Carrie Preston says a deliberate bit of distance from Julia Roberts helped her through one of the toughest days of her career on the 2009 film Duplicity. In a recent interview, Preston recalled arriving for a brief but emotionally charged appearance that required her to cry on cue opposite Roberts, whose character despises Preston’s after an affair revelation.
Before cameras rolled, Roberts pulled her aside, offered a hug, and warned she would keep her distance and “be mean” for the rest of the day so Preston could stay in the right headspace. Preston said the choice worked and that she was grateful for the professional courtesy behind the approach. She added that Roberts later embraced her at the premiere, publicly cheering her work.
Preston contrasted the tense shoot with their earlier collaboration on My Best Friend’s Wedding, where the two connected easily and shared stories about their Georgia roots. The accounts surfaced as Preston discussed career milestones and the different atmospheres that can shape short, high-pressure performances on large sets. Her Duplicity scenes were shot over just a few days among a crew she barely knew, an environment she said heightened the challenge and made Roberts’ advance notice feel considerate rather than personal.
Entertainment coverage of Preston’s remarks has emphasized the context: Roberts’ stated intent was to maintain the friction required on screen, not to slight a colleague. Preston credited the tactic with preserving the fragile timing needed for her scenes and called the experience one of her proudest, citing the difficulty of delivering tears on cue while under the scrutiny of a star-led production. The recollections arrive amid renewed interest in Preston’s body of work and a broader conversation about how actors manage boundaries and technique when the material demands heightened emotion.
