Julia Roberts' original 'Shakespeare in Love' casting was a 'disaster,' producer says
foxnews.comThe producer of "Shakespeare in Love" revealed Julia Roberts was originally cast as the lead before casting became a "disaster" in a new essay.
Ed Zwick wrote about his experience attempting to cast Roberts in the late 90s in a personal essay for Air Mail. "The mere possibility of having the ‘Pretty Woman’ wearing a corseted gown got the studio excited enough to cough up the dough," he wrote. "Ten weeks later I was back in London, where a xeroxed copy of Stoppard’s first draft was waiting in my fancy hotel room." However, casting her counterpart didn't go as smoothly.
Zwick claimed Roberts only wanted to cast Daniel Day-Lewis in the role of Shakespeare even though the actor had already turned down the role.
Despite being pursued by Roberts for the role, Day-Lewis remained committed to "In the Name of the Father." Next, Zwick had Roberts paired up with Ralph Fiennes for chemistry readings.The reading allegedly didn't go well, with the producer saying Roberts "barely acknowledged" the actor. "I’m not suggesting she was deliberately sabotaging, but it was a disaster nonetheless," Zwick said. "The rest of that day and every day of the week that followed went just as badly," he continued. "I no longer have my cast lists, but among the yet-to-be-discovered young actors, I remember: Hugh Grant, Rupert Graves, Colin Firth, Sean Bean, Jeremy Northam.
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