Julie Michaels: Beauty Inside And Out

March 14th, 2011 | Author: Paneech

Julie Michaels believes that everything that happens, happens for a reason, because God makes it possible. The beautiful actress/stuntwoman has seen the lights and glitter but uses her faith to stay grounded and positive. Although she has acted in or performed stunts in several horror genre films, she is that furthest thing there is from dark. I have known Julie for a few years and she has always been a positive person. She is beautiful, inside and out.

Julie’s big break came when she played the role of Denise opposite Patrick Swayze in Roadhouse. She is all over the place in bits and pieces and has recently been spotted on Weeds, Big Bang Theory, Desperate Housewives, and Southland. I recently spoke with Julie via telephone and got as much time as I wanted to ask whatever I wanted.

Paneech: When you were attending college at Washington University, you started participating in beauty pageants. How do you get involved with those and are the myths about bulimia and anorexia fact or fiction?

JM: I got involved out of necessity. I was a gymnast at Washington University and I got hurt. I had to pay for my education, losing my scholarship. So I went to a meeting and got involved. It was a good way to make some money for school. You didn’t have to win, and could still make money. As far as the myths about anorexia and bulimia and other shenanigans about pageantry, they couldn’t be further from the truth. There were very intense study sessions, harder than most of my college classes, that helped me. You learn the proper way to do interviews and get comfortable with interviewing properly.

Paneech: What events did you compete in as a gymnast?

JM: I competed in the all-around segment. I concentrated mainly on floor and vault. The training was good for me and taught me a lot about how to utilize my body in the air.

Paneech: So when did you officially break into acting?

JM: After the University of Washington I attended a performing arts school. There was a show called Follies and I got the role I was trying out for after my first semester. It was a great experience for me.

Paneech: How were you lucky enough to land the role of Denise in Roadhouse?

JM: My definition of luck is when preparation meets opportunity. I went for a first audition, and seven auditions later, I was cast as Denise.

Paneech: Unfortunately, Patrick Swayze is no longer with us. Were you close with him?

JM: Patrick and his wife, Lisa, were very giving and caring people. After I did Roadhouse, I got a call for Point Break. Patrick wouldn’t admit to helping me land the role I got for Point Break, but I always thought he had something to do with it. Lisa counseled me through a very hard time when a friend of mine, a makeup artist, passed away. Most of my experiences with Patrick were limited to the time that we shared working together.

Paneech: Tell me what you think about Charlie Sheen and the route he has taken.

JM: Everyone has an opinion, and you know what they say about opinions, that they are like rear ends and most of them stink. I don’t know Charlie Sheen personally, I do know one of his closest friends. This business is very overindulgent and we pray for those that Satan may have gotten to. This industry, however, has a tendency to only report on the negative and not on good things. You never hear about someone raising money for Haiti. Most of the people I work with always give back. The whole Charlie Sheen thing is an example of the media driving the negative.

Paneech: You are a very religious person, how could you be comfortable doing dark projects like Friday The 13th with people like Kane Hodder?

JM: You know, I can only watch about the first eight minutes of that movie. I was filming a scene and Kane Hodder was not even in the scene, but he was hiding behind a door. In the scene, I am running away. He jumped out from behind that door and scared me. I jumped over, not on, a car that was there. Kane is a family man and a very good person.

Paneech: Do you ever go to your agent and say, I want a bigger role?

JM: I was told that I have the greatest agent in the world. My agent is Jesus and when he wants you to do something, you will. I always say that you can fight any battle on your knees. The big trick is recognizing what God wants you to do. Because of my spirituality, a role I get as a negative makes someone else look good. It is the whole antagonist and protagonist thing. I recently did Weeds and 95 percent of the dialogue was profanity, it is a role.

Paneech: What kind of current projects are you busy with these days?

JM: I just did an episode of the Big Bang Theory that aired last week, a good friend of Charlie Sheen’s actually got me in on that. I also did a car crash for Southland. It was a scene where a felon was being chased and I was driving a car that got hit head-on. The director told me that there would be no “cut” and that the scene would keep rolling to catch me in pain. So even after the stunt, I had to act after I had been hit. There was a cut phrase if I got hurt to cue the director to cut, but I got out screaming, “I can’t feel my legs!”

Paneech: How long can you continue to jump off of buildings and be in car wrecks before you call it a day?

JM: God tells me what to do. If you listen, just get quiet and listen, you will know. He will tell me when to move forward or when to step down. With Him, all things are possible. Sometimes I am a quarterback and sometimes I am a water girl.

Paneech: Were you ever approached to do Playboy?

JM: Playboy is something I considered, but it isn’t me.

Paneech: Do you watch any sports?

JM: I love baseball and football. I was a big Seattle Mariners fan growing up in that area. The Mariners of the early 90’s were my team. They were like the Yankees in training. Football, I have really taken a liking to the Pittsburgh Steelers. There are a lot of Steelers fans here and they have bee really fun to watch.

Julie Michaels: Beauty Inside And Out

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