We’re still wondering what Leona put in that iconic pizza 33 years later.
Mystic Pizza opened quietly in theatres on Oct. 21, 1988, with three fairly unknown actresses at its centre: Annabeth Gish, Lili Taylor, and Julia Roberts, who was 21 at the time. In addition, Matt Damon, a young actor, made his feature film debut in the coming-of-age drama.
While the film is about two sisters and their wise-cracking best friend who works at a neighborhood pizza business in Mystic, Connecticut, only making $14 million at the time of its release, it has become a cult favorite. And it owes a lot of that to its starring trio.
In his review at the time, the late movie critic Roger Ebert commented, “I have a hunch that Mystic Pizza may someday become remembered for the cinematic stars it presented back before they became stars.” Of course, the illustrious author was correct. Gish and Taylor went on to have triumphant careers on both the big and small screens, while Roberts went on to become one of Hollywood’s most in-demand actors.
Roberts featured as the reckless waitress Daisy just two years before her big break as Vivian in Pretty Woman. Her untamed hair would become famous, but it nearly cost her the job in Mystic Pizza.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, she remembered, “I went in for a reading and the casting director said, ‘You can’t be blond when you see the director.'” “Because I’d never dyed my hair before, I went to Lamston’s [a five-and-dime store] and purchased black mousse.”
With roles in Steel Magnolias, Notting Hill, Stepmom, The Pelican Brief, and My Best Friend’s Wedding, Roberts established herself as one of Hollywood’s most successful and well-liked actors. In 2000, she received her first Academy Award and became the first woman to earn a $20 million payday for her role as Erin Brockovich’s title heroine.
The 52-year-old has also appeared in Runaway Bride, Mona Lisa Smile, Closer, Ocean’s 11, Eat Pray Love, and Ben Is Back, among many other films. Roberts made her first significant venture into television in Amazon Prime Video’s Homecoming, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination, after starring in Ryan Murphy’s TV movie The Normal Heart in 2018.
