JEWELIANNA RAMOS-ORTIZ TALKS BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE

Interviewed by Culture Coast Talks editor Daniel John. Interview transcripts might have been edited for length and clarity.

You walked into film by doing martial arts and stunt work but you also did a bit of theatre early on?

I was definitely a theatre geek! I even did theatre competitions when I was in high school. I actually was planning on going to college to get my Bachelor of Fine Arts in drama but martial arts was my truest passion and it took so much of my time and energy as I became a world champion I had to put all my eggs in that basket in order to defend my titles and continue to grow in the sport that had my heart!

What does preparation as a stuntwoman look like. Is it essentially about always being prepared for what a character might require of you, or are there specifics that go into the role which you approach as any actor would?

It’s exactly that! We train a little bit of all skills because many times we get booked to work the following day and we don’t even get told our action until we show up to set, you have to be prepared to rock and roll whichever way they ask you to. For bigger stunts they give you notice, like for 'Beetlejuice' she asked if I was comfortable on bikes and if I felt comfortable doing near misses with cars on a bike, as soon as I heard that I started training on a bike to be best prepared for Jennas stunts. In the stunt-world you stay ready so you do not have to get ready and that’s what makes a performer hireable, they are putting in the work even when they aren’t on set getting a paycheck.

Tim Burton films have a renowned, iconic legacy. What was your relationship to his work and perhaps to 'Beetlejuice' in particular before becoming part of it?

Wow, this is my favorite question because I can remember it so vividly my dad putting the 'Beetlejuice' DVD into my player on a car ride when I was six and my mom asking him, “Is that movie appropriate for her”, nonetheless it was on replay, it immediately became my favorite movie! So many of Tim Burtons movies have been my favorites his creativity resonated with me, his imagination basically raised me. Needless to say, to be a part of his legacy, to be a part of 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' and to so closely interact, laugh and hug Tim Burton himself was an honor and a memory I will never forget.

Going more into acting yourself is there anything that you have learned from the actors you have worked with?

I am an observer. And a part of my job as stunt double is to study my actress and her mannerisms and how they portray the character we are both playing, through that study I have learned to stay true to your gut and speak up because filmmaking is collaborative, the best things in film have come from collective tidbits on everyone’s part, and I have also really learned to see how the smallest details help to tell a story, I will never underestimate the power of a twitching finger, purposeful breathing or even the way your eyes dart around to bring a character to life.

You have a big role in the second part of ‘Cobra Kai’ Season 6?

So excited for you guys to meet my character Maria on part two of season six, which is coming out November 15. To be playing a hispanic, badass female martial artist in the legendary 'Cobra Kai' series, which is modeled after what my entire life has been, is so fitting and it feels so good to get to help tell a story so near and dear to me.

Any other work you're excited for people to see?

'Red One'! In theaters November 15 as well! I got to play so many different fun roles on this. But specifically working next to The Rock and Chris Evans doing the motion capture for Agent Penguin, it was a blast doing crazy fight moves as a penguin waddling around and sliding around on my belly! (Laughs) I also got to play some extra stunt roles so if you might see a familiar face in other scenes as well.

What kind of a career do you hope to see when you look back one day?

I want to look back and see that I stuck to my core beliefs and that I used my love for storytelling to show that being beautiful and badass is not mutually exclusive, but that they can coexist. I want to leave behind something that inspires women, latinos, athletes, martial artists, anyone that feels underrepresented to go for it to dream big and to hustle harder.