She said: “Not criticising others’ choices, but for me to not take off my clothes in a movie or be vulnerable in physical ways is a choice that I guess I make for myself.”
The 56-year-old was being interviewed by Notting Hill writer-director Richard Curtis for British Vogue – and said she nearly declined his star role.
She told him: “Honestly, one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do was your movie, playing a movie actress.
“I was so uncomfortable! I almost didn’t take the part because it just seemed – oh, it just seemed so awkward. I didn’t even know how to play that person.”
Julia was also asked if she chose roles which represented her views on feminism and she replied: “It would be more to the point that the things I choose not to do are representative of me.”
She said she had had a “G-rated career”, referring to the US rating for films that are rated suitable for a general audience.
A body double was used in revealing moments when she played a prostitute in 1990’s Pretty Woman and she asked for changes to an explicit sex scene in 2009’s Duplicity.
Curtis commented that there was a “tough side” to her.
The Oscar winner responded: “I’m very forthright. I never am trying to be unkind.”