Tell about yourself and your background! *
I grew up in gymnastics for 18 years, and competed through level 10. After I graduated high school I went to College at the University of Nebraska to pursue acting with a focus on movement to become a stunt actor. After 3 1/2 years of school, I got my first stunt job on a live show in China and it kicked off my stunt career. Since China, I’ve worked for Cirque du Soleil as a stunt woman and developed an interest in falls, fights, and fire. I started my own all female fire burn team called Flame On in 2021 to spread the knowledge and experience of fire. I have always been interested in the chemistry that goes into understanding burns. Since then, we have trained consistently until we have all become equally capable of performing, prepping, and safetying. Now my focus has been drawn back to acrobatic stunts such as high falls, wire work, and wrecks.
What inspired you to become a stunt performer?
I was inspired by my professors at the University of Nebraska who helped encourage my love of performance through movement. Since then, there have been such passionate and strong individuals within our industry who inspire me daily to push myself to reach my fullest potential.
What is your greatest skill as a stunt performer, is there a stunt behind it?
My greatest skill as a stunt performer is my air awareness. I constantly work on trampoline and flying trapeze to keep my awareness sharp. This is my most solid foundation and helps me train all of my wrecks, wires, and high falls.
What is the best part about being a stunt performer?
The best part, for me, about being a stunt performer is getting to fly in the air for a living. It’s all I wanted to do as a kid and I didn’t even know it was possible to do it as a job. Little Julia would be so excited to know what Big Julia gets to do for work.
Tell your all-time favorite stunt story!
My favorite stunt that I’ve gotten to do was being thrown over a balcony about 14 feet high, but having to land on a pad that was less than half the size of a mattress. My entire body couldn’t fit on the pad completely flat. It was a 16” pad but the surface area was so small that any miscalculation could have me missing the pad. When we walked over to set, the coordinator saw my eyes as we approached the pad and told me that the reason he chose me out of everyone on our team was because he knew I was the one that could do this and hit the pad every time. It was my first time working with a big coordinator but I didn’t want that to cloud my judgement. He explained how he wanted the fall to go and asked me if I thought I could do it.After considering my body position on the landing to be able to hit the pad, considering the fall and the accuracy required to do a faceoff, sideways over the balcony. I said yes. It was the perfect opportunity to put my training to the test. Everything I’ve trained for in terms or awareness, accuracy, and specificity was being challenged. It was my first time on a big budget set. In that moment, I finally felt like a professional stunt woman. I did the fall 15 times. Landing perfectly how I’d decided to land every time. It wasn’t the hardest or most extravagant stunt that I’ve done to date, but it was important to me because it proved that everything I’d decided to focus my training on was paying off. It was a really special moment.
What advice would you give other stunt performers?
My advice to other stunt performers is to remember the joy in this craft. We get the privilege of doing one of the most fun jobs out there, and people can forget how awesome it really is. If you aren’t happy in stunts, why are you doing it? There’s a certain level of crazy you have to be to jump out of a four story building, so just make sure you love what you do.
Please share your social media handles and how we can follow you!
Instagram: @juliaelizabethstunts
Please include any links to stunt reels or videos you'd like to share!
Stunt Reel: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O43DJIWS0YU
Flame-On Reel: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=urYrCIT9Oxk
