Actress Julie Reifers in film, Lizzy on Leroy Street

Julie’s ability to transform her look allows her to enjoy a wide range of roles. From the Ditzy Blond Bombshell, Soccer Mom to the gritty, edgy, blue collar, low rent drug addict. Julie has a depth of nuance that is most sought after. She can be seen in “The Iliza Shlesinger Sketch Comedy Show” now on Netflix; “The Path” on HULU and Difficult People on HULU. Recently in AMC theaters for the feature “Pickings” as Sexy Mary – now on Amazon Prime. Along with The award winning Film “Misty Button” Written and Directed by Seanie Sugrue.

Your ability to transform your looks has led to a wide range of roles, tell us about your favorite roles?

I enjoy the ability to change my tone and bring show-stopping characters to my roles. I think my favorite roles at this time are “Lizzy on Leroy Street” where I play a homeless woman and, “Gleam” which I won Best Actress at The “Independent Shorts award in LA as Ms. Garcia , an angry condescending, Art teacher who is very hard on one particular student. I can be really mean haha. I loved how the DP caught my eyes and facial expressions.

Tell us about your film “Lizzy on Leroy Street?

This story is based on a couple of homeless people who the creator/producer Ashton Clay and her sister experienced while growing up in Charleston. One was nicknamed aqua lung, whom many knew, which was the inspiration for Nick Nolte’s film “Down and Out in Beverly Hills”. The man was a prominent lawyer, his wife left him and he fell into depression and had mental illness. Ashton’s sister bought him a house but not being used to one, he burnt it down and he ran away. Noone has seen him since. Many galleries have paintings of him in their galleries.

The other was Elizabeth which gave Ashton the inspiration for her film. She was transgender and schizophrenic. Her family disowned her and she lived on the streets. Before she died Ashton’s sister reunited her with her family. It was sweet and emotional.

Every homeless person has a story and a life before they lived on the street, and she wanted to share that with doing this film. Especially now, where homelessness is at its worst, this film is very meaningful. Some people treat the homeless like they are nothing and that is not the case, but some people have hearts and want to help. I kept my character very humbled. She has a story and we are telling it in this film.

How has your past helped you develop your roles?

Past life experiences have made an impact on characterizing my roles to make them more life-like. Certain projects where I have had to cry, I definitely use tools from my toolbox as they say all actors should have. Childhood memories, for most actors, really bring the emotional roles alive, good or bad. Something in my life which impacted me for too many years was always my go to and still is to this day.

Tell us about “The Path” on HuLu?

“The Path” on Hulu was so fun. I played a waitress in a small town diner serving Aaron Paul and Kyle Allen as Eddie and Kyle Lane. It was just a great set to be on. Aaron was soo nice, thanking me for being there. I was like, no, “THANK YOU!! “ I mean… I said it much cooler than that. HAHA. It was quick and fun, but a really nice scene and I made the cut. The entire crew were awesome.

You play Sexy Mary in the feature film “Pickings” Now on amazon prime. What did you love about this character?

As I said before I love character acting and well, Sexy Mary is that. She was the bar fly in a small-town bar and well I think we have seen one like her before. The lady trying to flirt or dance and has black teeth or none for that matter, but still seems to hook up with someone. That was Sexy Mary. So many things I love about this character. The makeup artist blacked out some teeth and blew dry them. That was a first for me.

Many of your short films are or have been in the festival circuits, including Tammy Smoke. Why is this project important to you?

“Tammy Smoke” is the first film I ever produced and with a very tiny budget. I didn’t know anything about producing but I took a chance and we did well. I’d like to turn this into a feature film and am working on getting funding now. One of the executive producers from “Misty Button” will be backing me for sure and I have spoken to a few others. So I will be working on this in 2021 and hope to film by this summer if COVID is over.

Tammy Smoke is based on my life. Embellished a little. A woman who is down on her luck and makes poor decisions throughout her life. She is struggling with alcoholism. I want to rewrite the script and make it more personal to me. We did not have time to explore with the writer/director, Seanie Sugrue, because this was a film challenge and had to have everything finished in two weeks. So I gave him an outline and he wrote what he got out of it and we hired a crew and used actors we were given so he had to write around the actors and their ages, etc, It was a challenge for sure. So this is my baby. After this Seanie wrote a film “Misty Button” a feature film on Amazon now and he brought Tammy Smoke as a character in it. So, Look out for more “Tammy Smoke” in 2021!

Horror is a favorite Genre for you, Tell us about your recent film. How did you prepare for this role?

“Trapped Inside”, a horror film written and directed by Usher Morgan is and I mean really is scary. I hope he makes this into a feature film. It is about Nacy Mash who almost drowns in her tub and when she wakes up, she realizes she is not alone in this tiny eerie bathroom. I play Betty. You have to watch it on Amazon Prime. You won’t be sorry.

Hair, Makeup, and wardrobe are all keys to getting in character for a horror film, especially when you put In the sclera contact lenses. Once those are in and you see yourself, you transform. I also watch other horror films and that helps me as well.

Which role has stretched your abilities as an Actor?

Every role has its challenges. There is one film that was different. I played a dominatrix in a film called Milk and Cookies and had to eat from a whole chicken as I was taunting the sub. No- It was not a porn, just a very funny film which did well in festivals. I wasn’t sure how ro play this and as I was on set the day of, the director kept throwing really crazy things for me to do and I was a good sport and did what I was told, but I won’t ever do any character like that again unless I am paid a fortune.

What’s next?

In 2021, I have few films I did last year that will be coming out soon, “Shelly” Which I shot in Philadelphia, The short “Gleam” which is in festivals and has won many awards is in talks with making it a feature film. Also “Tammy Smoke” is in the Works as well. I plan to tackle writing my own film and hopeful for many auditions. I feel good about 2021!

www.juliereifers.com