Here’s Why Julia Roberts Turned Down a Notting Hill Sequel, According to Writer Richard Curtis

Notting Hill writer Richard Curtis once floated an idea for a sequel to the beloved romance.

In an interview with IndieWire published Wednesday, Nov. 27, the screenwriter, 68, revealed that Julia Roberts turned down his concept for doing a reunion follow-up to the 1999 movie due to the plot.

Speaking about doing sequels for his past movies, Curtis told the outlet, “I tried doing one with Notting Hill where they were going to get divorced, and Julia [Roberts] thought that was a very poor idea.” (He orchestrated a short-form Love Actually sequel for the charitable Red Nose Day back in 2017.)

In Notting Hill, Roberts, 57, played the role of A-list actress Anna Scott, who ends up falling in love with a London bookstore owner William Thacker, played by Hugh Grant.

Curtis’ revelation comes after Grant, 64, recently described his character William as “despicable.” “Whenever I’m flicking the channels at home after a few drinks and this comes up, I just think, ‘Why doesn’t my character have any balls?’ ” the actor said in a Vanity Fair video interview.

He added, “There’s a scene in this film where she’s in my house and the paps come to the front door and ring the bell, and I think I just let her go past me and open the door, and that’s awful.”

“I’ve never had a girlfriend, or indeed, now wife, who hasn’t said, ‘Why the hell didn’t you stop her? What’s wrong with you?’ ” he said. “And I don’t really have an answer to that. It was how it was written and I think he’s despicable, really.”

Meanwhile, screenwriter Curtis — who also worked on Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001) and Love Actually (2003) — received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the 15th Governors Awards in Los Angeles earlier this month. While presenting the award, Grant revealed the funny moments they had during filming.

“You would think, given that most of his films were about love, that he would have been or had a directorial style of gentle, soft and fluffy. You would have been quite wrong,” Grant joked.

“Forever etched on my heart are some of the notes he gave me including, ‘And now do do a funny one,’ and ‘Don’t worry, we can cut around you.’ ”

Notting Hill is currently streaming on Peacock.