This Insane Fact Makes the Erin Brockovich Movie Ten Times Better
This Oscar-winning movie does not really need anything to make it stand out even more. Still, one tiny detail is just the cherry on top!
Released in 2000, Erin Brockovich follows the titular character, played by Julia Roberts, and her attorney, Ed Masry, played by Albert Finney, on their journey to make the energy company PG&E pay for its water-polluting crimes in Hinkley, California.
The movie has since become a cult classic, receiving numerous awards, critical acclaim, and the love of audiences around the globe.
It has been 23 years since its release. What could you possibly not know about this movie, right?
Well, there is a diner scene where Erin orders food early in the movie, and real-life Erin Brockovich makes a cameo appearance as the waitress who takes her order.
What's more, the waitress' name is Julia (after the star of the movie), and Julia Roberts plays Erin Brockovich herself. This detail is right there on the surface, but it is easy to miss!
Believe it or not, that is not all. In the same scene, you can also spot Ed Masry, the lawyer who worked with Brockovich on the PG&E case.
He plays the man sitting in the booth behind Roberts and reading the menu. Isn't it great that the creators of the movie got these two icons to appear in small roles?
By the way, Erin Brockovich still works as a paralegal and consultant in the field of environmental activism.
In 2023, she helped bring media attention to the Ohio train derailment incident and spoke out about the need for government infrastructure and regulatory improvements.
Sadly, Ed Masry passed away in 2005, five years after the movie's release. He was 73 when his health rapidly deteriorated, and he suffered diabetes-related complications, which were the cause of his death.
Masry and Brockovich's got PG&E to pay $333 million back in 1996, and the case marked the largest settlement ever paid in a direct-action lawsuit in the US at the time.
The case gained so much traction that it became the subject of a movie four years later.
Erin Brockovich is one of those rare examples of a movie that serves a larger purpose, such as raising environmental awareness among the masses.
Not to mention, it is a killer film, too!