Producer reveals Julia Roberts quit 'Shakespeare In Love' after bad chemistry reads

Producer Ed Zwick has revealed Julia Roberts was supposed to be a part of his film Shakespeare in Love. Roberts was supposed to be cast as Viola de Lesseps, a role that eventually landed Gwyneth Paltrow an Oscar.

In an essay for Air Mail, Zwick writes that the Pretty Woman star, then 24, unexpectedly abandoned the project following some unsuccessful chemistry reads.

Zwick who was excited to cast Roberts revealed that she found fault in all the co-stars.

"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. Julia found fault with all of them: one was stiff, another wasn't romantic, and so on."

However, Zwick writes; Roberts agreed to read with Paul McGann.

"On the morning of the test, Julia emerged from makeup, looking radiant in full period costume," says the producer.

"But once she began to say the words, something was wrong. There was no magic. The problem wasn't the script. Or Paul McGann. It was Julia. From the moment she began to speak, it was clear she hadn't been working on the accent."

"Sensing Julia's discomfort, I tried to be encouraging, but she must have intuited my unease, and I made the tragic mistake of underestimating her insecurity. Having only recently been catapulted to the dizzying heights atop the Hollywood food chain, she must have been terrified to fail. But I would never get to talk her off the ledge. The next morning when I called her room, I was told she had checked out."

Zwick was later told by Roberts’ manager that she had left for the US. The producer has not spoken to Roberts since.