New York based actress Julie Shin has been creating a global presence for many years in the world of film and television. The South Korean-Australian actress, who speaks in English and Korean kicked off her career by enrolling in the Playwrights Horizons Theater School for two years as a Tisch undergraduate under the guidance of Jedidiah Schultz.
One of her career standout moments has been working on the movie ‘ntrovert Club headed to the Texas Film Festival. We chatted with Julie to talk about that experience.
Hey Julie! You’ve been up to so much recently. Tell us about working on Introvert Club.
Hi! So, the mini synopsis of Introvert Club is based around a reserved, introverted writer’s path who collides with an unstoppable, fiery, extroverted actress who makes it her mission to coax the writer’s inner extrovert into the spotlight.
How did you get involved?
As for my involvement, I actually was introduced to the director Vered through my producer Ramfis (who I frequently work with) Myrthil. I was in the midst of reading Vered’s feature romantic comedy script and I gave her my guidance on her script as a fellow writer and sent her an email with my notes. Vered saw my email and my e-signature where I have my “actor/writer/director/filmmaker” title, my website, and Tisch degree on it and clicked on the sites to learn that I was also an actor. And from there, we ended up connecting through that Facetime call. I think thus far, it was probably the most unconventional way in which I got cast for a role. And it was also the case for her. According to her words, I was “one out of the 400 people” she met with, and I am still incredibly grateful to have gotten the opportunity to work with her.
What character do you play?
I play the lead role of Juliet Small.
Are you anything like your character?
I think my character as Juliet was precisely what I experienced a lot of in 2023. Because I also do producing work with producer Ramfis Myrthil, I was getting into a lot of networking events/film festivals like the Cannes Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, and now Sundance. I am one of the greatest introverts I know, and it was too challenging at first for me to step inside these rooms with established filmmakers and artists to form relationships with; I didn’t know where to start. I remember the first ever networking salon I attended was a HRTS Hollywood Radio & TV Society event as a JHRTS member and I had to take a couple moments to myself before I stepped inside the room. And as terrified as I was to introduce myself to so many people, I also left the event feeling ever so grateful and amazed at how much fun it was to purely connect with good people. And since then, I also developed my skills to form genuine connections with filmmakers and now have the strongest, most expansive network of friends in the film industry that I could ever have had. Juliet also, like myself, has this realization by the end of the film that all it takes to network is to be yourself, regardless of whether you are an introvert or extravert. And I think that my experiences with the character blended together so effortlessly.
How did you prepare for the role?
It’s funny because I ended up being cast for this role after the director already had another girl, she casted prior to discovering me about a month before shooting. I remember the “audition” we had was based on an iPhone Facetime conversation and readings of a couple of lines with my director, Vered Rodriguez, where she realized that she had a change of heart and wanted to cast me. And the next day, she and the producer agreed to have me take on the role of Juliet Small. From being cast, I recall receiving the script and building an imaginary set of what I thought a film festival would look like. And I took time to breathe inside this imaginary place. Because Juliet’s character has a panic attack and struggles to navigate her ways into a room like this, I think I took a lot of moments of silence to envision how daunting/intimidating it would feel to be in a place where I had no idea who anybody was. Since a lot of the filmmakers were in Houston, we didn’t get much time to rehearse but I do remember this one time where we all collectively hopped on a Zoom meeting to go through the script together. I remember there being a lot of laughs, jokes (especially as a comedy film), and I think I knew at that moment that we were all going to have a lot of fun.
Where was the movie filmed?
This project was locked to shoot in Houston, Texas. As I was based in New York, the filmmakers flew me out to Houston for the production. The shooting location was in one area, and I believe it was an independent cinema so all the scenes/locations we filmed took place within that one building.
Can you tell us one thing someone may not know about you?
Ok! I drink around 4-5 cups of black coffee a day. I used to be a barista in Singapore at the age of 17 and have not stopped drinking coffee since then.
We can relate to coffee! What’s coming up next for you?
As I am drafting this, I will be acting as a lead talent for a commercial piece for a production company that is set to launch in the next couple of days. I just reviewed the creative deck and am incredibly excited to work with my filmmaker family on a meaningful piece for a company.
I’m also currently writing a script for a film about figure skating and what it means to be a Korean American figure skater. My two best friends were competitive figure skaters for 15 and 17 years until they had to let it go. It’s a story I would love to write about and explore and eventually shoot. You will be able to see me act in this film too, of course.
Many thanks to Julie Shin for taking the time for this interview. You can follow Julie on her Instagram, IMDb and her website.
