We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Julia Garcia. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Julia below.

Julia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, let’s start with trends – what are some of the largest or more impactful trends you are seeing in the industry?

As a working actress in Hollywood who recently started producing, trends in recent years have been social media followings, an increase in film festival circuits, and accessibility of having your work viewed by the public. Understanding social media and using platforms for growth is obviously a necessity for growing your audience and building your brand. Although, now that I’m a producer, I really see the importance of hiring the right actors for the job that also has a built-in audience aka a following.

Definite concerns from an artistic standpoint are finding the right people with both the artistic capability to make the audience understand the story, as well as bring viewership. The question arises from time to time, do you compromise the actor who really brings the story to life for the actor who brings a social media following? The debate lies with the true art form of acting vs revenue. At the end of the day each production has its own end game, and will make their choices accordingly.

Film Festivals have always been an amazing way to get your work seen. I feel in recent years, the platforms of festivals has been elevated. More people are viewing or streaming from their homes or in person. I think there’s a real need for different perspectives and different styles of storytelling that festivals give. The opportunity for your movie to be seen by other industry professionals and to be recognized is truly a gift. Lastly, with so many different streaming platforms available, it gives access to your film all across the world. Reaching audiences that connect with your story is what it’s all about.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hey my name is Julia Garcia, I’m a local Cali girl born and raised. I’ve been acting since the age of 5 both commercially and theatrically. I’m probably best known for being on ABC’s Fresh off the Boat or the Disney Channel’s Sydney to the Max. I think what sets me apart from other actors is my experience with both drama and comedy. I enjoy drama roles where I can share emotion and connect with people and also I love making people laugh with relatable situations. I feel really well rounded because although I’ve grown up in front of the camera, I am a film producer who is going to film school. Being able to create and learn at the same time is truly a blessing. My goal is to bring my visions to life while understanding all aspects of the business.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

In the earlier part of my career, I was cute and jobs were actually not that difficult to book. As I started aging things changed. As a kid that was very difficult to process and frankly difficult to accept. I begged my parents to put me in acting classes, although I had been working for some time, I had never taken an acting class before. After some homework on my parent’s side, they found a place. At first, it was all improvisations and fun until the new semester when my confidence was shaken. Acting is an art form and there is not a right or wrong way to do things, it’s all about feeling. Well, I was put into a situation where I was questioning everything I did, and I was looking for approval. I didn’t voice my concerns to my parents but after some time I asked to stop going because it wasn’t fun anymore. It took quite some time but I literally had to unlearn everything the acting school taught me. It took me almost two years of unlearning before I booked my next job. I had to find the fun in acting again. I learned that perspective is personal and that it was ok for me to give myself permission to do things my way. I’ve never lost focus of that time, it reminds me that I am an individual and that I am enough. Having to unlearn that I didn’t need to fit in a categorized box was probably one of the best things that has happened to me.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Initially before my acting career really took off, I was a classically trained ballerina on the professional track. At the beginning of covid, when everything stopped there was no acting work, dance studios and gyms were closed. Although my parents did build me a dance area at home, the zoom ballet lessons weren’t cutting it. I injured myself because I wasn’t having the proper corrections which can only happen in person. I slowly began distancing myself from ballet and started exploring other styles of dances. I knew I loved dance but everything seemed so difficult and the styles looked awkward on my body. Zooms and outside distanced dance classes taught me that although ballet is a great technical background to have, there are so many other styles of self expression out there. I kept studying and training, taking as many classes as possible. I had some amazing teachers that inspired me and pushed my growth. Covid pivoted me to getting outside my box. I now do choreography and advanced classes. I assist World renowned teachers and choreographers.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: realjuliagarcia
• Facebook: Julia Garcia
• Twitter: RealJuliaG
• Youtube: RealJuliaGarcia
• Other: TikTok: realjuliagarcia

Image Credits
all images were by Jennifer Bullag