Sam Esmail and Julia Roberts’ friendship was “weird” to him at first since he was a big fan of hers.
Director/producer, who worked with Roberts on the television series Homecoming and Gaslithe recently collaborated with her on a new Netflix thriller Leave the world behind.
At the film’s world premiere at AFI Fest on Wednesday night, Esmail, 46, opened up to PEOPLE about the relationship with Roberts, 55, who was not in attendance due to the current actors’ strike.
“At first it was strange, but now it’s not anymore, because she’s just a person like the rest of us,” he says. “By the way, it was very strange for me at first because growing up I was obsessed with her films. I kept looking at them. My best friend’s wedding is one of my favorite movies, one of my favorite romantic comedies of all time.”
“But,” adds Esmail, “that’s all washed away since then because Julia is just down to earth and down to earth. It’s hard to see her as anything other than this giving and generous mom and friend.”
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Sam Esmail at AFI Fest on October 25, 2023.
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Roberts has three children with her husband Danny Moder, and Esmail has two children with her wife, actress Emmy Rossum.
Esmail says he knows Roberts is “a very likable person … on a personal level,” and it’s “the type of character she’s used to playing.” However, her Amanda in Leave the world behind is “very deficient”.
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From left: Rumaan Alam, Tonia Davis, Sam Esmail, Marisa Yeres Gill, Chad Hamilton, Nick Krishnamurthy and Nick Nesbitt at AFI Fest on October 25, 2023.
Michael Kovac/Getty Images
“She knew she could channel the humanity out of her. That’s a skill Julia Roberts can give you that a lot of actors can’t: she can make you see their side of it, even though you might not agree with all the things they say and do. ”
Leave the world behind it centers on a family struggling with the consequences of a widespread cyber attack. The 2020 adaptation of Rumaan Alam’s bestseller also stars Ethan Hawke, Myha’la Herrold, Mahershala Ali and Kevin Bacon.
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Myha’la, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke and Julia Roberts in “Leave the World Behind”.
JoJo Whilden/NETFLIX
Author Alam, who is also the film’s executive producer, says he was “so thrilled” to have Roberts make the film.
“It’s such a remarkable performance, and it’s from a performer who you kind of think you know because she’s just been in the public eye for so long. To see her do something that I think is a little bit different and a little bit edgier, it’s amazing to have an actor of that caliber in this movie.”
“It’s really exciting to see her do something that’s sometimes a little bit different and a little bit ugly,” he adds.
Esmails says that “something about the story felt vital and needed to be told.”
“It hit on this interesting idea that in a moment of crisis, how easily we can forget our common humanity,” he says. “It was very relevant at the time because it was during the pandemic. But it’s just as relevant today with everything that’s going on in the world. I think that was very important for us.”
Leave the world behind is in select theaters on November 22nd, then streaming on Netflix on December 8th.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education