Julia Roberts praises Canadian co-star Stephan James at the Homecoming movie premiere

TORONTO – When Oscar winner Julia Roberts signed up to play alongside Toronto-based Stephan James in the upcoming Homecoming TV series, she wanted to make sure their work ethic was aligned .

"It was one of those things where – to not feel like the old mother hen – but I remember just saying the last day of rehearsal or hanging out or something like that. Is something you like to do?

James reassured her that yes, he showed up for work at the hour.

"And it was so great to be with someone who, and not to have the appearance of being stereotyped, but after the young Stephan, you do not know what they're going to be ready, "Roberts continued, sitting next to James.

"And his loan is my loan – and that made us a pair."

Establishing a relationship between the two was crucial because they have a lot of scenes together in "Homecoming," which debuts exclusively on Amazon Prime Video on Nov. 2.

The creator of "Mr. Robot" Sam Esmail directed the black psychological thriller, based on the podcast created by Eli Horowitz and Micah Bloomberg.

Roberts is an executive producer of the series and plays a role in a transitional support center for soldiers trying to return to civilian life. James, 24, plays one of these soldiers.

"I feel like at some point in my career where I'm getting more and more comfortable," said James, whose other projects include the American drama series "Shots Fired" and the biopic Jesse Owens "Race."

"And being in a place like this and working with these people, I have the impression that it was just an ideal and comfortable place for me."

Esmail said he auditioned a group of actors for the role of James, looking for someone who could "face Julia Roberts".

"There were a lot of complexities to this character and Stephan, he first recorded us and blew us up on the tape, which is a lot harder than in person," Esmail said.

"Then he came and did a chemistry reading with Julia and I think it was at that time that we knew and we saw chemistry – and it was electrifying to watch."

James, who grew up in Scarborough's suburb of Toronto, is also featured in the TIFF Barry Jenkins film "Si Beale Street Could Talk" this year. His brother, Shamier Anderson, is also at the festival this year with "Destroyer".

Roberts talked about James when asked about the Oscars and whether to create a new category, as proposed by the Academy of Arts and Film Science.

"Category: Stephan James' best performance that year," said Roberts, who also plays in "Ben is Back" at this year's TIFF. She won an Oscar for best actress in 2000 "Erin Brockovich".

"I think there would be several nominations every year and I think he could win."