We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Julie Marcus. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Julie below.
Julie , appreciate you joining us today. Have you signed with an agent or manager? Why or why not?
I have been with my current Agency, Atlas Talent, for 13 years now. But to get to the point of signing with them, took at least 4 years and many other fits with other agents before them. How I got my first agent was through paid meet and greets. I would pay a certain amount to meet 12 different agents/casting directors and read from the voiceover booth for them and they would give me feedback. Through those meetings, I had two voiceover agents that would work with me on a freelance basis and give me auditions. Also through those meetings, I met one of the agents at Atlas Talent. She told me she thought I had a lot of talent but was too green (i.e. beginner) to work with their agency and to keep in touch. And I did just that – I worked, grew better at my craft, got signed by a reputable agent and emailed her every year. When they had moved their offices to LA, she responded and we set up a meeting. The meeting went well and I’ve been very grateful to be working with them ever since.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I’m a voice over artist, actress, comedienne, writer and entrepeneur. In my lifetime, I’ve done theater, film, stand-up comedy, improv and of course voice-over. I have written one play and two On the entrepeneur side, I have owned and sold short term rentals and now, I own an avocado farm named Firefly Grove which I plan to make into a whimsical place that offers agritourism opportunities to learn about regenerative farming. I was introduced to acting when I was five years old. My mother enrolled me in an acting class at a recreational center because I was very shy at school, but not at all at home. I fell in love with acting as I loved pretending to be someone else and seeing the world through their lenses. I’ve always loved comedy, especially character actors, like Tracey Ullman and Carol Burnett. I have a very flexible face and a three octave range so it is easy for me to transform into a believable character. I love spreading joy and laughter and what I love about comedy is it’s escapism but also it’s relevancy. A joke can say so much about the state of the world while also letting people laugh at themselves or point out an injustice, etc. I plan to get back into improv, comedy and theater once my children are a little older. For now, I am focusing on voiceover and I have voiced for Investigation Discovery, Rockstar Video Games (Grand Theft Auto V), Dreamworks (Dragons:Riders of Berk), Netflix (Yasuke) among many others.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Society can value art – support theater, go to museums, dance shows, art galleries. Nourish in your children a love of art – encourage it in schools. And pay for the art! So many artists can not make a living simply on their art and having the ambition to be an artist is usually not fully encouraged by family because of the instability of the profession. I find art to be extremely valuable and hopefully opinions will shift in time.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I don’t feel like I have fully pivoted from my career as an entertainer but intellectually, I need to embrace the idea that I would not be able to be fully ambitious and thriving in my artistic career if I wanted to be the Mom that I wanted to be for my children. When I got pregnant with my daughter, 5 years ago, I gave myself permission to “just be a Mom for at least 5 years” – whatever that meant. I really wanted to give it my all without the pressure of where I thought I should be in my career or what I wanted for my artistic career. Everyone says, “They grow up so fast. Cherish this time.” I wanted to do just that – I did not want to feel regret that I wasn’t fully there for them and I didn’t want the time to feel as if it were going so fast, like I missed it. It’s been hard to have the identity shift – though I know that I chose it for myself… It’s been hard to remember what my dreams and goals even still are – or to get back into the ambitious mindset. I have always been ambitious and I have wanted to act since I was 5 years old so the artist identity runs deep in me. To pivot in my identity made me feel quite lost – especially because the paths of motherhood are unchartered and unknown. After 5 years, I am finally able to think about projects that I would like to do, have started some partnerships with producers, have contemplated amping up my marketing…. so I have started to get back into the headspace but I certainly am not there yet. Luckily, my voiceover career is a well-oiled machine and every day I record between one and twelve submissions that I submit to my agent and that never stopped.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.juliemarcus.com
- Instagram: ineedJu
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063530734392
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-marcus-41b3631/
- Twitter: iwantJu
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvGMa9CK91E5_Q2RoEOw5tg
Image Credits
Octavia Klein, Michael Letterlough, Jr.