JULIA TOLCHIN TALKS THE LEGEND OF JUAN JOSE MUNDO
"Pam needs her own spinoff series"
Daniel John
Set in suburban New York in ’84, 'The Legend of Juan Jose Mundo' follows the arrival of a charismatic, larger-than-life Spanish exchange student whose presence shakes up the lives and romantic entanglements of the girls around him. What made this script feel totally radical to you?
First of all, I love a period piece, any period really. I think it’s such a fun layer to add to character development, and it can create this really special connection for an audience. I could hear the music, see the sets, and picture the costumes jumping off the page as I read the script. And, as you can see, the team absolutely nailed it in production. I also loved the ensemble nature of the story. While the film definitely follows Juan and Julie, this whole gaggle of high school characters felt so imperative to the world and to the story itself, and that really drew me in. And while Juan may be the titular character, at its heart, this is really Julie’s story. I think there’s something totally rad about seeing a coming-of-age story told so fully from a young woman’s perspective.
Dressed for the eighties as Pam Greenberg, how did you see Pam and her place in the story?
Pam’s fashion is such a huge part of her personality. Getting to work with our incredible costume team to find the right pieces for her really helped me understand who she was and why she dresses the way she does, attention, duh! Even though we only see Pam for a short amount of time, I think she represents a type of girl we can all relate to and, at times, probably all have been. Someone who desperately wants to be seen, noticed, and connected to other people, but maybe doesn’t always know the healthiest or easiest path to get there. Susan, Michael, and I would always joke that Pam needs her own spinoff series. It would be all about fashion, drama, and the scandalous situations a young woman might find herself in while on the quest to be seen.
This film brings a very John Hughes-esque blueprint to New York, whereas Hughes's filmmaking is strongly associated with the Chicago suburbs he grew up in. What influence do you think growing up in New York had on you in your storytelling life?
Being a New Yorker is such a deep part of who I am, so I’m always drawn to stories set in New York. I mean, who wouldn’t be? It’s the greatest place in the world. A very New York thing to say. There’s a reason so many of our favorite movies are set there. The city has this inherent sense of magic to it, you never know who you’re going to meet, what you’re going to discover, or what might be waiting for you behind a door. It makes you feel like anything can happen. I think New Yorkers also have this particular combination of uniqueness, resilience, and authenticity that I don’t think you quite get anywhere else. We don’t really know how to be anything other than honest, and we definitely don’t know how to do anything but keep going. This makes for good stories and, I think, great people. I try to bring that same sense of, “We have no idea what’s going to happen next, but she’s going to keep going” into every character I play.
You were eight when you told your mom you wanted to be in a play, what was it that made you say that?
Oh, this is such a silly story! When I was about seven or eight, my grandmother took me and my little sister to see a production of 'Peter Pan'. In that production, Tinker Bell was played by this little light. I assume it was the stage manager was using some kind of laser from the booth but, to me, it was magic. My mom had me in ballet classes at the time and one day she had bought me this little ballet slipper bag and everything in my little body knew I brokeheartedly and bullheadedly had to tell her I didn't want to be a ballerina, I wanted to be in a play! I wanted to be a part of the tinkerbell magic. Although, looking back, I do wish I had stuck with ballet a little longer!
What was your first play, and subsequent roles after that, which allowed you to discover what acting really was?
After that, my first real role was Chava in a production of 'Fiddler on the Roof'. And on opening night, I got the flu. But I knew the show must go on! So, with a hundred-degree fever and some puking offstage, I performed my opening night. I was not going to let my cast down. I think that experience taught me very early on just how much of a team sport this job really is. It takes resilience, commitment, and a willingness to give everything you have physically and mentally to tell a story together. We use every part of who we are and what we’re made of to do this work. I think from that moment on, my parents probably realized that this was something I was going to be doing for the rest of my life.
You spent the early part of this year on stage, performing in a production called 'Burl'. What do you find in theatre that you perhaps still don’t get from working on screen, that keeps you close to the stage?
Yes! I was so grateful to get to star in and produce the world premiere of 'Burl', written by my incredible friend Amanda Dacks. The play follows a young couple from ages seven to thirty, always returning to an oak tree that they have claimed as their place. As they grow, the tree becomes a reflection of the shift from innocence to obligation and of all the ways growing up and society change us. It was so fun! But, I genuinely love both theatre and film. I would actually die if I had to choose between them because they offer such different things that I love. But what keeps pulling me back to the stage is that team-sport element. When something is live, anything can happen. You go into a performance with a very specific plan, and then something unexpected happens and someone else has to pick up the ball. I love that. There is this incredible level of connection, trust, and utter presence between your castmates and the audience. I also love getting to tell someone’s story from beginning to end in one sitting. In theatre, you get to experience that entire journey with a character every single night from the first moment to the very last. There’s something really exciting about having to give yourself over to the moment fully and completely.
What roles would you love to find on the playbill ahead?
I haven’t gotten to do a lot of fantasy or sci-fi yet in my career, and those are some of the worlds I love watching the most. I would absolutely love the opportunity to step into that kind of storytelling! There is something about those genres that asks you to lean even further into your imagination and I just love the size of it all. And for the stage, I’d love to take on more of Shakespeare and Chekhov's iconic roles. As long as I'm making cool shit with cool people, I'm happy.
