Julia Roberts gets candid about early career insecurities

Hollywood icon Julia Roberts is opening up about the emotional challenges she faced at the start of her career.

Speaking in a new interview with PEOPLE, the Oscar-winning actress revealed she entered the entertainment industry with little self-assurance and had to push through deep-seated insecurities to find her footing.

“I don't think I entered into my career with much confidence,” Roberts admitted during a joint interview with her co-star Ayo Edebiri. She recalled encountering “a few critical people who were really cruel,” which forced her to focus more on who she wanted to be rather than the kind of career she wanted to build.

Reflecting on her journey between ages 15 and 25, Roberts described it as “more bumps than smooth sailing,” adding that those years taught her endurance. “They proved my endurance to myself,” she said.

The After the Hunt actress also recalled how sensitive she once was, sharing that as a child, she felt “embarrassed” for a musician who tripped on The Tonight Show. “It might as well have happened to me,” she said.

Now a confident performer and mother of three, Roberts says her career has always been about “personal evolution and discovery.”

After the Hunt opens in select theaters on October 10 and nationwide on October 17.

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