard, the Harriet screenwriter revealed that the project has been in development for 26 years. “The climate in Hollywood, however, was very different back then,” he explained. “I was told how one studio head said in a meeting, ‘This script is fantastic. Let's get Julia Roberts to play Harriet Tubman.’ When someone pointed out that Roberts couldn’t be Harriet, the executive responded, ‘It was so long ago. No one is going to know the difference.’”
Naturally, Twitter had thoughts.
If you’re chasing a Hollywood dream and feel doubtful you’ll ever make it, remember there are executives getting paid shit loads of money to suggest JULIA ROBERTS should play Harriet Tubman. A jar of cockroaches is more qualified than some of these people so DON’T GIVE UP.
— Jordan Crucchiola (@JorCru) November 20, 2019
Imagine suggesting Julia Roberts play Harriet Tubman when Scarlett Johansson exists. https://t.co/k6cc8rxvGJ
— Elu Thankful 🧝🏻♀️🌻 (@Strangeland_Elf) November 20, 2019
Julia Roberts couldn’t do Harriet Tubman, but Harriet Tubman could do The Pelican Brief.
— Ira Madison III (@ira) November 20, 2019
Bwahaha. “This script is fantastic. Let’s get Julia Roberts to play Harriet Tubman.”
I don’t know what’s worse: Such a suggestion or the fact that it took 25 years to finally make the film. https://t.co/f9SsSGXYMi— Sophia Tesfaye (@SophiaTesfaye) November 20, 2019
I give you **drum roll** the new Harriet Tubman Twenty.#HarrietTubman #JuliaRoberts pic.twitter.com/rO8cn0i2qY
— Chris Beffa (@chrisbeffa) November 20, 2019
RELATED: How Cynthia Erivo's Costumes, Hair, and Makeup Tell Harriet Tubman's Heroic Story
The film, which opened earlier this month, features a critically acclaimed performance from its non-white, non-Julia Roberts title lead, Cynthia Erivo.
