Meet Julie Harrop | Actress

We had the good fortune of connecting with Julie Harrop and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Julie, what role has risk played in your life or career?
When I think about risk I try to focus less on the possible negatives of the risk and more on the positive outcome. Hence why I happily took the risk of being an actor, regardless of how uncertain this industry is. Taking that first risk of being on this crazy path has positively changed how I look at & approach risks now & in the future.

To be completely honest for me, acting is and was always an inevitable risk, it’s the only thing I have ever wanted to pursue professionally.

Taking the risk of being an actor has grown me as a person, matured me & made me feel more confident in my art. The process of learning about the industry has taken me down many different paths, I have met so many amazing people & experienced things my 15 year old self would be in awe of. But my 19 year old self just wants progress haha!

From my current experience, risk taking grows you and the outcome changes you for the better. Even if a risk has a partially negative outcome there’s always a positive because you learn from that and those changes can be translated into daily life.
I risked not going to university, I got off the standard student road & went solo. Yes there was a negative side, but there has also been a positive side, and those positives have over time effectively erased the negatives for me.

Every actor knows that going down the acting path is is extremely risky. But you have to take that risk to get to where you want to be. Would you rather stay where you are comfortable & turn your back on your dreams, or dive into the sea of uncertainty & be working towards your dreams, be a person who takes the risk! It strengthens you.

Risks may seem incredibly daunting at first but the more you play them out and explore them, the more positives you will uncover. In short: Risks lead to discovery, personal growth & happiness. If you work for it of course!

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
Many things! My ethnicity enables me to touch on the more ethnically sensitive stories, I’m half English, half Ethiopian. My straightenable curly hair. Both combined can widen my character types. For example few months ago I was lead in a film based on ethnicity & racism called Barely Black. It’s about a teenage girl struggling with the confidence & the acceptance of her skin shade. I have also played a smart yet unsure school girl and an overly responsible party girl all with different ethnic backgrounds & stories!

I have always had an outgoing, friendly & positive personality, I have always been proud of it because looking back at old videos from when I was a child, I can still see the same personality I have now, still the same girl obsessed with acting. Just more matured & experienced, which I love.
Getting where I am today has been a journey, one that’s still going! It has been hard, making mistakes that I have now learned from, learning how the industry works. Every challenge I have overcome has been through research, dedication, time and a general love for this industry.

Lesson: realise you have made a mistake, don’t dwell on it, instead think about how you will improve it next time & build on that. Also the willingness to learn & enthusiasm takes you a long way and with that comes opportunity, you never know what route it will take you down. It can surprise you!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
First stop, Severn beach to see Prince Wales Bridge which crosses between England and Wales. Then we would definitely go to the Bristol Harbourside, It has a great atmosphere, nice pubs for dinner & the M-Shed which is Bristol’s social history museum. Of course I’d drive them over to Lynmouth, Devon for some iconic Devonshire cream tea, award winning esplanade fish and chips & beautiful riverside walks. Also on the list would be Clifton suspension bridge & Brunel’s SS Great Britain. Followed by a trip to Bristol cathedral which is one of the many filming locations for Becoming Elizabeth!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
A few people: My dad! he has always been very supportive of my acting goals. Last year I was lucky enough to play one of Elizabeth’s LIW’s in the Starz period drama Becoming Elizabeth, and I had the pleasure of talking to Alicia, Tom & Alexandra (Elizabeth, Thomas & Kat) at various times in the months we spent filming. Such lovely people, I learned so much from simply watching them film scenes!
Also my acting teacher who is just amazing & coached me on the tapes that landed my first few roles in short films, thank you Gem!
Finally, got to give Mark Jermin & the team a shoutout for my first term at Mark Jermin virtual Wednesdays!
All of these people have helped me get to where I am now & I couldn’t be more grateful for them 🙂

Website: www.julieharrop.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialjulieharrop/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/julie_harrop

Other: IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10994164/ Spotlight: https://www.spotlight.com/3579-8978-9499

Image Credits
Sean Gannon