Julia Roberts is no stranger to the typical pleasantries of a press tour. Yet, in the weeks spent promoting her latest drama, After the Hunt, she’s been pleasantly surprised by the intense curiosity from both journalists and audiences eager to dissect the film’s true meaning.
“This movie has sparked so many truly interesting questions and conversations, which is incredibly satisfying,” Roberts shared. “My castmates and I all agreed this is the first press junket we can recall where we aren’t just repeating the same answers for the hundredth time.”
Directed by Luca Guadagnino, After the Hunt casts Roberts as Alma, a respected Yale philosophy professor. Her inner circle includes colleagues Hank (Andrew Garfield) and Kim (Chloë Sevigny), her gifted student Maggie (Ayo Edebiri), and her husband, Frederik (Michael Stuhlbarg). But when Maggie levels an accusation of sexual assault against Hank, this close-knit world begins to fracture, forcing Alma to confront where her loyalties truly lie.
While the film subtly touches on explosive subjects like cancel culture and the #MeToo movement, Guadagnino (known for Challengers and Call Me by Your Name) never intended After the Hunt to be a straightforward declaration.
“My vision was to create an ambiguous film, one that empowers the audience to think independently and draw their own conclusions,” he explained.
However, one aspect of the production is unequivocally clear: Roberts and Guadagnino forged a deep connection. Meeting them over drinks at a Los Angeles hotel, the 57-year-old actress beamed at her 54-year-old director, enthusiastically describing how this camaraderie extended to the entire cast, including Edebiri, whom she recently hosted for an early birthday celebration.
“Everyone was so genuinely enthusiastic about being with Luca and creating this film; it’s just an incredible feeling,” Roberts affirmed. “I truly don’t care if people believe us or not. It’s simply the truth how much we really enjoy each other’s company and perspectives.”
Her director wholeheartedly agreed. “For me, she embodies the very essence of cinema,” Guadagnino said of Roberts, hinting that their collaboration could continue. “There’s no finality here. We have so much life ahead, and certainly, much more life together.”
Below are edited highlights from their conversation.
Julia, what has been the most rewarding part of the discussions sparked by this film?
JULIA ROBERTS I think people often don’t realize how much they miss simply talking. This morning, I was thinking about when my kids were little, and we watched Stand by Me. Our daughter turned to me and said, “I’m giving you my phone.” I asked, “Okay, what do you want me to do with it?”
She replied, “Just keep it. I don’t want it. After seeing that movie, I realized if those boys had phones, they wouldn’t have talked to each other like that. They wouldn’t have gone looking for that body, they wouldn’t have sat around the fire sharing stories.” She understood how technology could get in the way of genuine connection. Ultimately, we all love talking to each other, and sometimes we just forget how vital it is.
When you read a script like After the Hunt, do you automatically envision yourself in the role?
ROBERTS I suppose I do in some way. But often, I’m also busy casting the other characters as I read, to make it feel like watching a movie unfold. Sometimes, I feel compelled to finish a script, which can be a curse. I know people who can read 30 pages and just say, no.
LUCA GUADAGNINO Oh, you read the whole thing?
ROBERTS Someone put all that effort into writing it, probably shedding some tears! So I think, “Who knows? Something might happen on Page 52.”
GUADAGNINO Statistically speaking, if it hasn’t happened by Page 20, it generally won’t.
Julia, was there anything that intimidated you about portraying this character?
ROBERTS Absolutely everything. You have to find the humanity in a character to truly embody her. And then, stepping into the classroom, where she’s sharing her brilliance with young, impressionable minds, those scenes were incredibly intimidating. All those eyes, just fixed on me! But at the same time, there’s a certain thrill in truly pretending to be that person who genuinely knows more than anyone else in the room.
And this is a story filled with characters who are convinced they know best.
ROBERTS It’s a massive smarty-pants showdown.
When you first read the script, did you have a clear idea of how you wanted to portray Alma?
ROBERTS I have instincts, but I don’t arrive with all the answers. I truly collaborate with Luca.
GUADAGNINO Yet, you had a strong intuition that she needed to be blond. What led you to that?
ROBERTS Cold. Austere. I believe that for any character you play, the more visual aids you have, the better—the clothes, the shoes, the makeup, the hair. Gena Rowlands’s aesthetic was our key inspiration. It’s not common to see a woman with such a distinct hairstyle. So many small details helped convey what I was trying to express, meaning I didn’t have to speak much at all – I just had to enter the room.
What’s it like to fully embrace such a formidable persona?
ROBERTS What I deeply appreciate about Alma is her ability to be both cold and rigid, while simultaneously carrying profound hurt and pain. I believe casting Michael Stuhlbarg as Frederik was just as crucial as finding the right hair color, because their relationship is so incredibly vital. It’s about two imperfect people completely devoted to each other. It’s like that old saying, “If you want an interesting relationship, stay in one.”
GUADAGNINO I absolutely love that.
What was your own college experience like, Luca?
GUADAGNINO In Palermo, I was mostly alone, and I didn’t enjoy being there. I think I stopped feeling lonely the moment I began encountering artists I admired – people who were creatively singular and expressive.
ROBERTS At 17, you already knew you wanted to be an artist.
GUADAGNINO Yes, I actually knew that when I was six or seven. I even directed a play at 16 in high school that caused me to repeat the year. It was quite scandalous.
What made it so scandalous?
GUADAGNINO I adapted two Ionesco texts into a kind of variety show. There was a park where I often spent time, and I befriended a group of truly wonderful trans people. This was back in 1987, and they were so wonderfully performative that I invited them to be in the play.
But they weren’t students, and that caused an enormous scandal. When people saw it, they were speechless. So, when I released The Protagonists thirteen years later and it premiered at the Venice Film Festival with many walkouts, I was already a veteran of that kind of reaction. I honestly didn’t care.
So, even as a teenager, you were keen to challenge academic norms.
GUADAGNINO I was determined to seize any opportunity to create what I wanted. I spent the year convincing the headmaster to let me direct the play instead of a professor. I’m not sure how I managed it; clearly, I’m quite adept at persuading financiers. With After the Hunt, we told them, “We want to build everything in London,” and they simply agreed, “Yeah.”
ROBERTS Only Luca can get people to say, “That sounds like a fantastic idea!”
Is it true that you initially planned to age Chloë Sevigny’s character to resemble a Fran Lebowitz type?
GUADAGNINO Not exactly Fran Lebowitz, but I did envision the character as significantly older. We experimented with makeup, and it was quite effective.
ROBERTS It looked absolutely incredible.
GUADAGNINO But sometimes, to convince me I’m wrong, it just takes one word. Chloë looked at me and said, “Are you sure? I think I look like a crocodile.” And that was it. Say no more.
The characters in the film can be quite vicious to each other, yet their confrontations feel strangely cathartic to watch.
GUADAGNINO Because it’s entertainment. It’s pure cinema.
ROBERTS Especially when what they’re saying perfectly aligns with your own thoughts.
Julia, when you watch the movie, do you ever find yourself gasping at your character’s lines?
ROBERTS Playing her feels completely right. Watching it, however, feels brutal. But it’s also amusing because I can almost sense Luca somewhere in the room, smiling to himself.
Does that behind-the-scenes camaraderie grant you more freedom to be aggressive when the role demands it?
ROBERTS Oh, absolutely. In fact, I believe that spending time together at my house had a profound impact on our ability to fully commit to our performances. We felt safe. We knew each other, which is a stark contrast to rehearsing for a week and then, just two days later, being shoved against a wall or slapped in the face.
The film’s tagline states, “Not everything is supposed to make you feel comfortable.” Do you believe the younger generation is too comfortable, or perhaps needs a gentle nudge?
GUADAGNINO I’m not one for generalizations. I do think Maggie’s needs are unmet in Alma’s perspective, and that fuels the emotional tug-of-war between the two women. Rather than representing entire generations, they are entirely wrapped up in a world where each desires to be the dominant force. I wouldn’t broadly characterize it as a Gen Z portrayal. I prefer to view this film through the lens of pure cinema, like a movie by George Cukor or Mike Nichols.
If people label you a provocateur, do you embrace that?
GUADAGNINO No. I am kind, pleasant, and an excellent chef.
Even provocateurs can be excellent chefs.
GUADAGNINO I don’t wish to be seen as someone who creates merely for the sake of it.
ROBERTS Just for the shock value.
GUADAGNINO Precisely. That’s something I actively avoid. I am incredibly fortunate to work with artists like Julia, allowing me to approach things in a very distinctive and profound manner. Sometimes, when you create something intense, people naturally reflect on that intensity. But no, I don’t consider myself a provocateur.
So, when the opening credits use the same font and format as Woody Allen’s films, that wasn’t a provocation? Not even a little bit?
GUADAGNINO It’s simply beautiful. It’s graphically captivating and a recognizable part of cinema history.
Sure, but given the film’s themes touching on cancel culture…
GUADAGNINO I felt it was the perfect aesthetic for this movie’s titles. My next film, Artificial, starring Andrew Garfield as OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, will pay homage to Pablo Ferro’s title credits for Philadelphia by Jonathan Demme. Every movie is unique, but I consider myself a film historian, and I deeply love cinema. I’m not salacious in my intentions.
ROBERTS You’re a true cinéaste.
GUADAGNINO But I did have to make a call to Julia and ask, “Julia, do you mind if we list you in alphabetical order?” She, of course, said, “Not at all.”
ROBERTS I actually love alphabetical order. I think it truly highlights the collaborative spirit.
The movie starts in 2019 and concludes as Trump assumes office, yet filming wrapped before his election.
GUADAGNINO When we finished shooting, we already knew we would integrate this 2025 moment. So, we were ahead of the curve.
Did you have a premonition during filming about what January 2025 would look like?
GUADAGNINO About 85 percent. I was confident the Republicans would form the new government, and I knew the title — After the Hunt — had to resonate with that specific moment. The entire film crystallizes completely in those final two scenes.
College campuses have become a significant battleground under this administration. What do you imagine they would make of this movie?
GUADAGNINO It would be intriguing. Perhaps the philosophical concepts Julia discusses are too intricate for them to fully grasp.