Roberts finds new home on small screen
When David Caruso made the leap from TV to the big screen, a film critic disparagingly wrote that “Caruso’s small television face” was unlikely to appeal to movie audiences. The reverse might be pondered about Julia Roberts, whose first TV series, the psychological thriller “Homecoming,” premieres on Amazon.
Will her dominant movie-star face and hundred-carat smile displaying teeth beyond those of most mortals fit commodiously into your living room or jar your memory of her enduring presence on the silver screen?
For her maiden series, the 51-year-old Oscar winner for “Erin Brockovich” surrounds herself with an ensemble cast so “Homecoming” wouldn’t be all Julia, all the time.
She plays a caseworker at a secret government facility who works with military veterans ostensibly to aid their transition to civilian life, although darker motives are soon exposed. Rising star Stephan James (“If Beale Street Could Talk”) co-stars as her closest client, Sissy Spacek plays her protective mother, and Dermot Mulroney is an old beau in a relationship similar to theirs in “My Best Friend’s Wedding.”
“Homecoming” begins streaming on Amazon on Nov. 2.
“It is a huge appeal, I think, for any star to not have to carry the whole thing,” Roberts said at the Toronto Film Festival’s premiere of “Homecoming.” “There are so many great characters in the show, and I love the way it all gets woven together. I like to watch these episodes for things I wasn’t there for and go, ‘Oh, my gosh. I can’t believe that’s what was going on.’ ”
Her blonder-than-usual hair is set off this day by a white blouse decorated with dramatic black lapels and cape. Richard Gere, Hugh Grant, George Clooney or other former costars would surely still swoon over her.
Roberts is late among movie actors to sign on for a television series. For the highestpaid actress in the world throughout most of the 1990s, working is not essential.
“I am the worst person to ask to do a part because I like to stay home,” said Roberts, who shares a Malibu mansion and a 50-acre ranch near Taos, N.M., with her husband of 16 years, cameraman Daniel Moder. They have 14-year-old twins, Hazel and Phinnaeus, and an 11-year-old son, Henry.
“Thirty years into my career, I just get to pick and choose in a way that I am eternally grateful for,” she noted, light from a conference room adding to the glow of her smile.
She’s hardly giving up movies — she appears in December as the mother of an addict unexpectedly home from rehab on Christmas in Peter Hedges’ “Ben is Back,” also starring Lucas Hedges and Courtney B. Vance — but the actress has been telling the press that her days of starring in rom-coms are over.
Roberts became aware of “Homecoming” when it was a podcast with Catherine Keener supplying the voice of the caseworker, Heidi.
Sam Esmail, best known for creating “Mr. Robot,” now in its fourth season, won the rights to develop the podcast for television.
“I just never dreamed I would work with a movie star like Julia,” Esmail said at the Toronto festival. “I didn’t even consider it until I heard she was a fan of the podcast. Then I desperately wanted to talk to her about playing Heidi. When I first met her, I was incredibly intimidated. But two seconds into it, we had this immediate chemistry. It was like talking to a friend. I was telling her about my wedding. We were like chitchatting.”
One of Roberts’ conditions was that her new buddy direct all 10 episodes. (Amazon already has committed to a second season.)
Unlike feature films, many TV shows are helmed by different directors each week.
“I wanted Sam to create the show in a way that was specific and almost surgical,” she said. “How can you have somebody else come in the next week and try to be Sam? It is not fair to them, and it wouldn’t be fair to the actors.”
Her character is “super complicated, which makes her interesting. I just love the idea of a person who really does have integrity and believes in what she is doing, but really doesn’t always know what it is,” Roberts said.
Working on a scene, Esmail once announced to her, “You are the bad guy here.”
“I said, ‘What are you talking about? I am not the bad guy ever.’ Then I started to wonder if I am the bad guy. To be constantly re-evaluating Heidi’s intentions is kind of fascinating.”
Roberts disarmed the cast and crew in the same way she did her director. She would almost always be on the set talking to everyone instead of hiding out as stars are prone to do.
“It was just such a pleasure to work with someone who is not going to be in her trailer a second before I call action. Julia is just part of the team,” Esmail said.
Asked if she had the fanciest trailer, Roberts laughingly replied, “I hope so. I am going to have to check on that.”
Esmail has become a family friend. He and his wife come over to Roberts’ house to play old-fashioned games like Glockenspiel, played outdoors with a percussion instrument, and Masterpiece, in which famous works of art are auctioned off.
The Esmails are yet to have children.
“We are trying to get our kids to encourage them to start a family,” Roberts said.
She appears fully fulfilled: a happy marriage, loving kids, a vibrant career that now includes her own TV show — not to mention enviable amounts of money. Asked how she pulled it off, Roberts said, “Not without incredible grace that cannot be named as a source. I think it is important to not think about it too much and also find a way to be in constant gratitude for it.”