Julia Stiles says motherhood is “the best training” for directors

Julia Stiles learned a thing or two since then to become a mother — and her Hollywood career has benefited from parenthood.

“Being a mother is such good training for being a director,” Stiles, 43, exclusively said My Weekly on I wish you were here premiere in New York on Wednesday, January 15. “You have to be good at time management, you have to be a multitasker.”

She compared managing her three children to effectively directing a stage, especially when unforeseen problems arise. (Stiles has sons Strummer (6) and Arlo (2) and third child born in 2023 s husband Preston Cook.)

“You have to be present but also think 10 steps ahead. You have to be really good with sleep deprivation,” joked Stiles while celebrating the release of his latest film at the Crosby Street Hotel.

The the actress explained that with both directing and parenting, you have to “manage people’s emotions and needs, but also lead them.” She concluded: “One hundred percent (it’s) the best training.”

Stiles most recently directed and co-wrote I wish you were herewhich follows a woman named Charlotte (Isabelle Fuhrman) in search of love. When she finds someone special, she learns the man (Mena Massoud) is terminally ill, so she pledges to help him celebrate the last days of his life.

“I wanted to make a romantic movie that was really all about the human characters,” she said of the project, which opens Friday, Jan. 17.

While Stiles said Our that her children are “still a bit young” to see most of her films, her eldest child came with her I wish you were here.

“(He) really loved it, so he’s excited about it,” she gushed.

Stiles has been even more proud of the project ever since it is her directorial debut. (This is her first feature film as a director after working on a short film in 2007 and several episodes Paloma.)

“I would do (many) things differently. There are so many movies that I’ve been in that I’d like to keep doing just because I was so young and it was a lot of trial and error,” Stiles said. Ourreflecting her development in front of and behind the camera.

She explained, “You learn so much as you age. And now that I’m behind the camera, I really see what it’s like to be in the editing room and how the whole film is made. And if you really trust your director, he will protect you in the editing room.”

Stiles noted that “totally” she would be “like I’m not afraid” as an actress when she started out and instead learned more about the backstage earlier. “That’s where it all falls down.”

I wish you were here hits theaters Friday, January 17.

With reporting by Travis Cronin