Julia Roberts Expects Her 40s to Be 'Spectacular'

Dec. 13, 2006 — -- Julia Roberts is looking forward to turning 40. The star of the new live-action movie "Charlotte's Web" said that her 30s have been "exceptional," and her 40s will be "spectacular."

"I really am [looking forward to growing older], because I just have the best family," Roberts, who just turned 39 in October, told "Good Morning America" anchor Diane Sawyer. "So, the idea of getting older just, to me, is having more adventure with them, and getting to know my kids better, and getting to, you know, intertwine my life with my husband more."

"Charlotte's Web" is the beloved tale of finding friendship where you least expect it and how the power of the right word can redirect your life. A lost little runt pig becomes a perky porky superstar all because a spider, Charlotte (voiced by Roberts in the movie), weaves the words that help him find his heart and save his life.

Despite her optimistic outlook on turning 40, Roberts said she is not fearless when it comes to the physical aspects of aging.

"You know, you want everything to stay where you are," Roberts said, laughing. "But it doesn't have to be a disaster."

"I don't know why people think [about] getting a different face that looks younger," she continued. "But it's a different face -- I don't know how that makes you feel better. And now I have small kids. I think that that would probably freak them out."

Solidarity With Spiders

Since making the film, Roberts said she is more hesitant to kill spiders.

"I kill them less now, which is saying a lot because I have two babies in the house. And I will actually try to be brave and steel myself and capture them in Tupperware and get them out of the house," she said. "It kind of is [solidarity]. You think, 'That's a person -- somebody's mom or somebody's best pal.'"

When it comes to "Charlotte's Web," some people question how to teach children about bacon and where it comes from, while still keeping the tale a kids' story. The Oscar-winning actress is no exception.

"I guess you just try not to talk about bacon," Roberts said. "Bacon comes from thestore, Diane. Don't you know that?"

Roberts called a People magazine issue that features photos of her from when she was a preteen a "book of humiliation." During that time in her life, she said, she felt exactly the way she looked.

"I think I always was putting it out there, you know -- geeky, sweet and just trying to find my way in the world," Roberts said.

Married With Children

Only 23 when she made "Pretty Woman," Roberts is now the wife of cinematographer Danny Moder and the mother of 2-year-old twins, Phinnaeus and Hazel.

"Hazel, she'll just say, 'Mommy, where are you?' And it just sends me every time, just her little inflections and her tiny little voice," Roberts said. "And Phinn is just … he likes long words. Lots of syllables."

"About seven months ago -- so they're a year and a half -- and I was in the car and ... sitting between the two of them, and we were having a conversation talking about home," Roberts said. "I said, 'Well, I don't think we have that at home; they might have something like that in Albuquerque.' And, Phinn said, 'Albuquerque. Not. That's insane.' And so then I prompted him to say it about 50 times a day."

Together, Moder and Roberts cook and care for the kids. The actress said she loves to watch him interact with the twins.

"Everything Danny does, [Phinn's] just looking at him with such awe. It's fantastic," Roberts said. "Hazel, she just -- the way she just loves Danny. He just has that -- you just understand those connections. And, because I lost my dad when I was such a little girl, it's just such a comfort for me to see them have this really deep, compassionate experience with their father."

People are not careful about the language they use until they have children, Roberts said. She didn't realize she said "um" so much until her children started requesting that she sing the song "um," an utterance she made often when deciding what to sing.

"I think that they talk so much because we talk so much," Roberts said. "We're a chatty house."