ED- The Eerie Digest believes that every career starts by making the first serious steps towards it. This is true of actress Julie Manriquez who we would like to present to our readers. Julie, tell us about your hopes and dreams for this career.
JM- My dreams is to have the opportunity to achieve personal success.
I would like to be able to work with some of the most creative and talented people in the entertainment industry and to contribute my talents and abilities to that end. To make my mark on the industry and to be a part of productions that will be memorable and viewed as innovative and high quality bodies of work.
ED- What enticed you to start down this road?
JM- As a young child I dreamed of one day becoming an actor but I never pursued it because my parents did not like the idea of Hollywood and the acting scene. When I reached my early 20’s I still considered pursuing my dream of one day becoming an actor but felt like I had no connections and knew nothing about the business. But this changed in 2008 when actor coach/producer/writer/director and friend Steven G. Lowe asked me if I would ever consider being an actor. I felt like this was a sign; like this was exactly what I needed, a good friend who I trust (Steven), who could give me sound advise, confirmation that I have the ability and coaching to help me develop my skills. I felt like it was time to pursue my childhood dream.
ED- How did you get your start, and tell us about your training?
JM- Steven has played a huge role in my acting career. He has taught me everything I know. He has been my acting coach in The Actor’s Room for two years now and he is one of the industries best personalization coach who has worked with several ‘A’ list actors. In addition to my weekly acting classes at The Actor’s Room, I regularly schedule private acting sessions with my coach. The combination of regular classes and private sessions have taken my acting abilities to the next level. With the help of my coach I was signed by my agent Ross Grossman with Affinity Talent Agency in March of 2010.
ED- What was the first role that you played?
JM-The first project I worked on was for a non-profit pregnancy clinic in West LA with writer/director Brian Godawa (To End All Wars) and actor Patricia Heaton (Everybody Loves Raymond). I played the role of a young lady who just found out she was pregnant and was considering abortion but thanks to the information this clinic provided she was able to make the right choice.
ED- How did this role encourage you to continue in your quest?
JM- This was a very exciting project to work on because I had only been taking acting classes for one month and I didn’t know very much about being on set. The crew was
very kind and helpful and they made me feel comfortable on set. The experience of being onset for this small/non-profit production provided me with valuable experience and my first bit of “real” exposure to the film industry.
ED- Tell us about your experience in hosting a music chanel.
JM- This was another fun project that I was able to work on was for a Spanish speaking music video channel. I am blessed to be bilingual (English/Spanish) and it is a great help in this industry because it enables me to do work in the Spanish speaking market as well, which means I have more castings opportunities. For this show I was a host introducing new music videos and sharing information about the musicians. Funny thing was that I wasn’t familiar with any of the musicians or music videos that I was presenting. This is what acting is all about. I was able to act interested and enthusiastic about this particular genre of music.
ED- You were also in a few commercials. Tell our readers about this experience.
JM- This year I was able to work on an iphone app commercial where I played the lead role. The production crew “Alfa Smog” who filmed and produced the commercial was amazing and they gave me the opportunity to really be creative and find my way for the scenes that I was in. I felt like I was able to use the training and techniques that I had leaned with confidence. I look forward to working with this talented crew again on upcoming productions.
ED-You just received your first real role in the film ‘Resurrection of Serious Rogers’. Tell us about this production and the theme behind it.
JM- The most recent project I worked on is a film called “Resurrection of Serious Rogers” written and directed by Angelo Bell and filmed and edited by James Rhodimer.
This is a neo-noir action thriller, neo noir is a “new take or twist on the noir genre”
This film is about an assassin who discovers that the only way to go straight is to kill everyone who stands in her way. When the main character “Serious Rogers”, an assassin who decides to get out of the business, rescues her next contract kill, she starts a chain of events making her the target of a rogue FBI agent, a corrupt senator and a gang of ruthless killers.
ED- What role did you play?
JM- The character I play is Naomi Falls. She was a corrupt business woman, a millionaires and a powerful lobbyist in D.C. who Serious threw off a park bridge.
ED- What film genre would you be most interested in playing a part in?
JM- My favorite genres include; action, drama and suspense. Which might seem strange to the people who know me, because I’m the type of person who always has a smile on her face and loves to laugh and joke around. But when it comes to acting I love the
challenge of playing the intense dramatic roles that will really put my acting abilities on display.
ED- Where do you see your career going in the next five years, and are there any new roles for you in the near future?
JM- In the next five years I hope to be working along side the top actors, writers, directors and producers in the industry. I would like to be able to dedicate my full time efforts to pursuing my career and dream of being a working actor.
ED- Julie, it has been a real pleasure talking with you and we wish you much luck with all your endeavors. Thank you for spending your time with us and we hope to hear more from you in the months ahead.
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