Julia Roberts Says If She Was 18 Now, She Wouldn't Go Into Hollywood

By
Allure Magazine

Let's all be grateful Julia Roberts was born in 1967, and not 1997.

Although the beloved actress is one of the biggest, most recognizable superstars in the world, the Oscar winner says she actually wouldn't go into the business today if she was 18 years old. Roberts made her first big screen appearance in 1988's Satisfaction, alongside Liam Neeson, when she was 19.

"No, I don't think I could," Roberts surprisingly tells Allure. "Maybe it's because I'm not 18 -- I don't have the same kind of energy -- but it just looks exhausting."

WATCH: Julia Roberts Joins Taylor Swift's Squad

When ET caught up with her in January at the SAG Awards, she also told us people were "nicer" to her back then.

"I think it was easier back when I was starting, probably than it is now," she shared, when asked what the odds are of young actors making it in the industry. "People were nicer, I think."

"There's just a lot of anonymity now for critiquing people and pretending that you know people, and I think that that becomes complex," she added. "There are just a lot of people who hide."

As for still getting great roles in Hollywood at age 47, the Secret in Their Eyes star doesn't seem overly concerned.

"It's funny when we try to talk about equality for women," she explains to the magazine. "I think part of it is not having these compartmentalized heroics of 'better parts for women over 40.' Nobody ever talks about better parts for guys over 40."

Allure Magazine

Still, women's issues are obviously very important for the mother-of-three.

"It is a tricky little topic," Roberts says, when asked about her thoughts on Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. "For me, as a woman in this world with a family and a job ... not that I think she would be 'a president for women,' but I think her point of view is critical in this time when we are 51 percent of the population, and somehow the paradigm shift isn't really happening. I would love to see more of what she has to offer in service to this country."

These days, Roberts says she's a "genuinely and deeply happy person" -- which obviously reflects in her signature smile.

Allure Magazine

"It sort of becomes this thing: 'Let's see that smile,'" she admits. "I can smile or I can not smile, but I can't perform .. The way a person smiles is the way they smile."

"I am a genuinely and deeply happy person, which, as life goes on, you realize what great fortune that is, to feel like you just have the natural chemistry of joy," she adds.

Allure Magazine

WATCH: Go Behind-the-Scenes of 'Pretty Woman' With a Then 21-Year-Old Julia Roberts

Last month, Roberts made a rare public appearance when she stepped out with her whole family -- husband Danny Moder and the couple's three kids, 10-year-old twins Hazel and Phinnaeus and 8-year-old son Henry -- giving everyone a glimpse of how her adorable children have grown! Watch below:

Related Gallery