Actress Julia Reilly On Dream Roles, Love Of Music, And Working On ‘Stranger Things’

She just made her Netflix debut!

Young actress Julia Reilly is quickly making a name for herself. She even recently starred as the fan-favorite character ‘Tammy Thompson’ in Season 4 of Netflix’s “Stranger Things”.

We had the amazing honor of talking with Julia about graduating college, biggest acting inspirations, and more!

When did you first realize that you wanted to pursue a career in acting?

J: “Acting and performing has always been a part of my life. My mom put me in dance when I was around 3 years old, and then I auditioned for my first musical when I was 7. I had no idea what I was doing, but it was so much fun, and I just never stopped. As the film industry started to grow in Atlanta, I was drawn to film and television acting as a teenager. I decided there was no other career I saw myself pursuing and loving as much, so here I am now!”

You recently starred in Netflix’s “Stranger Things”. What was that experience like for you?

J: “It was surreal. It still feels like a dream. I was lucky in that I auditioned for Tammy Thompson in April of 2021 and was on set a few weeks later. Most of the other new cast members were cast pre-covid and had to sit on it a long time. Everyone was so welcoming and excited to create the look for Tammy. I tried to soak in every second and am so grateful for the experience. It was the first huge production I’ve worked on, so I learned a lot but also weirdly felt so at home. I’ve received many DMs and seen tweets about how Tammy made people laugh, so I’m glad she could bring a smile amidst the darkened, Vecna world of season 4.”

Do you have any stories of being on set?

J: “A fun fact is that the hair department initially made Tammy a red head, but after the Duffer Brothers saw the look, they decided Tammy should be blonde since there were already other red heads on the show.   Although it was fun to see myself as a red head for a few hours, I was happy with the change as I’m used to my blonde hair anyway ha-ha 🙂 I also think about the avocado toast from that set literally every day.  

As far as singing the anthem goes, I did so many different takes. A lot of them sounded far worse than what made the cut on the show. I’ve been a trained singer since I was a kid, so it was fun to go into this role and throw all of that out the window. The rest of the cast and crew were cracking up during most of my takes, so it was definitely hard to hold it together. I kind of had to blur everyone out to stay in character.”

Is there a type of character/role that you’ve always wanted to play?

J: “Anything dramatic. I get so excited by roles that have layers and turns.  The process of digging deep and finding a creative way to tell the story drives me. I love high budget movies with special effects, but I also see myself doing more narrative projects, perhaps that start on the independent level. There’s a lot of freedom in indie films. Another dream role would be to play the younger version of a musical artist in a biopic type of film. Despite how tone-deaf Tammy Thompson is, I’m constantly singing and write a lot of my own songs and love to play the guitar, ukulele, and piano.  I also get compared to Kate Winslet from her Titanic days and would LOVE to play her daughter someday.”

You recently graduated from the University of Georgia. What was that experience like for you?

J: “I looooved UGA and the town of Athens. There’s an energy there that is unmatched, especially on game days. Not to mention we were the National Football Champions this year, so that was a pretty awesome way to finish out college. I transferred to the University of Georgia from the University of Arizona going into my junior year of college. I began my college career at the University of Arizona with a scholarship in the BFA Acting program.  I loved my time in Arizona, but I missed being close to the acting opportunities in Atlanta that were difficult to pursue from across the country. Both were very different but great college experiences. I ultimately wanted to go to college to gain life experience and independence, and I can confidently say, I learned so much. I don’t think college is for everyone pursuing an acting career (or other types of careers), but it was a great decision for my personal growth. There were times it was hard to balance last minute auditions with schoolwork, so I really tried to figure out the art of not procrastinating. Let’s just say, I could have used some more work in that area when it came to school, but I made it through and graduated with honors!”

Who would you say are your biggest acting inspirations?

J: “This is always a hard question. There are so many actors I admire. Meryl Streep, Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Florence Pugh, the list goes on. They are all amazingly talented and versatile.  They can tell so many stories and don’t get stuck in a “type”.  Ideally, I will get the opportunities as my career grows to live many lives and tell a wide array of stories.”

What are your biggest goals for your acting career? 

J: “Ultimately, I want to be a self-sufficient working actor. I’ve heard so many people say if you see yourself doing anything else, do that instead. However, I don’t see myself pursuing any career other than acting.  Each audition is an opportunity to grow and play, and I never want to lose that hunger and excitement. Acting is not the easiest path to choose.  There is a lot of rejection, but I try to learn from every experience.  No matter how small the project, I learn and make new friends along the way.  All that being said, I do hope that the more I get under my belt will also turn into bigger projects. Music has also been a major part of my life.  I don’t see that being my primary path, but I would love to record some of my songs and put them “out there”.  Then I can hopefully redeem myself with my voice teachers after that Tammy Thompson vocal performance.”

Where can we follow your amazing journey? 

J: “The main social media I’m active on is instagram! You can follow me @juliagracereilly. I’ve also been known to post a goofy TikTok or two also @juliagracereilly.”

We are so excited to see what she does next!

Je’Kayla Crawford– Founder and Director– Je’Kayla has been a journalist for years and decided to start a publication of her own, New Scene. When not helping her team and working on the monthly issues, you can find her watching a movie on Netflix or baking using a viral Tasty recipe.