Julia Roberts has been cozying up to Sean Penn even though her long-suffering husband, Danny Moder, is not happy about it — and pals confirm he’s got every reason to watch his back, a source tells Globe.
An insider says 65-year-old Sean is helping Julia, 58, get back on track after a stressful period professionally.
Her most recent film, After the Hunt, was a bomb at the box office, while Sean’s One Battle After Another has been a huge critical and financial success. So it was natural for her to turn to her longtime friend and neighbor for advice and consolation.
“Sean and Julia speak their own language to each other, which can even get physical at times, with flirty body language, and Danny is definitely an outsider to that dynamic,” says the insider.
And when somebody of Sean’s stature wants to be a sounding board for Julia’s worries and complaints, Danny doesn’t have any choice in the matter, says the insider. “Sean offers something to Julia that she’s not getting at home with Danny, and Danny just has to accept it.”
The source explains the Pretty Woman star doesn’t have as much to talk about with cinematographer Danny, her husband of 23 years, as she does with her A-list actor pals like Penn and George Clooney.
“George respects Danny, but he’s always going to relate more closely to Julia than Danny when it comes to those things older movie stars want to talk about — their next projects, directors they’re trying to work with, salary expectations, all that stuff,” says the insider.
But don’t feel sorry for Danny getting left out of these discussions. “He has his own world of interests and hobbies that have nothing to do with the movie business, and the last thing he wants to look like is an insecure, jealous husband,” the source says.
And Sean is a great conversationalist. “He can talk about anything and he’s also a great listener. I’m not saying Danny can’t compete with that, I’m saying why would he even try to?” the insider says.