GRUMPY MAGAZINE - Julia Butters (Solo Edition)

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ABOUT Grumpy Magazine is an international digital and print publication founded and curated by Jasmine Perrier. Selfpublished from France since 2016, we aim at covering the cultural landscape across the world and sharing a genuine vision of life to get you out of your grumpy mood. More than just a magazine, we are interested in aesthetically pleasing a modern take on traditional staples and thus offering a unique book capturing thoughtful stories and stimulating sceneries.

This standalone feature is taken from Grumpy Magazine’s IN CONVERSATION series and exclusively available as a solo story featuring one talent and 20+ pages of interview and photos.

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COVER | Julia Butters wears Maggie Marilyn dress | Stylist’s own coat

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TEAM & CONTRIBUTORS Jasmine Perrier at Studio J•T•P Publisher | Editor-in-chief | Producer | Writer | Designer Contributors Maxwell Jenkins | Emily Sandifer | Anna Schilling | Katelin Gan Clayton Hawkins

SPECIAL THANKS BACK COVER | Julia Butters wears Maggie Marilyn dress | Alaïa shoes

42West | Platform | The Rex Agency | Tomlinson Management Group | A-Frame Agency | The Hollywood Hotel

INTERVIEW BY Maxwell Jenkins PHOTOGRAPHY BY Emily Sandifer STYLING BY Anna Schilling at The Rex Agency MAKEUP BY Katelin Gan at TMG-LA HAIR BY Clayton Hawkins at A-Frame Agency PRODUCTION BY Jasmine Perrier at Studio J•T•P LOCATION The Hollywood Hotel

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ulia Butters is a star

Julia Butters and Maxwell Jenkins give their take on growing up on film sets, discuss starstruck moments, and manifest dream projects.

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IN CONVERSATION WITH

Julia Butters 06

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even years after filming A Family Man, Julia Butters reunited with her on-screen brother, Maxwell Jenkins. The young performer has been paving

her way in Hollywood, earning respect and admiration from industry-leading figures through her notable work. In 2019, she stole scenes from Leonardo DiCaprio in Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood. This summer, she was seen in the Russos’ The Gray Man opposite Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans.

Now, she will forever share a bond with the Spielberg family after starring in the director’s latest masterpiece inspired by his own life, The Fabelmans. The critically acclaimed film won the 2022 People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, setting the tone for the awards season upon us. We photographed the burgeoning 13-year-old actress on the roof of The Hollywood Hotel where we could catch a glimpse of the iconic letters — the right view for a star in the making. So, what’s next in store for Julia Butters? Her friend and former co-star Maxwell Jenkins found it out for us.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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‘‘

I knocked out a lot of the bucket list here. Working with Steven Spielberg was at the top of my list, so we will see where we go from here.

JULIA BUTTERS: Hi!

’’

MJ: Was that the moment you knew you wanted to be an actor?

MAXWELL JENKINS: Hello! Sorry, it is super dark in my hotel room right now. The sun sets at 4PM here.

JB: Yeah.

MJ: I grew up in Chicago, so I know that’s influenced how exposed I was to acting and my experience in the business. But growing up in LA, has that influenced or nurtured your interest in acting in any way?

JB: I keep forgetting you are somewhere else.

MJ: Yes. I dragged so many lights over here as I could, but I don’t think it was enough [laughs]. So, I guess we will just get started then.

JB: I don’t know. If anything, I feel like it would have pushed me further away from acting. Because LA is so crazy and so busy, that sometimes gets overwhelming. But I think that it’s mainly the certain sets [and projects] that I work on. And I love traveling, so that’s something that has heavily influenced my career choice.

JB: I’m ready.

MJ: Julia, I’ve known you for a super long time. You were my first TV sister. My first question is, how did you get into acting? I had never really asked for this myself.

MJ: What’s been your favorite place to visit for work?

JB: I was a very shy baby when I was little. I’d cry whenever anyone but my parents would hold me. So they were like, ‘‘We should figure out a way to socialize her around adults, so she isn’t super shy growing up.’’

So, I did some baby modeling and that led to commercials. After that, one of my mom’s friends saw a commercial that I did and she was a writer on Criminal Minds. She was like, ‘‘Maybe Julia could come guest star on an episode I’m writing to see if she would enjoy acting.’’ And I did!

JB: I went to France [to film The Gray Man], that was really cool.

MJ: You worked with some pretty cool people on The Gray Man. What’s been like getting to work with some incredible icons in the industry?

JB: It’s so wild because I will go on a set and I will see [and work with] people that I’ve

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seen on a screen. With time, it gets less and less surprising and overwhelming. I just realize that they are all people. When I worked on The Gray Man, I knew who Ryan Gosling was, I knew who Chris Evans was...

They were such amazing people and they made me feel welcome immediately. On Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, I had no idea who anybody was.

every moment because I’ll only be able to watch it for the first time once.’’

MJ: I remember on A Family Man, that movie we did a while ago in Toronto, I didn’t know who Gerard Butler was.

JB: I was scared to even go in swimming pools for a second because I would think of one specific shark from Jaws [laughs].

JB: Me neither.

MJ: That’s a very valid reaction to Jaws. So, we’ve got to talk about all these cool people you’ve gotten to work with. Have you ever had a moment where you were starstruck meeting one of these people? Whether it’s at an award show, on set, or just around LA.

MJ: I grew up going to a beach camp in Manhattan Beach and surfing, which is weird for a boy from Chicago. But my parents wouldn’t show me Jaws until I was 14 or 15.

Because I was a huge surfer, they were like, ‘‘You will never get into water again.’’

MJ: That’s pretty interesting. I definitely relate to you on that level. You’ve worked with some of my favorite directors of all time, Quentin Tarantino and Steven Spielberg. What was your favorite part of working with Steven?

JB: I was starstruck heavily at the Saturn Awards by a lot of people that were there.

You were there for that.

JB: It was crazy to be able to go to work every day, be on set, and take direction from someone that I’d idolized for as long as I can remember. I enjoyed working with him.

He is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met and he feels like an uncle or a grandpa.

MJ: I remember.

JB: And I remember on the set of The Gray Man, I was like, ‘‘I really have to make sure that [Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling] think I’m cool.’’ So, I would walk around and try to have the best posture I could, and I probably looked super stupid. But it probably didn’t work because I was the little scrawny 12-year-old Julia [laughs].

MJ: That’s cool. And you were playing his real-life sister Anne, did that add anything to working with him?

JB: Yes, it’s such a personal movie to him, so it was such a big honor to be representing and immortalizing someone who is very close to his heart. And I got to meet Anne, she is so great. She gave me her high school ring, so that’s exciting.

MJ: Being an actor growing up working on all these incredible movies and working with all these incredible people, what’s been the greatest piece of advice you took away from your projects?

MJ: Sweet. I know it’s hard to pick, but what would be your favorite Spielberg movie, other than The Fabelmans? I think mine would be Empire of the Sun and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

MJ: Jaws, classic.

JB: I’ve learned so much that it’s hard to pick a few things. I think that staying in it is such a good lesson to learn because growing up, I was always laughing on set.

It was hard to stay focused. But then, as I work with more and more people that I admire, I realize how much they stay in it on set. And I’ve always been way too shy to ask for advice straight out.

JB: My parents made sure that I was old enough to see it. When I was finally able to watch it, I was like, ‘‘I’m witnessing such an iconic movie right now. I have to take in

MJ: I’m filming right now and it was Nicolas Cage’s first day today. That was pretty fun, but everybody was in it. It’s a really exciting experience.

JB: I would say my favorite Steven Spielberg movie is probably Jaws.

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JB: Oh yeah.

friends along the way. I hope to work with more of my idols, like Martin Scorsese, a female director, or some of the other actors that I look up to. I knocked out a lot of the bucket list here. Working with Steven Spielberg was at the top of my list, so we will see where we go from here.

MJ: I feel you on that one. That’s what I’ve been learning more and more recently. But where do you think you would be right now if you weren’t an actor and never decided to pursue this?

JB: I would probably be in public school.

MJ: You’ve worked with Spielberg, Tarantino...

Scorsese is next.

MJ: I still am in public school.

JB: We will see.

JB: How do you do that? I’m homeschooled and can barely do it. I don’t know who I’d know [because] I’ve made so many friends through acting, even you. So, I definitely wouldn’t be doing this right now. But I definitely think I chose the right career. I feel very lucky to be an actor.

MJ: If you could work with any actor now, who would be on that list?

JB: That’s such a great question. We could be here all day if I don’t think of something soon [laughs].

MJ: Do you think you would be on any sports team? Which one would you pick?

MJ: Do you want me to give you mine first?

I know this is a hard question, mine is changing all the time.

JB: I would probably be on a swimming team because I’ve always loved swimming.

I don’t know if I would have seen Jaws so I can’t really say if I would be avoiding water [laughs]. We will never know.

JB: Yes please, thank you.

MJ: You’ve already worked with him, his name is Chris Evans. I’m a huge Captain America fan.

MJ: I remember you love swimming. Did we go to the aquarium a lot in Toronto when we were filming [A Family Man]?

JB: I can see that happening. I think I’d maybe like to work with some of my friends, like Mckenna Grace. I haven’t worked with her but I want to. I think we should collab on something. Acting with people in my generation would be great, just because it is so comforting to know that I’m growing up with other people and I’m not the only child actor in the world. But I definitely think that working with some comedians like Jack Black would be fun.

JB: We did.

MJ: That was cool. Fun times, it feels like it was a long time ago.

JB: I know. I think it was in 2015, 2016?

MJ: Something like that. I was nine years old and you were in kindergarten.

MJ: I could totally see you doing some awesome comedy stuff. You’re probably one of the funniest people I know. You’ve been hilarious since you were in kindergarten.

JB: I remember thinking you were so old!

MJ: No, I was nine and I had a shaved head!

I looked like a baby, literally.

JB: That is a compliment.

JB: When I was really little, I thought, ‘‘I will be so old by the time I’m their age,’’ and I thought that about a nine-year-old [laughs].

MJ: Now that you bring up working with people in your generation, if we were to work on something together in the future, what would that dream project look like?

MJ: Where do you hope that this journey you are on right now takes you?

JB: I want to play your sister again. I think it would be a lot of fun because things have

JB: It’s so cliché but I really like making

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changed so much. We’re growing, what’s happening? This is so weird.

a question I’ve been wanting someone to ask me for a while. I think my main goal would be to help people that have anxiety, normalize some struggles that teenagers go through quite often, or just be able to help someone be ok and make people feel less alone. Being in the public eye is not the easiest thing, but it’s so beautiful at the same time.

MJ: What’s crazy is that you look like my sister Sam. JB: I see it happening in the future, let’s make it happen.

MJ: What do we do? Are we doing an action, a thriller, a sad drama? Well, [sad drama] is the last one we did.

MJ: That is a really cool message for your career and work. I think you’re doing a really good job at that so far.

JB: It would be fun to do a dramedy. What would you like to do?

JB: I appreciate that so much, thank you.

MJ: I was saying on set today how I want to do a dark comedy. What’s crazy is throughout the entirety of Lost in Space, I never got to do anything really funny [as Will Robinson]. It was our running joke with the writers. But I would love to do a dark comedy with you.

MJ: Of course. Is there a particular story that you would want to tell?

JB: I want to do a biopic so bad. Just being able to play a real person like a singer or maybe Audrey Hepburn would be so cool.

I think it would be such a challenge and a great experience. That’s definitely on the list of things I want to have done in my career.

What about you?

JB: I think we would have a lot of fun on that.

MJ: We should do a dark comedy about the circus or something. I could totally see you as a flying trapeze artist.

MJ: Me?

JB: [Laughs] I would love that.

JB: The tables have turned.

MJ: If you could be in the circus, what would your dream act be?

MJ: I think I’d like to tell a cool story, maybe a decked-out traumatized version of what it’s like to be a kid growing up in the circus.

JB: I think what you said about being a flying trapeze artist would be so cool. I get really excited about falling for some reason.

It sounds very metaphorical but I like deathdefying stunts [laughs]. I feel like I would want to go skydiving in the future. I would get so nervous beforehand but I would be able to say I did it.

JB: That would be fascinating.

MJ: You mentioned music. Who is at the top of your Spotify Wrapped for 2022?

JB: That’s such a good question. I think I listened to a lot of my friend Mckenna [Grace]’s music. She is starting her music career and I’m very lucky to be here on the journey. I listen to about everything. I like Olivia Rodrigo, Harry Styles — the classic Gen Z artists.

MJ: I’m so down for all of that with you. Just text me.

JB: Ok, I’ll invite you. It feels so weird, this is our first conversation where I haven’t been asking you most of the questions.

MJ: I love Harry Styles. I got to see him live.

Do you listen to Conan Gray at all?

MJ: This is a nice change of pace. Pivoting into a more deep area, as part of the next generation of talent, what effect do you want your work to have on others?

JB: I’m just starting now. I’m not quite there with the trivia yet, but I definitely have cried listening to a few Conan Gray songs.

JB: That is a really good question and that’s

MJ: I probably imagine which ones those are.

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MJ: That was your first time presenting at the Saturn Awards, right?

If I could give you any recommendations, I’d weirdly put on some country music.

Zach Bryan and Tyler Childers are two of my favorites. They were the top two on my Spotify Wrapped. Do you listen to Dua Lipa?

She is one of my favorites.

JB: It was.

MJ: What was going through your head?

Were you nervous, excited? Did you know what you were going to say?

JB: I don’t usually say, ‘‘Hey, let’s put on some Dua Lipa.’’ But if I’m doing a photoshoot and someone plays Dua Lipa, I’ll jam out relentlessly. I think she is really talented.

JB: I called you and we went over some talking points that we wanted to say because they didn’t have a scripted speech for us. But before I went on stage, I remember you saw me pacing. This was my first time going on stage without a script, so I was super nervous and I knew a lot of people that I admired were watching me. I’m glad that I got to do it with a friend because it took a lot of the pressure off.

MJ: What’s the kind of music that just gets you in the zone, ready to go? Whether it’s for a photoshoot or a morning ritual.

JB: Whenever my publicist can tell that I’m getting anxious for a photoshoot or a Q&A, she will say, ‘‘Let’s put on some Harry Styles.’’ But for emotional scenes, I listen to a lot of sad songs like Cavetown.

MJ: I had a really great time presenting with you. I had presented two times at the Saturn Awards — the first time I was with my other space sister, Mina Sundwall, and then I was alone. So, it was nice to be back with one of my sisters. Is there anything you would like to put out there before we leave?

MJ: That’s deep. If your life was a chapter in a book or could be a book, what the title of that book be?

JB: That’s a fun question. I think it would be ‘‘2022’’ because so much has happened this year. It’s astonishing. I’ve had two movies come out and filmed one in between. I think this year has been a lot of amazingness, a lot of sadness, and a lot of growth. I’m really proud of myself. So, 2022 would definitely be the defining year.

JB: I’ve been writing a lot, writing a lot of music — I’ll potentially release some songs in the future, so stay tuned. I wrapped a half and a year ago now a movie called Queen Of Bones with Jacob Tremblay, Martin Freeman, and Taylor Schilling. That’s my first leading role, so I’m very excited for that to come out.

MJ: What’s been your highlight of the year so far? And there is a lot to pick from.

MJ: I just finished working with Taylor [on Dear Edward]. What was that like working with her? She is the best.

JB: I was able to go to a bunch of fun stuff this year and to meet a lot of people that I admire. I went to TIFF, AFI [Fest], and the Saturn Awards with Maxwell Jenkins, I don’t know if you know him.

JB: Yes! She is so amazing. She was such a breath of fresh air on set.

MJ: Julia, I loved getting to talk to you. And if you ever need a guitar player or a mandolin player on your upcoming music, hit me up.

MJ: The Saturn Awards were really cool.

What was your biggest takeaway from it?

JB: A mandolin! I remember you brought that to set.

JB: I think just being able to be in a room filled with so many people that I admire and to hang out with my friends. I got to see you and Zackary Arthur who played my brother a long time ago as well. I never imagined you and Zack hanging out with me. You guys are different parts of my life, so it was so crazy to watch all those projects come together in a way. We are movie siblings.

MJ: I have it here but we don’t have enough time.

JB: Thank you so much for doing this.

MJ: This was amazing.

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‘‘

I think my main goal would be to help people that have anxiety, normalize some struggles that teenagers go through quite often, or just be able to help someone be ok and make people feel less alone. Being in the public eye is not the easiest thing, but it’s so beautiful at the same time.

’’

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