Hollywood loves a good "difficult production" story. Usually, it's just some PR spin or a director being a bit of a perfectionist. But the situation between Nick Nolte and Julia Roberts on the set of the 1994 rom-com I Love Trouble? Yeah, that was different. It wasn't just a "clash of personalities." It was a full-blown, multi-decade cold war that basically redefined how much two costars could loathe each other while pretending to be in love for the cameras.
If you watch the movie now, you can almost see the ice forming between them. They play rival reporters, a classic "enemies-to-lovers" trope, but the "enemies" part felt a little too real. Honestly, the chemistry isn't just missing; it’s negative.
The "Disgusting" Interview That Started It All
Most actors wait until the press tour is over—or maybe ten years later in a memoir—to talk trash. Not Julia Roberts. In December 1993, while she was still technically filming or promoting The Pelican Brief alongside I Love Trouble, she sat down with The New York Times.
She didn't hold back.
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She told the reporter that from the very first moment she met Nolte, they gave each other a hard time. She admitted they got on each other's nerves. Then came the quote that would follow Nolte for the next thirty years. She said that while he could be "completely charming," he was also "completely disgusting." She even went as far as to say he seemed to go out of his way to repel people.
You've gotta imagine the Disney PR team was having a collective heart attack. This was their big summer tentpole. They had the "Sexiest Man Alive" (Nolte had won the title in '92) and the world's biggest sweetheart, and she was calling him a "kick" in the worst way possible.
Nick Nolte Fires Back
Nolte wasn't exactly the type to take a hit like that lying down. He’s a guy known for his "machismo" and a certain rugged, often chaotic energy. When the Los Angeles Times asked him about her comments, he didn't try to play the bigger person.
"It's not nice to call someone 'disgusting,'" he snapped. Then he turned the dial up: "But she's not a nice person. Everyone knows that."
Ouch.
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The production was a mess. There were rumors that the tension got so thick they eventually refused to film scenes together. Think about that for a second. In a romantic comedy where the two leads are supposed to be falling in love, they were reportedly playing to stand-ins because they couldn't stand to look at each other.
Sources from the set claimed there were "tantrums" from Roberts and "machismo" from Nolte. He would allegedly do things specifically to agitate her because he was annoyed by her attitude. It was basically high school drama with a $45 million budget.
Why Did It Get So Bad?
It’s easy to just say they hated each other and move on, but there’s actually more nuance if you look at where they were in their lives.
- The Marriage Factor: In 2022, Nolte finally gave a bit of an "olive branch" explanation. He told Insider that the timing was just a disaster. Julia had just married singer Lyle Lovett right as filming started. Nolte admitted he "approached it all wrong." He didn't elaborate on what "all wrong" meant, but it suggests he didn't respect the space or the headspace she was in at the time.
- The Method vs. The Star: Nolte is a gritty, old-school actor. Roberts was the polished, mega-wattage movie star. Their styles were like oil and water.
- The Script: The movie was written by the legendary duo Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyer. It was supposed to be a throwback to Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. But without the chemistry, the dialogue just felt like two people yelling at each other because they actually wanted to yell at each other.
The movie ended up being a critical flop. Most reviews pointed out the glaring lack of sparks. Variety called it "lacking in wit." It currently sits at a measly 22% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Did They Ever Actually Make Up?
People always ask if they've "buried the hatchet." The short answer is: Sorta.
In that same 2022 interview, Nolte was 81 years old. He said he hadn't actually spoken to her since the '90s. But he also said the feud is "buried" in the sense that it's just old news. He called the whole thing "absurd."
Julia has been a bit more quiet about it in recent years, though in 2009, she did a bit on David Letterman where she imitated a "screaming" costar that everyone assumed was Nolte. It seems like for her, the memory isn't exactly fond.
What You Can Learn From the "Trouble"
If you're looking for a "happily ever after" for these two, you won't find it. But there are some real-world takeaways from this Hollywood disaster:
- Chemistry can't be faked (totally): You can have the two biggest stars in the world, but if the vibes are off, the audience will feel it through the screen.
- Professionalism has limits: Even at the highest level of fame, people are still human. Bad moods and personal conflicts can sink a project faster than a bad script.
- Time doesn't always heal, but it dulls: They don't have to be friends to move on. Sometimes "burying it" just means not talking about it for 30 years.
If you're curious to see the train wreck for yourself, I Love Trouble is usually floating around on streaming services like Disney+ or Hulu. Just keep an eye on the scenes where they are "together." See if you can spot the stand-ins. It's a masterclass in how to film a romance when your leads want to be in different zip codes.
To get a better sense of how Julia Roberts handles on-set dynamics when things actually work, you might want to compare this to her work in Ticket to Paradise with George Clooney—the difference is night and day.