Credit score: Huebner Headshots
As a scholar at Reagan Excessive College, Julia Stier found performing was a path she needed to comply with for so long as potential. She described her expertise there as “boot camp for performers.”
“It was like varsity theater,” Stier, 29, advised the Present throughout a latest interview. “Performing in [the musical] Totally Trendy Millie is the toughest factor I’ve ever accomplished, as a result of I needed to faucet dance on a desk as they have been sliding it across the stage.”
Following her 2014 commencement from Reagan, Stier moved to Los Angeles to attend the College of Southern California. 4 years later, she earned a bachelor’s in theatre and deliberate to proceed performing in “something I may get my palms on.” Then the pandemic hit, and productions floor to a halt.
“That’s once I knew I wanted to get a job behind the scenes,” Stier mentioned.
Stier obtained “very fortunate” when she was employed as an assistant for director Liesl Tommy, the primary lady of colour to be nominated for the Tony Award for Greatest Course of a Play.
“They all the time let you know {that a} desk job would be the demise of your performing profession, however I discovered it very rewarding,” Stier defined.
At present, Stier, alongside along with her work as an actor, playwright and screenwriter, is the top of improvement at Chilly Iron Photos, a Los Angeles-based studio that’s produced movies together with Swiss Military Man starring Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe and I Do…Till I Don’t starring Lake Bell and Ed Helms.
In December 2024, Forbes named Stier to its 30 Below 30 in Hollywood & Leisure listing. She shared the excellence with the likes of actors Kathryn Newton (Abigail) and Jacob Elordi (Saltburn) together with comic Marcello Hernandez (Saturday Evening Stay).
Throughout our interview, Stier talked about a number of the I-can’t-believe-this-is-really-happening moments she’s had within the trade and the way working in manufacturing made her a greater actor.
Once you obtained the decision from Liesl Tommy, what have been you considering?
I really obtained the decision once I was visiting my mother and father in San Antonio. It appeared like an excellent gig. On the time, I used to be like, “OK, I’m an actor, however I’m form of a full-time freelancer now that the world has shut down.”
Have been there any pinch-me moments working behind the scenes along with her?
Yeah, I used to be her assistant via the event of a brand new Disney+ sequence that sadly obtained axed proper as we have been going into manufacturing. It was really loopy as a result of I’d be sitting on Zoom calls with [Oscar-winning composer and songwriter] Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid), listening to unique music that he was writing. I grew up together with his music.
What was the sequence about?
It was a Magnificence and the Beast prequel. It was going to be with Josh Gad who performed LeFou within the live-action model. They have been doing a prequel with him and Luke Evans as Gaston. It was about how they grew to become LeFou and Gaston. It felt like such a shoo-in, and the music was so good. I keep in mind after we did our first read-through, they usually began off with that very basic Magnificence and the Beast theme. Everybody burst into tears.
How did you get to Chilly Iron Photos?
I used to be juggling being an actor and an assistant, and when it obtained to be an excessive amount of, I used to be like, “OK, I believe I want a extra secure job,” which is how I obtained launched to Chilly Iron Photos. I began off as an assistant and inside the 12 months, I used to be bumped as much as coordinator and improvement government. Then, final October, I obtained bumped as much as head of improvement.
What’s the finest a part of your job?
Working in manufacturing and in improvement has made me a greater author and a greater actor. You study a lot by osmosis, and there’s a lot that I didn’t know. My boss, Miranda Bailey, has been a producer for greater than 20 years, and she or he’s made some wonderful indie hits. I get to see how a script goes from web page to display screen. I get to do cool issues like jet off to Italy tomorrow, the place we’re co-executive producing a documentary that’s premiering on the Venice Movie Competition.
Are you continue to performing?
I’m! I’m presently in a play. [Last] November, I shot a complete function. Fortunately, plenty of the movies are actually versatile. They perceive that I’ve this place. So, there have been plenty of evening and weekend shoots. They have been very accommodating, which was wonderful, as a result of it’s not straightforward to stability all of it. That is an trade of motion, for certain.
Is it value it?
Hell yeah! [Forbes] shouted out the truth that I’m an actor, author and producer. I do assume that being the top of improvement is what opened the door for me, nevertheless it was very good to get acknowledged for the way a lot I’m doing throughout the trade. It’s value it, nevertheless it’s very exhausting. I drink plenty of espresso.
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