Julia stayed away from `Eat Pray Love` author during shoot

London: Hollywood actress Julia Roberts made it a point to maintain distance from the author of ‘Eat Pray Love’ because she did not want to imitate her in the film.

The 42-year-old actress, who portrays the author in the film based on her book of the same name, said she wanted to make sure she made the character her own before getting to know the author, Liz, because she did not want to "imitate" her. "Director Ryan Murphy had a relationship with her through pre-production, but I felt it was important for me in portraying her to go with my instincts, to get enough filming done that I was already on a course by the time I met her," contactmusic.com quoted her as saying. "She`s a lovely person. She has great way of talking and very specific mannerisms, but I didn`t want to imitate her." However, she does admit she enjoyed the opportunity to play Liz because she was so "complex". "Liz goes through a wide range of emotions, as you`d expect because the story covers a year of her life, so it was a great opportunity to play a complex and fascinating character," she said. "Her journey is very specific and very visual in a way that`s appealing, but it`s also a universal story that can apply to anybody." IANS