Next on the list of casting announcements for Nick Belial’s upcoming crime/thriller film, To Avenge, is the vivacious and gifted Julie Stackhouse. Although I was previously unaware of her expertise and accomplishments within the film and TV industry, I am incredibly elated to see her portray Detective Valerie Bender. In spite of a frenetic schedule that involves acting, producing, and attending classes, Julie was ecstatic to set aside some time recently to chat with me about her past and current successes within the world of entertainment, including her role in this upcoming independent feature.
RH: So happy to get to chat with you, Julie, thank you for making the time today.
JS: My pleasure, Ruth. Thank you for reaching out.
Are you originally from the Philadelphia area?
I actually grew up outside the city, but I’ve been in Philly for about ten years now.
How did you get involved with acting?
For me, acting was a way for me to get outside of myself and my surroundings. When I was about ten years old, I got bullied a lot. So I feel like that definitely gave me an excuse to become somebody else. I realize that may sound sad when I say it like that.
No, actually I understand. I’ve heard similar stories to that.
At first, I did stage acting. I was acting in church plays and community theater. I did that up until high school. I decided at that point to take a break for a bit. Then I heard about a school called Southwest Philadelphia, and I ended up attending there. That got me involved in film and TV, and since then, that’s been my primary focus in acting for the past four or five years.
I understand you have a dance background as well.
I do, and while it was brief, it is something I always like to mention just as another set of skills and as a creative outlet. It’s nice to be able to have talents that go beyond just acting.
A lot of actors I have interviewed seem to either have dance or music experience, and I think that makes perfect sense.
After all, dance and movement are a huge part of acting. I think it enhances what you do on stage or on the screen. It’s vital to understand the way your body moves and how that connects to your character. I think dancing can only help you in the field of acting.
What do you consider your first professional TV or movie credit?
I like to say that I started calling myself an actor when I got my first paycheck. I feel like it’s a rite of passage–these Investigation Discovery shows. My first professional job was on one of those shows. It was called A Perfect Murder. When I go back and watch my performance on that show, it’s amazing how far I’ve come. I’ve grown so much as an actor since then. But that is what I consider my first official job in the business and when I became a full-time actor. I no longer saw acting as a side job. In order to get the job, I had to go to New York and audition, and while it wasn’t my first New York audition, it was the first role I got and was able to book and get paid for.
I have talked to other actors who have gotten their starts on similar shows.
It does seem to be a place for a lot of actors to get their start, and regardless, I am grateful for the opportunity. Following this show, I was able to do a bunch of other things in the business. I was supposed to be in Fight Valley, but I had a conflict that kept me from playing a character in the movie. I had some stuff I had to do in New York, so it didn’t work out.
I feel like after The Perfect Murder, doors were opened for me to do more features. While short movies are fun, I have to say that I prefer doing features when I can. I think what I like about features is that you’re on the journey longer. It gives you the opportunity to delve into the character a bit more. And the cast really becomes a family on set the more that you’re there together.
I understand. It seems like most short films are done in a day’s worth of filming.
Oh yeah, definitely.
What are the more notable projects that are coming up for you?
They Are Strangers
Well, They Are Strangers is a feature film that Tom Schmit, with whom I have a production company called Bufad Cinema, and I helped produce while also being the lead characters in it. We worked alongside another production company that brought us on halfway through production to help produce it. It was quite a journey. We finished filming over a year ago, and then went through a good nine months of editing. We had the screening and then threw it into the festival circuit.
I notice The Upside Dancer is also listed in your credits.
Yes, that’s with Bryan Cranston, Nicole Kidman, and Kevin Hart. That movie opportunity came to Philly, and that was kind of like a fluke. The dancer part was just a featured part; it’s not a speaking part. They actually held auditions for that part on set. I was standing in for somebody else; that was my job at the time. They needed someone to dance with Kevin, Bryan, and Nicole. They needed this dancer in the middle of the three while this party was going on. The director, Neil Burger, who also directed Limitless, he asked on set, “With a show of hands, who here has dance experience?” I raised my hand, even though I wasn’t really acting on set, and he just did auditions right then and there. And it just so happened that he chose me. So that was a fun little experience.
What is the status of this film now?
It actually has been affected by the Weinstein scandal. It’s one of the movies that Miramax has held back; it’s one of three as a matter of fact. It was supposed to be released in March. The release date now is unknown.
Well, that’s a shame, but we’ll hope that one day it gets released. It looks like an amazing story and a great cast.
Oh, it’s a phenomenal cast and my favorite movie. It’s a true story, but it was originally a French film called The Untouchables. And it just so happens that The Untouchables is one of my favorite movies, but it’s in French. That version was made in 2008. Then they made a very quick English remake because the French version won so many awards. It made me nervous at first when they announced they were redoing it because the original one is so beautiful. I didn’t want them to ruin it. Then when the film came to Philly, I was willing to see how it went. Hopefully, we’ll see it sometime in the near future.
What about this movie Backfire?
Backfire is a feature film that is on Amazon, iTunes, and probably any other streaming service you can name. Dave Patton was originally from Philly, but he’s based in LA now. He wrote and directed this film that was originally called The Wrong Guy. It’s about this guy and girlfriend out on a date. They get mugged, and the girlfriend dies. So the movie is about this guy getting revenge on the person who shot him and his girlfriend. I play the girlfriend, so at the very beginning of the movie, I have a lovely death scene. It’s very well-done, and Dave is phenomenal. As far as I know, they did the LA premiere a few months before they did the Philly premiere. He edited the whole thing too. This is a feature, and the turnaround time is typically six months to a year in post-production, and he turned it around in three months. It’s one of the best films I’ve seen to come out of Philly. I would say what sets it apart is the cast has more experience than a lot of casts that come out of this area, and the acting is pretty on point in this one. It’s definitely a film I’m proud to be a part of.
I also wanted to ask you about Right Before Your Eyes.
Right Before Your Eyes is a story about a father who’s an alcoholic and has an autistic son. It is about his journey, and it’s a Christian-based film. It’s about the journey of this father as he is becoming the man that he should be for his son. The story is based on the director’s life. He has an autistic son, and I guess earlier in his life, he had some troubles and then found the Lord and turned his life around. This is another film I’m proud to be part of. I play the manager of the main character, and I am the one who uncovers the fact that he is still drinking and has been lying to me and to everyone else the whole time. The trailer has been released or will be released soon, and I think they’re planning to have a cast screening before they figure out distribution and festivals. I think they are also raising funds for post-production.
I believe one thing I’ve learned since I am a part of a production company is to have an appreciation for every stage of production on a film. Our company knows about being a part of it every step of the way. They Are Strangers was our first feature film, and we’re definitely going to be doing more. Actually shooting the film is the least of your problems; that’s the fun part. Pre-production and post-production are where things can get bogged down. Getting from the script to the screen and making sure it translates well…that’s the hard part.
So how did you get involved with the upcoming project, To Avenge?
I had known Nick {Belial} from before. We had met on a project where he was just doing still photography. He’s such a sweet guy. He had mentioned To Avenge a year, maybe two years ago. He was talking about possibly doing this film. He said he’d had some people in mind already for certain roles, and with me, he had pictured me as Detective Valerie Bender. He always thought I had the look of a detective. He said that I reminded him of Agent L from Men In Black, and that is how he imagined the character when he was writing her. We had a few conversations about the character and the film.
Later, we got to talking about how to make the film To Avenge a SAG film because he knew I’d already gone through that process with our production company. And that is when we began talking about the film again and the idea of me being in it. He offered the part to me if I was still interested, and if I were interested, Nick said we’d make it official. Now, I don’t just do a movie because a friend has offered me a role. I always want to make sure that everything is handled the right way. So I told Nick to send the script to my manager. I also wanted to read the part for Nick so that he could make sure he was making the right decision. We were still working out all the details, but because we had talked about it so much and we trust each other…I said, “If there is some kind of issue with the script or my role, we can always talk about it and it’ll work itself out.” I had always wanted to play a detective, so I was like, “Sign me up! I’m on board!”
So what can you tell us about Detective Valerie Bender?
Well, Valerie does play an instrumental part in the course of how Vera goes on this journey after being attacked. I have to break it to her that “it is what it is,” and that’s kind of how Taarna gets involved. Valerie is the lead detective on the case after Vera gets attacked. She is along for this journey, and sort of in a rock and a hard place because she knows that the brothers are guilty, but the way things pan out is unfortunately how a lot of cases like this pan out. Whether it’s money involved or people getting paid off, things like this do happen in the real world. So Valerie is rather besieged by that internal conflict. How that will be resolved within her is something that the audience will have to watch for and discover.
I realize there are still plenty of details to work out, but thankfully, Nick and I have had great discussions and worked out so much between us for such a long period of time now. I am confident that Nick is doing his research, especially with the background of the production company and the technical aspects of production value. I can see what they have done so far, and the caliber of everything he’s bringing to the scene is just so fantastic, even location-wise. So it really wasn’t a hard decision for me to say “yes,” especially since this role is a character I have always wanted to play.
From what I can tell, I would say you definitely have the right look to be a detective. You look like someone who is in charge and nobody’s gonna cross you. If it’s within your power, you’re going to take care of the situation. And if you are unable to resolve the situation, it will be one of those things that will be hard for you to let it go. That’s what I see in you, and I’m sure Nick would agree.
Thank you, I hope so. The kind of character you described is what I think of as the fun kind of characters. Maybe the conflict is not on the surface, but characters that have an internal struggle are always the ones I find to be the most intriguing. I actually attend school right now at Playhouse West-Philadelphia, and that has helped introduce me to the right way to go about acting in film and TV. I feel like a lot of characters I do in film and scene work have those underlying conflicts within themselves, which is an opportunity to bring more layers to the character. Even knowing this tidbit about myself as being the one who wants to be the defender of those who have serious, inner struggles already makes this show incredibly exciting for me. I can hardly wait to play Valerie Bender, and I hope to really do justice to this role. I’m very excited to get going on the filming of this project!
I can imagine. I think this movie is very timely and has an important message, and Nick wrote it long before the “Me Too” movement become a thing.
I agree. Especially in light of “Me Too,” this movie is completely relevant. It’s been relevant for a long time, but it’s only now gone to the forefront of things. It’s definitely an important topic, and I’m very excited to be a part of this project.
I’m so excited for you guys to start filming To Avenge. And I love getting to interview the supporting cast. Don’t get me wrong; I love the leads of any film, but I love to get the perspective of those who are in the supporting cast as well and let them tell their stories.
I love that you do that, Ruth. Like they say in this business, you’re really only one role away from your big break. You just never know when that’s gonna happen. One of the hardest things to deal with in this business is the way you look. You can have all the talent in the world, but if you don’t have the look the casting director is looking for, you will get passed over. It can be a rough business. Every time you get a role, you’ve beaten someone else out for that role. Or if you lose out on the role, someone else has gotten the role. It’s hard not to take it personally when you don’t land a role, but it’s something you have to learn how to do in order to make it in this business.
The way I deal with rejection is that I see it as a tool. Sure, it hurts, but everything that I do or that happens to me is part of the human experience. You want to be truthful in your acting. And everything, including rejection and self-esteem issues, all of those feelings can become a part of who you are as an actress and make a character that much more rich. I welcome rejection. {laughs} The more rejection that I have, the more opportunities that I’ve got.
What an amazing perspective you have, Julie. I am so glad that you were willing to share your outlook with my readers and me today. And I want to wish you all the best as we await your role in To Avenge.
Thank you, Ruth, for all your support. I have no doubt this is going to be one of the most amazing projects ever, and I am very eager to start filming, just like the rest of the cast is.
Julie is easily one of the most pragmatic young women with whom I have ever had the opportunity to speak, especially in the world of independent film. She has no delusions of fame nor fortune, and she is willing to invest limitless energy and boundless resources in a career which seeks to chip away at the very core of one’s dignity and self-respect through countless rejections and pitfalls scattered along the jarring road to success. In spite of any negativity that has attempted to thwart her plans for a viable career in the world of entertainment, her realistic positivity and universal enthusiasm have carried her through those difficult times. This woman is not afraid of work; on the contrary, I would venture to say that she thrives on it. She is as refreshingly humble and down-to-earth as one would ever desire from an artist of her caliber, and she expects nothing to be handed to her on a silver platter. She is willing to prove herself many times over, but she also warrants a degree of respect as she continues to invest herself fully in every part of production from acting to editing to writing and more. She has more than paid her dues to get where she is now, but she is still a kind, generous soul who makes it a point to get along with everyone else and not boast about her accomplishments nor rest on her laurels. Indeed, this is a woman who is a class act in the truest sense of the word, and having her as part of the cast of To Avenge is going to raise the quality of this film astronomically.
While we await the commencement of the filming process, I invite everyone to check out all of Julie’s links below as well as those for the To Avenge itself. While I have never met Julie in the flesh, there is no doubt in my mind that her presence on set alone will seek to cement the cast in a way that only someone with her special charismatic quality can achieve. Even though Detective Valerie Bender is a supporting cast member, I am comprehensively convinced that amidst Julie immersing herself within this vibrant character, she will raise the bar of this film to unbelievable levels! (And by the way, once you combine her gifts with the abilities of the magnificent company that is already attached to this project, it boggles the imagination to even begin to comprehend the stupendous nature and top-notch quality of this project that Nick Belial has crafted and cast!)
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in the festival circuit. We filmed that at least a year ago, but then we edited it for a good nine months. Then it had a screening, and then we threw it in the festival circuit.
