Julia Roberts' iconic voice is being put to use in the U.K. The Pretty Woman actress has just joined BBC's upcoming six-part dramedy series, Leonard and Hungry Paul, as the narrator. While Julia is a regular on screens across the globe, this is her first BBC role. The series, which is an adaptation of the book by Rónán Hession with the same name, follows two unique board-gaming friends and asks if gentle people can change the world.
The show's producers, Richie Conroy and Mark Hodkinson, told Deadline: "It is truly wonderful to have the amazingly talented Julia join the production, we had heard she was a big fan of Rónán's beautiful book and she brings a real warmth and genuine compassionate understanding to this important role which guides us through the unique world and special characters."
Along with Julia, Leonard and Hungry Paul will star Laurie Kynaston (an English actor who recently starred in Fool Me Once), Jamie-Lee O'Donnell (best known for Derry Girls), and Alex Lawther (one of the stars of Alien: Earth). Jamie-Lee shared with her 309,000 Instagram followers stills from the show, writing: "What a fantastic experience this show was to work on."
What is Julia Roberts up to?
The Erin Brockovich actress is currently in Venice promoting Luca Guadagnino's cancel culture drama After The Hunt at the 2025 Venice Film Festival. Julia made fashion headlines on August 27 when she showed up to the festival in a cardigan adorned with the director's face. She styled the bold sweater with a simple black dress, black sunglasses, and her signature smile.
Her ode to the Italian director wasn't just a fashion statement. Apparently, the two are good friends now. Luca, who also directed Call Me By Your Name and Challengers, told Vanity Fair: "We started talking and became instant friends."
Julia stars in the film alongside Andrew Garfield, Ayo Edebiri, and Chloë Sevigny. The film received mixed reviews at the festival, with one reporter even asking Julia if she thought it undermined the feminist movement and the progress of the #MeToo movement. To that, Julia responded: "I don't necessarily think it revives an old argument of women being pitted against one another."
Other times Julia's lent her voice
Julia's work in Leonard and Hungry Paul isn't the first time she's narrated. Recently, she co-narrated From Here to the Great Unknown, the memoir of Lisa Marie Presley, completed by Riley Keough. She also narrated The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus.
Throughout her career in film, Julia's narrated several projects. In 1995, she narrated the documentary Before Your Eyes: Angelie's Secret. And most recently, in 2014, Julia narrated the "Women in Hollywood" episode of the documentary series, Makers: Women Who Make America. Other famous narrators in that series were Meryl Streep, Christiane Amanpour, and Leslie Mann.