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A Hollywood executive allegedly suggested they wanted Julia Roberts to play Harriet Tubman in the biopic about the iconic activist.

Screenwriter Gregory Allen Howard revealed the news in a Q&A with Focus Features earlier this month.

Howard is the screenwriter and producer of Harriet, which tells the story of Tubman and how she escaped slavery as well as the dangerous missions she led to liberate hundreds of others through the Underground Railroad.

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“I wanted to turn Harriet Tubman’s life, which I’d studied in college, into an action-adventure movie. The climate in Hollywood, however, was very different back then,” Howard said.

“I was told how one studio head said in a meeting: ‘This script is fantastic. Let’s get Julia Roberts to play Harriet Tubman.'”

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When someone suggested Roberts could not play the role, Howard claimed the executive responded: “It was so long ago. No one is going to know the difference.”

Roberts was not cast for the biopic, and 32-year-old British actress Cynthia Erivo played the role of Tubman.

Howard also spoke about “two films” that “really changed the climate in Hollywood to allow Harriet to be made.”

“When 12 Years a Slave became a hit and did a couple hundred million dollars worldwide, I told my agent: ‘You can’t say this kind of story won’t make money now.’ Then Black Panther really blew the doors open,” Howard said during the Q&A.

0:59 U.S. Treasury delays release of $20 bill featuring Harriet Tubman U.S. Treasury delays release of $20 bill featuring Harriet Tubman

Howard said he felt Tubman’s story would make a great movie because she was “bigger than life.”

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“Harriet freeing slaves had a multiplying effect. Plantation owners were scared that enslaved people would start getting ‘ideas.’ There were always more slaves that [sic] white people on the plantations, but those enslaved didn’t know their own power. Harriet showed them how powerful they could become,” he said.

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Many people took to Twitter to criticize the idea of casting Roberts as Tubman.

In light of news that Julia Roberts was being considered for the role of Harriett Tubman, I would like to put forth the idea for Leslie Jones to play Queen Elizabeth II in the upcoming biopic#paletteswaps — Darth Hater (@mrparks212) November 20, 2019

Someone find Julia Roberts I really want a comment ! — Zerlina Maxwell (@ZerlinaMaxwell) November 20, 2019

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Thing is, with this administration, a Julia Roberts $20 already would have been approved. https://t.co/5S51CMMwrl — Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) November 20, 2019

they said Julia Roberts OVER SCARLETT JOHANSSON, our melanin queen!? pic.twitter.com/uFJqIaRbQV — megantheestallion’s babymama (@ariontheair) November 20, 2019

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What I imagine the tension in the room was like in that general meeting when that studio exec suggested to Julia Roberts that she could play Harriet Tubman. pic.twitter.com/SNm3U8B0z8 — Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) November 20, 2019

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I can't believe the reason #JuliaRoberts is trending. pic.twitter.com/7gQyBKPWlq — Paige Turner – What do you mean by 'revisit?' (@FrontRowMezz) November 20, 2019

They really was going to try to push Julia Roberts to play Harriet Tubman because it was “so long ago” and “know one would notice.” pic.twitter.com/SyM4y6Cn3D — ✨🐝 Jennifer L. (@MsJLaw) November 20, 2019

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I’m sorry, but I’m just imagining Julia Roberts screaming, “TO FREEDOM!” in blackface and… pic.twitter.com/GTcPWZYsfV — X (@XLNB) November 20, 2019

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Thinking about Julia Roberts as Harriet Tubman like pic.twitter.com/TUDctSEB0u — Allahpundit (@allahpundit) November 20, 2019

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Tubman, whose original name was Araminta Ross, was born into slavery in 1820 or 1821 on the eastern shore of Maryland. In 1849, she fled to Philadelphia, after which a reward for her recapture was posted. But Tubman returned to the South to lead other slaves to freedom, helping more than 70 people through the Underground Railroad network of abolitionists.

She worked as a scout, spy and nurse for the Union Army during the Civil War. In 1863, she helped lead 150 black soldiers on a gunboat raid in South Carolina. With Col. James Montgomery, she rescued more than 700 slaves. Tubman also became a noted suffragette before dying in 1913.

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Harriet was released to theatres on Nov. 1.

— With files from the Associated Press