Julia Roberts has revealed that she and her co-star Sean Penn embraced in complete silence after filming a “challenging” fight scene for their new political thriller Gaslit.
The 54-year-old actress said she’s been close friends with the 61-year-old Oscar winner for years and they’ve always wanted to work together, having met when she was 16 or 17.
And that’s exactly what they did when they starred in Gaslit as the real-life couple Martha Mitchell and John Michell, Richard Nixon’s Attorney General and friend. The couple split in 1973 amid the Watergate scandal.
Tense: Julia Roberts has revealed that she and her co-star Sean Penn hugged for a ‘really long time’ after filming a ‘challenging’ fight scene for their new thriller ‘Gaslit’
But Julia spoke to Good Morning Britain about the difficulties of filming some of the tense and emotional scenes on the series, admitting she and Sean hugged for a long time after filming a “challenging” argument scene.
A clip from the tense scene shows John slapping his wife in the face before Martha retaliates and hits John, with Julia saying their friendship made such moments difficult to film.
She explained, “It made it difficult to portray the more vivid scenes of her because I knew what was coming.
“Of course, Sean and I hugged for a really long time the day we shot that fight scene. We didn’t even speak to each other. We just hugged.
Couple: In Gaslit you play the married couple Martha Mitchell and John Michell, Richard Nixon’s Attorney General and friend. The couple separated in 1973
“I think we both felt how tragic this relationship was and it was really too bad. Nixon destroyed so many lives, not least the life that was this couple’s relationship, he was the ruin of it.’
The new series marks the 50th anniversary of the Watergate scandal and aims to be “a modern take on Watergate, focusing on the untold stories and forgotten characters of the scandal.”
Julia plays Martha Mitchell, the wife of Richard Nixon’s Attorney General John Mitchell, who first sounded “public alarm about Nixon’s involvement” in the Watergate scandal.
While previous films and television series have focused primarily on the men involved in the story – from Nixon himself to journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein – the new show, which premieres April 24, sheds light on Martha’s role in the drama.
Martha was kidnapped by men on orders from President Nixon to keep her from betraying his organization, the Committee for Presidential Re-election, or CRP.
Pals: The 54-year-old actress said she’s been close friends with the 61-year-old Oscar winner for years and they’ve always wanted to work together, having met when she was 16 or 17
Difficult: Julia spoke about the difficulties of filming some of the emotional scenes in the political thriller and admitted that she and Sean hugged for a long time after filming a fight scene
Elsewhere in the interview, the Pretty Woman star also gushed about her close pal Sean, describing him as “one of the greatest American actors of all time” when discussing acting as his wife on screen.
She said: “Sean is just one of the greatest American actors of all time and he happens to be a very good friend and I think we always hoped we would find something together.
“It’s kind of amazing that it ended up being the Mitchells because we both really believed that this relationship was so heartbreaking.”
Martha Mitchell, nicknamed “The Mouth of the South” for her openness to the press, was a controversial but universally popular figure until June 1972, when she suspected that Nixon and his reelection committee were responsible for the Watergate breach. in.
She’s not one to keep quiet, she complained to the press, leading to her being portrayed as insane and drunk by White House officials – and being held as a “political” prisoner in a hotel room over a horrific weekend, where she was reportedly beaten and drugged.
A look back: Julia plays Martha Mitchell, wife of John Mitchell, who first sounded “public alarm about Nixon’s involvement” in the Watergate scandal
In March 1972, her husband had resigned as Attorney General to head the Presidential Re-Election Committee (officially abbreviated to CRP, but often referred to as CREEP) for the 1972 campaign.
In March 1973, she told The New York Times that she thought someone was trying to make her husband a “goat” for Watergate and she would “not let that happen,” saying Nixon was to blame.
‘Mr. The President should resign immediately,” she told UPI in May 1973.
Martha wasn’t pleased that her husband was behind Nixon.
She told Helen Thomas: “I love him very much. He loves me because I stood up for him. But he’s defending the president who planned the whole goddamn thing. I am monitored day and night. I am not stupid.”
Her husband would be found guilty of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and perjury related to Watergate and sentenced to 19 months in prison.
Transformation: Sean Penn spent hours in the makeup chair transforming himself into a character almost unrecognizable as John Mitchell
Martha was never really acknowledged in the press. Just a year later, she was diagnosed with advanced multiple myeloma and died on May 31, 1976 at the age of 57.
Julia brings Martha back to life by impersonating her for a new series, while the trailer begins with Martha being introduced as cameras flash.
One man says: “You are the first person to publicly accuse the President of the Watergate burglary. Are you crazy?’
She replies, “I’m a southern woman. We speak our minds, we talk. I never stop talking,” when the interviewer says, “I bet your husband loves that,” and she says without hesitation, “He takes it easy.”
The trailer, released in February, features more footage of Margaret and John, with a graphic that reads: “Based on the crazy but chillingly true story.
True story: Martha was kidnapped by men on orders from President Nixon to keep her from betraying his organization, the Committee for Presidential Re-election or CRP
She replies, “I’m a southern woman. We speak our minds, we talk. I never stop talking,” when the interviewer says, “I bet your husband loves that,” and she says without hesitation, “He takes it easy.”
The trailer features more footage of Margaret and John, with a graphic that reads “based on the wacky but chillingly true story.”
G. Gordon Liddy (Shea Whigham) says, “That loudmouth wife of his is becoming a liability,” while John says to Martha, “You want to know the truth? There is no conspiracy hiding in the shadows.”
As he says this, we see someone put a bug in Martha’s phone and a man literally step out of the shadows to confront Martha while she’s on the phone.
Another man tells her that “a lot of women your age suffer from paranoid episodes” while she saw her fight with two other men who try to inject her and end up throwing her through a glass table.
New Trailer: The Watergate scandal gets a whole new perspective in the first trailer for the upcoming Starz series Gaslit starring Julia Roberts
The trailer ends with shots of the other cast including Stevens as White House Counsel, John Dean, Gilpin as his wife Mo Dean, and Whigham as Liddy, the chief agent of Nixon’s White House Plumbers spy unit.
A series of more dramatic shots are shown before John Mitchell says to Margaret, “No one gives a damn what you think.”
The final shot of the trailer shows Margaret in front of some type of chalkboard where a man asks her, “Why risk your husband’s position?”
“Because it’s the truth,” she says as the trailer wraps up.
Good Morning Britain weekdays from 6am on ITV and ITV Hub.
Support: Julia gushed about her close pal Sean, describing him as ‘one of the greatest American actors of all time’ when discussing acting as his wife on screen