Julia Roberts talks 'After the Hunt' and working with Ayo Edebiri, Andrew Garfield
Julia Roberts is opening up about her new film, "After the Hunt."
In an interview with Diane Sawyer for "Good Morning America," the Academy Award-winning actress talked about the new film, in which she plays a mysterious Yale professor named Alma, who finds herself at a crossroads when her student and protégé named Maggie (Ayo Edebiri) levels an accusation against her friend and colleague Hank (Andrew Garfield), leading them to all grapple with questions of loyalty and doubt.
"There's so many layers of mystery going on," Roberts said. "I know there's sort of the obvious question of an incident and who's telling the truth, but who is ever telling the truth or not and why in this movie is what's so interesting to me."
The film, directed by "Challengers" and "Call Me By Your Name" filmmaker Luca Guadagnino, stars Roberts, Edebiri, Garfield, Michael Stuhlbarg, Chloë Sevigny and Lío Mehiel.
Roberts lauded her co-stars' performances, including Edebiri and Garfield's roles as Maggie and Hank, respectively.
"It's been really such a beautiful thing to sit next to Ayo, who I really admire and adore, and to listen to the words she chooses and the way she sees the world and this movie," Roberts said.
She also pointed to an intense scene she had with Garfield in the film, that she told Sawyer was the first scene Garfield filmed on his first day on set.
Roberts said, "First take, just blows in and has this great scene, and you know, it's a long scene, and then it's over."
"You know, 'Cut.' And I was just like, 'Whoa, I'm sweating,'" she added with a laugh.
Prior to filming, Roberts said that she and Guadagnino and the cast spent a couple weeks living together at her home, while her husband, cinematographer Danny Moder, cooked.
"It was great," Roberts said. "And I think it was the fast track to the inside of each other."
She added, "I love a good puppy pile of people, as you know. And it was such a delight to, in this group, find not only people that I felt a kinship with, but then people that at work I was seeing up close, just the top levels of work."
Speaking at the Los Angeles premiere for "After the Hunt," Roberts said she hopes it "creates conversation among you."
She added, "I hope it creates space for not just talking, but listening, which is a key element that I feel we are losing the art of in this period of time in our culture. So, let's get back to that."
"After the Hunt" arrives in select theaters Oct. 10 and nationwide on Oct. 17.
