Meet Julie Phillips | Mother, actor, writer, producer, pilates instructor

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

Hi Julie, as a parent, what have you done for you children that you feel has had the most significant impact?
As a mom of two teenagers (19 and 17), I think the most important thing that I have done was pivoting at the young age of 51 and pursuing my passion (acting and writing). Teaching my kids to pursue what they are passionate about, no matter what age they are, or how much experience they’ve had, is what helps me going on the dark days. I was an actress as a child and teen (I had my SAG card but I was in no way a “working actor”), and then tried again, with minimal success in my early 20s. I quit cold turkey for 26 years. But I always missed it.

Finally, at age 51 I asked myself what on earth I was waiting for. The engraved invitation to Hollywood was not in my mailbox and if I really wanted to do this, which I did, I was going to have to just start. Which is exactly what I did. And I think this version of me, the one who is living passionately, authentically, and not worried about what people say or think, is the best version of me. And it makes me a better parent. The analogy is putting on your oxygen mask before you help others with theirs. I can be a better mom to them because I’m getting enough oxygen. And hopefully also teaching them that they can and should pursue their heart’s desire.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I grew up in the entertainment industry. From age 2 until about 25 I pursued acting on and off…mostly off. But for the 26 years I didn’t identify myself as an artist I dreamt about it. I incorprated it into my parenting, doing voices and acting out characters when I played with my kids. I consistently paid my SAG dues, maybe knowing in the back of my mind I wasn’t done. Then, at the tender age of 51 I had an epiphone. My kids were older, heading off to college soon and pursuing their own dreams. So why wasn’t I? The only person stopping me was myself. I made the decision and I threw myself 110% into acting, writing, and even producing. The world had changed so much. So many channels, streaming services, and platforms!! As well as the ability to create my own content. I had so much to learn!

I went from zero to sixty, starting Mark McPhersons acting class, learning about the craft as well as the industry. I remember the first scene I worked on my biggest challenge was memorizing the lines. That muscle in my brain had been asleep for so many years. Within the first 9 months I had an agent, manager, I booked a Guest Starring role on The Young and The Restless, and I had written, produced, and starred in my first short film. Sounds easy, right? It wasn’t.

I worked on my craft every day, although they say that if you love what you do it doesn’t feel like work. And it didn’t. But the business side of things? PAINFUL! Promoting myself made me feel like a whore. But how the hell else was anyone gonna know that this 50+ year old was here? I didn’t want to be a producer but if I wanted to make my own content I was going to have to learn fast how to do it. I learned about SAG contracts, shooting in 4k, the value of an amazing 1st AD, how to make a call sheet, and a plethora of other skills I had never even heard of.

And I was hooked. In the four years I have pursued this I have written, starred in, and produced 3 short films, 3 web series (two of which are streaming on SeekaTV and IndieFlix respectively), and a proof of concept for a series that I’m hoping to have someone else produce!

I have an amazing acting manager but roles for women over 50 with my resume are few and far between and that’s been a challenge. Plus, I’m a card carrying member of SAG and apparently the industry changed while I was away and the majority of commercials are non-union. So my biggest challenge is that I don’t get a lot of “at bats” (huge fan of sports analogies). And that can get incredibly frustrating. How do I overcome the frustration and the lack of opportunities? I don’t really.

So I do the things that I can control. I write my own content and I cast my amazingly talented community of actors to star alongside me. And that has been incredibly rewarding.

I liken myself to a post menopausal Phoebe Waller Bridge. My goal being to create authentic, relatable, and funny content for women over 50.

The lessons I have learned and am still learning are to enjoy the journey, relish the process, find hobbies, discover a new skill, in short, live a balanced life.

Because the frustration will eat you alive. What is the point of pursuing your passion if you can’t enjoy it? I’m not saying it’s easy. It absolutely isn’t.

The most important thing I can stress is that it is NEVER too late to start something new, or go back to something old, or move to another country, or start a business, or do ANYTHING that you want.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
As a native Angelino one would think I had the skinny on all of the best places to visit (do people still say “have the skinny?). Up until recently I really didn’t.

Unless you are a mother and you are looking for places to go with your young child. Btw, Travel town is EPIC! But luckily I do have some cool friends who have shown me some great places to visit. Here are my picks of what to do in LA:

Go to the taco truck in my neighborhood (Laurel Canyon and Magnolia) – Tuesday nights are $1.50!

Any hike at Griffith Park, the Hollywood sign is iconic. If you are here for the full moon that is the best time to go.

Cholada Thai food in Malibu. you get a view of the ocean and it truly is the best Thai food I have ever had, and reasonable prices too.

The Beach – Point Dume in Malibu is a nice one.

A midnight show at the New Beverly – Quentin Tarantino owns it and the schedule is diverse and iconic.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I owe everything that I have done to Mark McPherson and the Studio 24 Seven community. Mark is not just an acting coach, but a cheerleader, career guidance counselor, and friend. Without his support, advice, patience I would be a sad sad lady!

Website: https://www.juliephillips.org/

Instagram: @juliephillipsstein

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/julie.p.stein

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBSNaMB3FmYK61KlTZtDNCg

Other: Other Instagram Accounts: @covidbookclubmovie @officialbotheredtv https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9844069/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

Image Credits
Molly Pan