Julia Roberts reveals 'extremely dark’ original script for ‘Pretty Woman’

Julia Roberts wanted Pretty Woman to take a much darker turn.

During her appearance on the Graham Norton Show on Friday – alongside Timothée Chalamet, Tom Hanks, and Cher – the 56-year-old actress admitted that she was “crushed” when the original version of the hit 1990 rom-com was dropped.

Roberts, who played professional escort Vivian Ward, revealed that originally, “It was going to be a much darker film called $3,000.”

In the scrapped script, "Vivian was a drug addict and the movie ended with [Richard Gere’s character Edward Lewis] leaving her in a side street, throwing the money at her, and driving away,” detailed Roberts.

The Oscar-winning actress recalled feeling “really proud” upon securing the role, adding that “when the production company folded and the film disappeared, I was crushed.”

“But then Disney picked it up, which seemed so unlikely, and made it funny,” she recalled.

The iconic 1990 romantic comedy, directed by Garry Marshall, narrates the story of how a wealthy businessman hires an escort to accompany him to various events, but they end up falling in love with each other.

The film grossed $463.5 million at the box office, and is regarded as Roberts’ breakthrough role, even earning her an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe nomination.