'Notting Hill' director Roger Michell passes away; Julia Roberts mourns the loss

British director Roger Michell, 65, known for helming films like Notting Hill, My Cousin Rachel, and Venus, passed away on Wednesday, September 22, his publicist told the U.K. Press Association. Actor Julia Roberts mourned his demise in a heartfelt post on social media.

According to Variety, the publicist released an official statement to the agency to announce the sad news. "It is with great sadness that the family of Roger Michell, director, writer and father of Harry, Rosie, Maggie and Sparrow, announce his death at the age of 65 on September 22,” read the statement.

Michell was born in South Africa and worked as a resident director at the U.K.’s Royal Court Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company. He had a successful career with stints at the National Theatre as well. He made his directorial debut in films with My Night with Reg (1997), which follows a story of a group of gay who English men spend a night reminiscence after one of their friends dies of AIDS.

He has worked in films like Changing Lanes (2002), The Mother(2003), Morning Glory, Hyde Park on Hudson (2012). His film Venus earned him his final Oscar nomination. His last films were Blackbird(2019), and The Duke (2020). Besides film, he had also received recognition in TV for miniseries Downtown Lagos (1992), followed by The Buddha of Suburbia (1993), the highly acclaimed adaptation of Hanif Kureishi's novel. For the miniseries The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies (2014) and single drama Persuasion (1995), he was awarded BAFTAs.

The filmmaker is survived by his four children, Rosanna, Harry, Maggie and Nancy through his marriages to actor Kate Buffery and Anna Maxwell Martin. 

Julia Roberts pays tribute to Roger Michelle

American actor Julia Roberts shared a heartfelt statement to pay tribute to her Notting Hill director, Roger Michell. The popular romantic comedy starring Julia Roberts along with Hugh Grant made Michell an in-demand filmmaker across the pond in Hollywood. Mourning his death, Roberts took to Instagram to bid a sad farewell to him.

Alongside an old throwback picture of Michell sitting behind a camera, Roberts wrote, "I loved every minute we spent together. RIP Roger Michell." She concluded her short tribute with an emoji of a red broken heart. 

Kate Winslet calls Roger Michell, 'a gorgeous man, who made the world a better place'

According to Variety, British actor Kate Winslet, who worked with Roger Michell in Blackbird, also paid a heartfelt tribute to the director. She called the director “a gorgeous man, who made the world a better place.” The actor in a statement said:

“We are utterly heartbroken to lose the kindest and best of men. Roger Michell was a loving and devoted family man but was also responsible for bringing together other families, creative families, across the globe, Myself and the cast of his movie ‘Blackbird’ are eternally bound forever by the bond he forged between us all. We mourn him deeply today and will cherish and uphold his memory and his pure, magical spirit for all time. A truly great and good man from whom we learnt so much. A brilliant director. A gorgeous man, who made the world a better place. Us lucky ones who knew him have been profoundly affected by his gentleness and his almighty lion heart.”

Image: AP