Julia Roberts Explains Why She Hasn't Done A Romantic Comedy In 2 Decades

Julia Roberts is revealing why she hasn't starred in a romantic comedy film in the last two decades.

Roberts, 54, shot to fame in the '90s and 2000s with global hits such as "Pretty Woman," "My Best Friend's Wedding," "Notting Hill" and "Runaway Bride." But her upcoming movie with George Clooney, "Ticket to Paradise," will mark Roberts' first time leading a rom-com in more than 20 years.

The Oscar-winning actress said it is not by choice that she took a long hiatus from the rom-com genre. Instead, she cited a lack of "good enough" material as the reason.

"People sometimes misconstrue the amount of time that's gone by that I haven't done a romantic comedy as my not wanting to do one," Roberts told The New York Times Magazine. "If I had read something that I thought was that 'Notting Hill' level of writing or 'My Best Friend's Wedding' level of madcap fun, I would do it. They didn't exist until this movie that I just did that Ol Parker wrote and directed."

Aside from the lack of an adequate script, she also shared that she's been picky with the roles she takes on because of her family. Roberts shares twins, daughter Hazel and son Phinnaeus, both 17, and son Henry, 14, with husband Daniel Moder, 53.

"Here's the thing: If I'd thought something was good enough, I would have done it. But I also had three kids in the last 18 years," the "Ocean's Twelve" star explained. "That raises the bar even more because then it's not only Is this material good? It's also the math equation of my husband's work schedule and the kids' school schedule and summer vacation."

She continued, "It's not just, Oh, I think I want to do this. I have a sense of great pride in being home with my family and considering myself a homemaker."

According to Roberts, for much of her children's lives, she "would work a little, but they almost didn't notice."

However, now that they're older, the actress said she has felt "a sense of responsibility for showing my children that I can be creative and that it's meaningful to me — so meaningful that for periods of time I will choose to focus on that almost more than my family, which has been hard for me to come to terms with."

Roberts can be seen later this year in Parker's "Ticket to Paradise," in which she and Clooney play divorced parents who try to convince their daughter Lily (Kaitlyn Dever) not to make the same mistake they did after she decides to marry a stranger on a trip to Bali with her best friend Wren (Billie Lourd).

Despite liking the script, the actress said that before her co-star came on board, she almost turned the movie down because she thought it would only work well opposite Clooney.

"Lo and behold, George felt it only worked with me. Somehow we were both able to do it, and off we went," Roberts told the magazine, before gushing, "To go from John and Martha Mitchell [in 'Gaslit'], to play these scenes with the greatest dramatic actor, I think, of my generation in Sean Penn, and then run around Australia with George playing these very funny scenes — I'm living my acting dreams."

"Ticket to Paradise" will hit theaters on Oct. 21.

Ahead of her movie's premiere, Roberts will star as Martha Mitchell in the political thriller limited series "Gaslit," which premieres Sunday on Starz.