Julia Stiles
Julia Stiles
Julia O'Hara Stilesis an American actress. Born and raised in New York City, Stiles began acting at age 11 and made her screen debut as Erica Dansby in six episodes of the television series Ghostwriter. Her first film role was in I Love You, I Love You Not, followed by a leading role in the thriller Wicked, for which she was awarded the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Award for Best Actress. She went on to gain prominence for her...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMovie Actress
Date of Birth28 March 1981
CityNew York City, NY
CountryUnited States of America
There are a handful of actors who sustain interest because it's exciting to watch them get better at what they do. I want to be one of those actors.
I really like Shakespeare a lot. The characters that he writes for females, I think, are really great and a lot more compelling than what modern writers write, which is weird because they didn't have actresses then.
I always loved how people like Jon Voight and Laurence Olivier shocked you every time they came on-screen. They were so different each time. That's what I hope to do with acting — be the chameleon and not get stuck in a type.
Of course my family and friends are incredibly valuable to me. They keep me sane, they teach me things and I love spending time with them. I think that ranking what you value is a sort of western and linear way of looking at things.
I wear everything from hip-hop baggy pants to beautiful Armani dresses. I also like to mix vintage clothing with designer pieces.
When Paul [Greengrass] was writing, he'd send me story ideas that he had. He was particularly interested in social movements and revolutions that had been happening all over the world, and how computers and the internet had helped those movements. He encouraged me to read a book about Anonymous, the hacker group called "white hat" hackers, meaning they're driven by ideology and social disruption as opposed to just greed.
I am a big fan of horror movies but I had never thought that I had wanted to act in one because I don't think that actors get to do much in them. They're usually just reacting.
I think women get caught up too much in having a plan - 'I'm going to get married at this age I'm going to have a kid at this age' - and then they just try to find a guy who will fit into that picture. I don't want my life to be based on that.
I think that ultimately I just have to be myself. You know, I don't do anything that outlandish anyway.
I like a director that encourages me to be playful. I don't really like being restricted or controlled by a director.
I think audiences, producers and directors included, develop crushes on actors (actresses in particular) and then lose interest and move on to the next one.
I pretty much grew up in public.
Even after such milestones as Kathryn Bigelow winning an Oscar, there still seem to be few women in leadership roles.
In my early career, I look at that time as a series of trial and error and learning as I go.