Julia Roberts Reveals She Passed onYou've Got Mail, but GotSteel MagnoliasWhen Meg Ryan Couldn't Do It

Mar. 15, 2025

Julia Robertsis looking back on some of the most memorable roles she has played — and some that she almost could have!

“Well, none that I have regrets about because I feel it’s all kind of destiny,” said Roberts, 56. “But what have I passed on that went on to be great and wonderful and I thought it maybe wouldn’t have been as great and wonderful with me?You’ve Got Mail.The Last of the Mohicans.”

“Cate Blanchettwas supposed to be inCloser, but she got pregnant. So I got that part,” Roberts added of the role of Anna, which she played in the 2004 drama oppositeNatalie Portman,Clive OwenandJude Law. “I’ve lucked into some good stuff.”

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Julia Roberts inSteel Magnolias(1989); Meg Ryan inYou’ve Got Mail(1998).Tri-Star/Kobal/Shutterstock; Warner Brothers

Tri-Star/Kobal/Shutterstock; Warner Brothers

Based on the 1987 play of the same name,Steel Magnoliasexplored the relationships and sisterhood of a group of women in a small Southern community. Aside from Roberts and Field, 77, the movie starredShirley MacLaine,Dolly Parton,Daryl Hannahand the lateOlympia Dukakis.

AmidSteel Magnolias' 30th anniversary back in 2019, MacLaine, now 89, told PEOPLE that she knew from the second she met her that Robertswould go on to become a star.

“We were rehearsing on a soundstage, I can’t remember where, and she walks in,” MacLaine recalled. “And the way she walked into the room and sat down and said hello … I got up from the table and called my agent before we even started to rehearse. I said, ‘There’s a woman here and she’s going to be a huge star. You should handle her,’ I told him. She was amazing. The energy that she had just walking into the sound stage.”

Roberts would go on to do just that, starring in hit dramasand iconic romantic comedieswhile also racking up numerous accolades.

Of course — spoiler alert — it doesn’t end well for Jules, with Michael choosing Kimmy in the end. But the richness of the characters and the dynamics between them means there’s plenty of material to explore for a sequel, as Roberts told hostAndy Cohen.

“There’s so many people in it,” she said, noting that she’d want “to see what they’re doing and how Kimmy and Michael’s marriage is going.”

source: people.com