AceShowbiz - Julia Roberts almost rejected her starring role in new film "Eat, Pray, Love" - because she was worried about uprooting her family for the shoot. The movie is a big screen adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert's 2006 travel memoir, "Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia", with Roberts starring as the author.

The actress was determined to have her husband Danny Moder and children, five-year-old twins Hazel and Finn, and Henry, three, with her as she embarked on filming - but admits she almost turned down the role to provide stability for her brood. She says, "This movie was a big commitment. I knew it was going to take an enormous amount of energy and devotion. To be away, to displace my family for so long, it's a lot to consider and be responsible for. What if halfway through we're all unhappy?"

She adds, "I almost didn't do it, but I'm so glad I did. It was a real roll of the dice that fortunately worked out."

And once she filmed "Eat, Pray, Love", Julia Roberts was close to tears on the set after eating a mountain of spaghetti during a shoot on a boiling hot day. The "Pretty Woman" star plays a writer who goes on a year-long cultural and spiritual trip around the world in the movie and was required to munch on huge plates of pizza and pasta while filming in Italy.

But the constant eating on takes took its toll on Roberts, who almost began crying after one tough day on set. She says, "I was really hot that day. I was almost in tears. I was just so hot and full, and I didn't want to look like I felt. You just put so much into your role, and you don't want to blow it for something simple like, 'I'm hot, I'm full'. It's always the things that you don't think are going to require any acting that required the most acting."

"Eat, Pray, Love" has been released in the U.S. on August 13.