Originally appeared on E! Online
Julia Roberts isn’t just a pretty woman.
She can speak Italian, too.
At the 2025 Gotham Awards on Dec. 1, the actress showed off her skills when translating a speech for Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino, who received the Visionary Award alongside Julia for their respective work directing and starring in the psychological thriller After the Hunt.
But in addition to revealing her talent for languages, she also put her sense of humor on display. After all, she wasn’t translating Luca’s speech to English—he already gave it in English—but rather translating it to Italian.
After Paul Rudd presented them with the honor, they duo started their bit.
“I not only had a great privilege of acting with Luca, but I will be acting as his interpreter,” Julia shared while onstage, leading Luca to give his part of the speech. Piece by piece, she translated what he said into Italian. He said, “Thank you Gotham Awards,” and she repeated it—in Italian.
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After finishing up the joke, Julia went on to share more of their great bond.
“Everyone that is here living their creative dreams, thank you for doing that in a world that seems to be crumbling. This is the tape and the glue that keeps it together,” she continued. “One of my great dreams was to work with Luca Guadagnino, and now that I’ve done it once, I just wanna keep on doing it.”
And the pair isn’t afraid to joke around together while sharing their affections. In fact, Julia went so far as to wear a cardigan honoring the Call Me By Your Name director at the Venice Film Festival in September—so much so, that it was covered in prints of his face.
“I love to do things like that during a press tour, wear clothes with my cast mates’ and directors’ faces on them to show my love and appreciation,” she quipped to Vanity Fair at the time. “I like to have fun and mix it up, and not be serious all the time.”
For more stars with hidden talents, read on.
Sydney Sweeney
She’s not just Cassie on Euphoria. Sweeney is also an accomplished car mechanic, revealing that she got a 1969 Ford Bronco and started creating TikTok videos to show her progress fixing up the car.
Christopher Walken
We all know the multifaceted actor is talented—he sings, he dances, etc.—but did you know he worked as a lion tamer in the circus when he was a teenager? “It was a female named Sheba,” he recalled to Vanity Fair, “and she was very sweet. Like a dog, really.”
Colin Farrell
The Irish actor used to be a line dancer—but not the River Dance kind. He was actually a member of a line-dancing group that wore all denim and cowboy hats, country-western style.
Chevy Chase
The funnyman is actually quite serious about music. He played a few gigs with future Steely Dan guys Donald Fagen and Walter Becker in a band called The Leather Canary, with Chase on drums, and then turned his attention to jazz piano.
Matthew Morrison
The Glee alum dealt with a lot during his time as Mr. Schu, but in real life the star of stage and screen delivered two babies when he was 18 when his dad, a midwife, had him along for “Take Your Kid to Work Day.”
Christina Hendricks
She can do more than just act—that really was her playing the accordion on Mad Men.
Michael Jackson
A true artist in every sense, the King of Pop spent a lot of his free time sketching chairs, but not just any chairs—he specifically drew chairs with faces because…why not?
Flavor Flav
His giant clock isn’t the only thing that makes him interesting. The Public Enemy rapper is also a multi-instrument musician who taught himself how to play piano, guitar, saxophone, trombone and French horn.
Vin Diesel
The Fast & Furious star doesn’t spend all his time working out. He also designs video games, which he got the idea for after playing Dungeons & Dragons for over 20 years.
Rod Stewart
When he’s not singing, the famous crooner spends his time building miniature train sets. He has an entire floor of his home filled with miniature railroad models depicting New York and Pennsylvania’s railroad lines.
Kesha
The Animal artist is quite the crafter, famously asking fans to send any spare teeth they might have to her for an art project while she was in rehab.
Harrison Ford
The Star Wars icon is also an experienced airplane and helicopter pilot who has helped deliver supplies to Haiti and has helped out on rescue missions in the United States.
Johnny Cash
In addition to being a country music legend, the Man in Black worked as a Morse Code Intercept Operator for the U.S. Air Force in the early years of the Cold War.
Jason Lee
The actor is also a professional skateboarder, rumored to have perfected (and possibly invented) the 360 flip!
Seth Meyers
The Late Night hostdoesn’t just write jokes—he also co-wrote a Spider-Man comics spin-off titled “The Short Halloween” with Bill Hader.
Leslie Mann
The Funny People actress has been able to ride a unicycle since getting one as a Christmas present when she was 10.
Nick Offerman
The Parks and Rec funnyman is known for being a tough guy on and off the show—and he is as into woodworking as his famous character, Ron Swanson. In fact, Offerman took wood from the set and made canoe paddles for his cast mates when the sitcom was coming to an end.
Clint Eastwood
The Oscar-winning director and jazz aficionado is also a prolific composer—he scored six of his own movies, including Million Dollar Baby and J. Edgar, as well as the 2007 drama Grace Is Gone.
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