When it comes to giving out thoughtful gifts, there’s nothing like receiving a homemade baked good from someone. But, from Julia Roberts? Now, that’s a pretty great brag. Luca Guadagnino, who’s the director behind Roberts' one and only role on the 2025 movie schedule, just told a story about the time he received some delectable banana bread from the movie star, and it proved to be a hit.
Roberts and Guadagnino have been promoting After The Hunt, a psychological thriller set in the world of academia, also starring Andrew Garfield and Ayo Edebiri. The director, who’s also helmed Call Me By Your Name and the viral Zendaya movie Challengers, gushed about his relationship with Roberts with these words:
And I have a last, lovely thing. We went to promote Queer, and we went to San Francisco, and Julia hosted a screening for me and Daniel [Craig]. And then she brought me banana bread. We were staying at your house, me and the production designer Stefano Baisi. I was living in Phinn’s room?
The new interview with Variety really shows the sweet relationship that has formed between the director and the Pretty Woman actor. I’m not surprised after seeing pictures of the actress showing up in Venice in a cardigan with the director’s face all over it.
Now, going back to the bread, Roberts went out of her way to help host a screening for his previous movie, the Daniel Craig-led Queer, and they even stayed at her house, as the actress added to his anecdote:
You were in Hazel’s room, and he was in Phinn’s room.
They’re talking about Roberts’ kids, Hazel and Phinnaeus, who are twins and are now both 20. The director and production designer Stefano Baisi each took over one of their rooms. But here’s how the banana bread really comes in, per Guadagnino:
Yes. And we were sharing their bathroom. And then we left for Italy. And in the morning, there was a banana bread. Two loafs. So I ate one with Stefano, and the second one we took, and we were at the lounge waiting, and the staff of the lounge came to me: ‘Oh, it looks very beautiful.’ I said, ‘Try it.’ They came back, ‘Who did this? This is the most beautiful banana bread.’ They don’t know it was Julia’s banana bread, but people were starstruck by the banana bread.
Somewhere out there, I hope the random airline staff who was offered banana bread from Luca Guadagnino now knows they had the pleasure to try Julia Roberts’ banana bread and didn’t even know it. It’s certainly a very random honor, but knowing that they tried it without the name drop and they loved it so much gives her storied banana bread some more clout.
I’m not sure if it’s the same one the director was talking about, but if you’re inspired by the story, I found a banana bread recipe on Oprah.com that was apparently created by Roberts and Candace Nelson. They are banana-hemp heart muffins that include cinnamon, hemp hearts, flaxseed meal, chia seeds and such.
You can see Roberts and Guadagnino’s collaboration, After The Hunt, in theaters on Friday, October 10. Otherwise, Roberts also said in the interview that she could be part of the Best Friend’s Wedding sequel currently in the works, and Guadagnino is working on a remake of American Psycho.
