the actress who went from suffering castings to succeeding

Julia Tozzi It is one of the revelations of 2023.starred Heathers, el musical, and her face as Verónica Sawyer, the character, appeared huge on the marquee of the Opera theater, on Corrientes Street. For that role she won the Hugo Award for Best Female Lead Performance. “Everything was incredible. Winning the award was a very beautiful moment of ecstasy. Feeling loved and validated is what you want. The truth is, I had no expectations of winning anything, but the recognition made it all worth it,” he emphasizes today.

Julia still continues processing the shock of emotions he experienced this year: “I don’t know if it was the best of my life. But I can safely tell you that he was the most intense,” she defines. And in that inner tsunami he felt everything: joy, happiness, nerves, stress, fear… Feelings that he knows very well because he knows that he chose a profession with ups and downs, with which he deals daily. Added to his own imprint: “I am very intense and very anxious.”

Julia comes from a family of artists. In his house there was music and books. Her father is a choral arranger and her mother is a graduate in Literature and a teacher. Even as a child, Julia wanted to be an actress. The first performances were at family birthday celebrations and at Christmas. There he demonstrated what he learned in musical theater or Arabic dance classes, which were fashionable thanks to Shakira: a boom at that time.

Julia always had the unconditional support of her parents. And she remembers it with fun: “I wanted a piano and they bought me a piano; I wanted a guitar and they bought me the guitar. Yes, she was a little spoiled, I’m not going to lie to you. “I am the youngest of two sisters.”

He studied at the French school, in Avellaneda. High school was difficult for him because “he already had his head in art,” he confesses. Precisely, At the age of 15, the discipline began. He entered the Julio Bocca School and everything became more professional.

“Classes were on Saturday mornings and that’s why I stopped going out with my friends on Friday nights. But I was still upset. I started to make new friends and I liked that world,” she says.

At the beginning of her career, Julia didn’t know where to shoot. She had also entered the Avellaneda Popular Music School to be a pianist. He was very interested in music, but shortly after he devoted himself fully to acting..

Former Disney girl, worked in the series 011CE , Arnoldo’s ristorantinowith Diego Topa, and in Freaks. And in musical theater he was part of Fiddler on the Roof y The Rocky Horror Show.

Julia has been going to castings for ten years. And she is transparent about it: “They are the worst there is. It’s horrible to do them, something very stressful. They still make me nervous. Plus, it’s like a test with yourself, too. Many times, they are job interviews with people who know me and who I know. Therefore, I should feel more relaxed, but no. I’m afraid of making mistakes or that something will go wrong.” She recognizes that it has to do with her personality: “I’m quite a perfectionist. And I always want to give my best.”

The last big audition was Heathersjust last year, around this same time: “I found out from Instagram. We were 6,000 colleagues. There were many tests and several stages. It lasted about a month. The truth is that I had no expectations. Most of the time it is usually a no. And I also had no idea why they were seeing me: if it was to be an ensemble, to do a cover… I didn’t really know what test I was giving. “It was tremendous.”

But the good news arrived. And it was given to him by Fer Dente, the director of the musical. He said it to the entire cast at the same time.

“I had never worked with Dente. She knew him by the way. For me, he is a reference. I was his girl’s fan. I have a lot of respect for him. His presence intimidates me, but he is sweet. The truth is that the entire process with him was beautiful,” she acknowledges.

Heathers tells the adventures of a group of young people without limits. It touches on topics such as bullying, abuse and even suicide. Julia plays the same character that Winona Ryder played in the original film, in the eighties. In fiction, Verónica is the student who observes that there are things that are not going well at school and tries to fit in with the popular ones: “It is one of the most demanding roles, the one who sings the most and the one who is on stage the most. I suffered a little because of my perfectionism and anxiety,” he says.

And he reveals a difficult moment that he had to live on stage: “Once, in the middle of the performance, my blood pressure dropped and I had like an anxiety attack. Nobody found out, I got around it, but it was ugly. “I think it was because it was too old.”

But today, while having a fruit smoothie in a bar in Recoleta, Julia highlights the positive aspects of that experience: “Heathers It left me a lot of learning. Now I know that I can play a leading role. I know that I can sing many songs, dance, carry a play and have all that energy,” she points out.

And he makes a self-criticism: “If I lived a similar experience again, it would be different. Because I realized the training I have. I realized how far my voice and my body can go. Then I would go in more relaxed.”

The talk turns to the personal side and becomes deeper. Then she is asked if she finds it difficult to enjoy nice things. And she takes charge: “Yes, it happens to me. Because of my anxiety. Anxiety is exhausting and annoying. I already know how to recognize it. I already know what’s wrong with me and that I don’t have anything serious. And that is a lot. Because at one time I didn’t know, I had a very bad time and she was very distressed. I’m doing therapy and I’m handling it better. I bank it. Luckily I have many tools and I can control it. But it is quite exhausting because that gives me contractures in my body, thoughts that do not help or goals that never end.”

“It’s the famous: ‘I want’. I want to work and then I want economic stability and now I want to travel… That is why it is very important to stop. Stop a little. See what you built and let what you did bear fruit. And at the same time understand that some I will not be able to handle,” he adds.

Then Julia puts her focus back on work: “What weighs me down the most is not having a routine and not having stability. The most difficult thing about this profession are the down times., iron. That is not a vacation iron. But I’m managing them better now,” she says.

Julia also learned to deal with her feelings socially: “I hang out with friends and people who I know are good for me, who understand me and who empathize with me.where I won’t feel judged if I suddenly stay silent or start to feel bad or whatever.”

At the end of the talk and with more confidence, Julia reveals some unknown issues about her private life: “I have been studying Japanese for three years. I started in a pandemic, when I had time to get to know myself better and one started with strange things and the Japanese painted me. I love it and it relaxes me. It’s like a meditation. “I would also like to study Japanese translation, but in the long term.”

Another thing that calms her down, she says, is doing yoga, going for a walk, going to a cafe, going out with friends. And she shares new goals: “I want to do more audiovisual things. It doesn’t have to be popular. I like to work. I recently recorded a participation in good guys, for El Trece. And the truth is something calmer than the theater. I would also love to have to travel to record a series. See, I can’t stop. It’s the ‘I want, I want, I want,’” she closes with a laugh.

Thanks: Styling: Luna Mazzeo @lunamazzeo. Clothing: Furzai @soyfurzai.