The early rejection that defined Julia Garner’s career: “I was just too weird-looking”
In an industry that thrives on the principle of fitting in, sometimes the best thing to do to be noticed is to remain unapologetically authentic.
While it might take longer to find your niche, many actors have forged entire careers based on this principle. Their lack of adherence to the status quo leads them to play unconventional and fascinating characters that defy the typical people we would normally see on screen.
Whether it be Emma Stone’s transition from studio pictures to exclusively working with Yorgos Lanthimos on his weird indie dramas, to the likes of Franz Rogowski and Kristen Stewart, who only work with the outliers of Hollywood, there are many performers who have strayed from the mainstream consciousness through their proclivity for creative madness and voicing the weirdos who have often been told they don’t belong to such a world. This is something that definitely applies to Julia Garner, whose early experiences of being told that she didn’t fit in ended up shaping her entire career.
Garner immediately caught people’s attention after her leading role in the hit TV show Ozark, playing someone who was gritty, strange and out of the ordinary. While it might have been a niche role, Garner has since found this to be her calling, starring in films like The Assistant, Weapons and even playing the infamous Silver Surfer in the upcoming Fantastic Four adaptation.
While she is known for her talents in bringing outcasts to life, this path was laid out for her from the beginning. The actor shared how an early rejection from a Nickelodeon show encouraged her to pursue a lesser-trodden path and embrace her oddities.
When discussing the audition, Garner said, “The casting director stopped me in the middle. She was like, ‘Honey, you’re great, but you shouldn’t be here.’ I’ve never been stopped in the middle. I was like, ‘Excuse me?’ [The casting director] is like, ‘You should do independent films.’ I was too natural, maybe in terms of acting. I was just too weird-looking”.
Adding: “When you think about teen actors, you think of them having this gorgeous, luscious hair and being so pretty that you’re like, ‘You would never be the shy girl in high school.’ I was definitely not [the luscious hair girl]. My style, it’s still the same. It’s been the same since I was six years old, which is a black turtleneck.”
It could be a hard thing to hear as a child that the people you want to impress don’t think you fit in with the crowd, but luckily for Garner, she had her head screwed on and realised that this was a compliment. While some might make their start as the squeaky-clean Disney kids, Garner knew from the beginning that she was meant for a slightly different path, finding her own niche in the industry and doing so by always remaining true to herself. Being different might be frowned upon in a business like Hollywood, but for Garner, it’s been her ticket to success.
