Yet her transformation for August: Osage County stunned audiences not because of glamour, but because of how completely she abandoned it. Filming in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, the 44-year-old actress stripped away her Hollywood sheen and dove headfirst into raw, emotional realism.

In this adaptation of Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer Prize–winning play, Roberts portrays Barbara Weston, the eldest daughter of a painfully dysfunctional Oklahoma family. The story explores grief, betrayal, addiction, and generational wounds — a far cry from the lighthearted romances that once defined Roberts’ career. To embody Barbara, she traded her signature style for loose jeans, simple cream layers, and unstyled brunette hair. There was no trace of Pretty Woman here — only a woman unraveling under the weight of family chaos.

One of the film’s most wrenching scenes unfolds at a lakeside dock, where Barbara must identify a body alongside local authorities. Acting opposite Ewan McGregor as her estranged husband, Bill Fordham, Roberts delivers a restrained yet devastating performance. Her quiet breakdown — subtle, tearful, and painfully real — left the crew awestruck. McGregor’s steady presence gave the scene its haunting balance, allowing emotion to speak louder than dialogue.

Despite the story’s darkness, the atmosphere on set was often buoyant. Between takes, Roberts was frequently seen laughing with co-stars, particularly Julianne Nicholson, who plays her sister Ivy. Nicholson’s understated style — blue flared pants and a no-nonsense ponytail — reflected the film’s stripped-down realism. Their off-camera friendship provided warmth amid the film’s emotional demands.