Her favorite hobby is archery, she would have been a chemical engineer and wants you to support a veteran.
This episode is rated PG-13 for Language and Suggestive Sexual Situations.
Actor, producer, nerd and an incredible woman Julia Ling goes Beyond the Mic with Sean Dillon.
Sean [00:00:01] You said your parents worked every day of every year delivering pizzas and sewing clothes so you wouldn’t have to live in someone else’s garage. Growing up wasn’t easy for you.
Julia [00:00:11] My parents were rescued our entire family was killed in the Cambodian genocide and so my mom and dad was a teenager at the time but they met at a refugee camp. They were rescued by Americans and sponsored by the First Baptist Church in America and brought over here. They came over with like 50 bucks. My father never never wanted to take a penny from the government. He just didn’t believe in taking from welfare and he’s like I’m going to go to the greatest country there is. There’s all these opportunities. So why would I want to take on the government. He ended up picking up my four part time job picking strawberries and doing all these things delivering pizza. Mom sewed clothes for a living. And so they were granted 55 days. And so I grow up pretty quickly. You know when I was little I did a lot of cooking that is pretty independent started like five or six years old. It was hard watching my parents had like a six and five years of slavery that I could see like my mom had arthritis in her hands and shit.
[00:01:14] Goldie is this from the time she was beaten and there were times when she cried and she’s like I had to bury my own mother with my own hands. [00:01:23] It’s heartbreaking watching my parents. [00:01:27] Go through those memories and nightmarish and relive them again and again. It really motivated me to work hard and be successful hopefully so that someday I could take care of them so that they wouldn’t have to suffer anymore. [00:01:41] Let’s talk about your parents what values today instill in you. [00:01:44] My parents taught me so much just by doing you know. You need. [00:01:50] By example they worked really hard. You would do what you say you’re going to do. Keep your word you’re honest. No matter way you’re honest about things like you know even if you meant that you get nothing you new that you work hard to get everything that you want it to be humble you became in no matter how successful you are. [00:02:12] You’re always humble. You never try to be the best version of yourself really. You know there’s always room for improvement. I tried doing this since I was 5 years old. Every night before I went to bed my mother taught me to do this and think about the day and what went right what went wrong. And then if something went wrong and look inward and ask yourself what can you do better and how can I improve. How can it become a better person. I think that really stayed with me throughout the rest of my life. It always kind of pushed me to become a better version of myself. [00:02:45] You thrive when you started school. What made school so important to you. [00:02:49] Learning and studying was really fine. I loved learning about things. It was kind of an escape from the high things lack of reality you know. Growing up it was seeing my parents go through the challenges and they were a lie and they were always hired and they fight and it was hard because they didn’t have money to pay things the going to school it was like I gotta read books that I just read. I got to study and got to learn about the world and I was hungry for knowledge. Notice I was curious. I was very curious wanted to know what was out there. [00:03:27] Actress director filmmaker Julia link joins us Beyond the Mic. You were a scholar athlete at Temple City High School home of the Rams when you excelled at dance tennis and swimming. [00:03:38] You were doing everything. [00:03:40] I was really impressed by what you found the me. I actually did a lot. [00:03:46] Very nice. Is one of those really passionate kids that girl that wanted to try things you wanted to push myself. [00:03:54] Tennis I hear this is a really good or at the signs someone tells me you try to do non contact sports so that when you get older you can still play because you football and you’re like 80 years old. I play tennis. I was a listen thing. I didn’t do dancing outside of that. I did Chinese classes and piano classes. [00:04:14] You get studied and worked and trains and practiced a lot of music. I did singing classes to dance they hated seeing where they saw parents give their kids everything they tried to push and become like great had all these things and this really put them on all these classes and I did remember I was so tired as a kid I would play at 2:00 in the morning in the morning. Why do other kids so play and I have to be here doing homework. You know it was just like I was so tired I’m like I’m working more than the assaults are. [00:04:46] You say you know someday you’ll thank me. I thank her for it. I look back and I’m very thankful because it was the fact that I had the opportunity to try all of these years that really made me know what I was good at what I was not good at and what I was most interested in pursuing when I became an adult. [00:05:07] You went to UCLA which you major in. [00:05:09] I studied chemical engineering with a biomedical focus. But at the time you know kind of cool that engineers could get out of anything you put them in a box and a finally out there and as I said a lot of math a lot of science like physics one of my favorite classes of thermodynamics is just kind of course you understand how different things where I just tried to see things differently. You know I started to learn how to make my own facial creams my own shampoo which is a lot cheaper either way up there and it’s like the small cell phone for like 100 dollars a bottle. If you mix it yourself and it costs like five bucks the same ingredients without all of that extra crap and fragrances and stuff that they put in it but then afterwards I did a few years of art and then I say life I could not get my degree and engineering I left. Did you acting and so make me and then I returned to school after that to finish my degree. [00:06:08] I continued with some science courses but I finished my degree with stone producing and the Chinese language. [00:06:14] It took a while for you to graduate when you finally did graduate from UCLA. What emotions came to the surface. [00:06:20] I’m not naturally I didn’t even walk. I just I got a good return from San Diego. [00:06:27] Interesting story on this how do you go from Kim e to being an actress. [00:06:32] I got roped into the whole thing in high school and one of my girlfriends was doing a fashion show and she read to me. I didn’t want to do this alone because she backers and girls in high school got everything together and basses together. But sadly her. Greed for help her out after performing there were actually three Hollywood agents in the audience that they fell in love with me and they called me and wanted to find me. And so at the time I remember telling my parents you know I’m not going to do this professionally I’m still going to pursue neurosurgery or engineering something in the sciences. I’m just going to do this for fun. And so my mom’s like all right. It’s a side hobby that’s fine. But I kept pushing to see this side of Christmas. I go see Disney commercials for lying. Mean. Buffy the Vampire Slayer and then I kept on like working Ad Council commercials. It kind of became like wow it is going to actually be a fun profession to pursue. That’s when I decided school isn’t everything. A lot of people I believe get their degrees. They come out and they end up in all this. Student loans. And some of the richest and most successful people I knew. They were like video game testing or something and they never went to school. So I decided to leave school for that to follow my dreams. All of my heart believe that the time that if you just. Follow your heart. Do what you love. That money will follow. [00:08:00] Actress director filmmaker you saw her on Chuck , Buffy the Vampire Slayer house command and conquer. Red alert. Three Tango Down is her latest short film actress Julia Ling joins us Beyond the Mic. Now your company silver rose entertainment focuses on projects that create social good. Why was this so important to you. [00:08:20] They’re really important to me to be guide because of one very difficult moment that inspired it actually and I was sitting in the living room with my father and he showed me a video of a man ty of a bunch of people getting screwed over for trying to be nice for example and wanted that shot. Somebody reached out to try to help a child who had fallen to the floor. Parent turned around had a few you know like you’re the one that pushed my kid. So my father was like there’s so many bad people out there. We try to help them but they’re just going to turn around and screw us over. That’s such a scary world. And so I shot my father different my time and they said daddy look and there’s my tie there’s a bunch of people who are willing to risk their lives to jump in and rescue somebody from the train tracks or there’s so much good in this world. I realize in media you have the power to make a difference. You know you either put out a movie that’s going to instill fear in people and make them want to run home and lock their doors or you can pull out movies that make people want to run home and hug your husband and tell them how much they love them in the sense of goodness and promote goodness in the world. So we started promoting women at phrase like trying to help women in science and engineering. And then we did some projects that being arrested Illinois’s for medical research and we really found our niche we’re trying to help veterans through PTSD or any of the issues that they had when transitioning back into the civilian world. [00:09:53] Ultimately we want to try to help stop veterans suicide 22 veterans commit suicide every single day. And I think that number has gone up. Now it’s like 20 23 veterans a day. And it’s just heartbreaking. These are the people that put their lives on the line and sacrificed so much to be on the frontline to defend the nation grieving just like police officers and every day they’re the people that we call when there’s trouble with the firefighters and everybody that runs into the towers when you know most people want to run out and these are the people that because of what they’ve seen or what they’ve gone through they are suffering and we want to use film to help them get through that. [00:10:37] You also work hand-in-hand with veteran power films. [00:10:40] How did this partnership take place such comparisons is an initiative that was started as a team. We started it with the film Tango Down there else and I came that my production company. We tried to test this concept out where we hired and past veterans and law enforcement first responders as much as possible. And we tried to involve them in every stage of the production process. So we try to feature veteran of businesses and we try to create a platform for them to make movies. And at the same time they can learn to work with professionals on the civilian side. And we try to bridge the gap between civilians and veterans so that civilians can better understand veterans and veterans can better transition back into the civilian world because they’ve said they are also able to really connect with each other. They got us on our side. Veterans even though they’ve never Medicare. They were instantly able to connect like they do as a family and they’ve been serving all their life. And it was because at the end is something I’ll never forget this. There were a few veterans that came up to me separately on separate occasions and they each said to all of you know this project has saved my life. And one of them said it with tears in his eyes. He’s like you’ve no idea you know before I came on. TANGO DOWN. [00:12:06] I was ready to take my life. I was at the very very brink of it. [00:12:11] And watching how much this project has really made a difference for them has been amazing. [00:12:20] It just blows my mind. I’m so touched by all of it. You know. And overwhelmed by all of it. Honestly one of the veterans completely quit drinking alcohol. He started working out every day. He started just really getting his artwork out there. I mean I was so inspired. He lost 60 something pounds and he got so shredded. And another veteran who said his work hours got cut from 60 hours to 14. He had just lost a couple buddies and he is really depressed. But after taking it down he started to pursue his career again in guys resumé at a Web site up and he’s doing really good things right now watching all of that and knowing that it does make a difference. It really inspired us to continue with that. I’m hoping that you know through artwork veterans can feel it’s not just being a part of the cast and crew but it’s inviting veterans to create art where it could affect as well or to you know write the screenplay tell their story. [00:13:22] How important has veterans heart of your team and part of your family. [00:13:26] I think you hit the nail on the head with that. It’s not just a film team. They really have become my family. You know for someone like myself who really doesn’t have a family it’s like throughout my entire life I’ve been trying to connect people and I thought you know some day I’m going to I’m going to build that family. And it was very surprising to find that family on the set of Tango Down. And one of the writers that a Marine veteran His name is Rick sweating who runs a Web site a blog that link with stone. And it’s actually really funny you should check it out. It’s called Some grouch some got shot comrade to follow him on so I’m glad as well that his reviews are really raw and real and funny and just like he pulls no punches that he came on to Tango Down as a writer and he’s in there since the very beginning. I mean there were times when I just like to rip people’s heads out and this one is that mash things there are hard moments. He was even there every step of the way. And a lot of the other veterans were as well. And it’s just incredible the this brotherhood it real it’s a real brotherhood you know bunch of veterans coming in to sacrifice their time and their money and do whatever it takes to accomplish the mission. [00:14:51] Julia. Talk about Tango Down. It’s won some film festival word. Talk to us about the show on the song. [00:14:57] Fun to you it kind of explores that theme of brotherhood and some of the very difficult decisions that service members have to make when overseas. Sometimes you have just a split second to make a very difficult decision to kill the bad guy. Do not let him go then you know that a lot of other people are going to get killed if you kill the bad guy. There’s rules of engagement. There’s consequences. And so came down explores some of those difficult decisions and the consequences that these Marines have to deal with. [00:15:30] Once they get back home from the service and how these consequences challenged then challenge the Brotherhood and brotherhood is a very interesting thing between service members because it’s like a bond that is they believe they have with each other and it’s the kind of bond that you only get when you’ve served together or you are willing to give your life for somebody. That’s what the story is a little bit about. We’ve gone to a few film festivals and the one that shot its own ad a couple of them. So that’s exciting. We are giving our first red carpet premiere now in Palm Springs. It’s going to be an October 26 and then after that we’re going to go to the TV shows. [00:16:14] I’m supposed to ask you how much fun was it walking on the open set at a biker bar. [00:16:20] Is that how is it going. [00:16:22] Interesting though there were some homeless people writers out there angry people off the street that were kind of territorial and they wanted our production to leave. Art and they were yelling and I think it’s sad. I don’t know. I don’t know how many people were actually packing but we did a lot of veterans and I believe at one point Rudy really rare. There is a primary and he went out with delegate friends and a he just showed up as well I think the. There is a miscommunication and the location got double booked. So we had two of this out some cash and try to make that band go away. It was a very interesting experience for sure. Very. [00:17:12] And I decided we needed everything right at the place. [00:17:19] Sometimes social media can be a powerful force and you recently wrote quote Do not let yourself be defined by the limitations of others. They do not see what you see. They cannot envision what you are capable of. You keep building and eventually they will get it unquote. How have you been limited by others. [00:17:37] I mean I would say that I I definitely inhabit a lot of experiences like that. For example at my parents they tell me what I’m you know I’m not bad enough or I’m not sure about that. Most at the post I put out there are for my friends because a lot of people come to me and they ask for advice I’m like that person that everybody comes see because I’m like their sister their mother their their best friend. They think they’re depressed or they’re suffering or whatever. And yet I see a man these beautiful hearing beings with such amazing potential and they’re not doing what they can be doing because of the negativity that surrounds them the kind of experience the miracle myself I’m like Is that how who can do anything. In the beginning when I was training to do pull up I could barely just like what I’m having for one second. And that’s with assistance that by the end of the year I was in eighth grade. My uncle is like in one year’s time even carrying the guy after on Tango Down I am. I was about a hundred ten pounds maybe and he laid over 200 pounds and with full gear we had a rucksack that wouldn’t have a quick release. And so it wasn’t easy to get his leg over my shoulder in such a way that I could fly him and carry him easily. But I trained for that I trained I did a lot of squat to take time and carry training and I would be able to carry him like he was more than twice my weight with all of us full gear on. It’s amazing what you can actually do when you put your mind in your heart to. You consistent in your training and most importantly that you believe in yourself. You don’t believe in yourself. Other people aren’t going to eat there in your Instagram. [00:19:29] You posted a photo of you back when you first started in the industry. Dominatrix outfit see through shirt. How is your examination of your own self-worth changed since that picture was taken. [00:19:45] Oh my gosh Ana is awful. In the beginning you know I experience a lot of me too. And I never shared it with anyone because I was frightened because there are only people who had won Academy Awards who were so runners as super multimillionaires most billionaires even one will say trillion if we had opposition or somehow asked me to. No. Or whatever with them and they trip to the asked me to come and meet with them. And so many horrible. [00:20:19] Things and I walked away from it every single time. I just couldn’t I couldn’t. [00:20:29] Did it. You know it was so dirty to me and I hated it so much and I started to think like what’s a girl got to do to get a job in the streets so I can make like gross and say like what. [00:20:42] What we have to do. Like I’m not going to do that. And it really I was just so upset about everything. [00:20:52] But what I learned over the years is that that’s not the only way. And there’s a lot of really good people in the industry. There’s lots of good people. There’s lots of good people in the world. It’s our job to pick and choose the ones that we want to surround ourselves with and the ones that we want to work with and most importantly bring something to the table. I started studying producing and started shouting into registered gay contracts. I was one of the first directors I shouted and check his broken laser to get to the troopers. I had a really good director and it was inspiring to watch that and I started to educate myself and take courses on producing its own making. And when you really start to believe in your vision you really start to do things like I started seeing the results of my neighbor. I started seeing how things were coming together and the good people that I so desperately wanted to move. Twenty years ago they started coming to me. They were like I see that you’re doing really good work and I want to work with you. I was like this is working. You work hard you build something and you will meet the right people. [00:22:10] Actress from Tango Down also filmmaker director Julia Ling joins us Beyond the Mic. [00:22:17] Well one thing that you know now you would love to have told yourself before you even started acting. [00:22:22] I was like oh my goodness there’s so many things I would say. One would be. Get out of acting classes and get out into the real world and be more curious about everything. Because acting is bringing reality to the screen you know and you can really get that by being among different people in the world just constantly like being curious. Learning as much as you can. Whereas like I was I thought all the answers were in an action book. You know in my classes. The acting classes are great and a good deal like a good little head start like a little tool. But you really need to get outside the line and learn and then get it going as I would say. [00:23:15] Very to help people to fuck off. [00:23:19] What are you working on now and who would you like to work with next. [00:23:22] I’ll start with the second question. I really really want to work with General James Mattis. My doubts who might actually be coming on one of our projects. So I’m really really hoping for that. And also Clancy is great. I love his films and he’s always been an inspiration to me. [00:23:38] Currently at working I’m a couple of projects a huge documentary that starts January 13th and next year is when we start filming it. It’s with this guy John Preston. He’s a Marine veteran and also a firefighter. His brother is also a Marine veteran and police officer and his brother committed suicide a few years back on January 13th. And so we’re starting this project in honor of him and John Preston is going to be walking or hiking with 22 killers a day that’s about forty eight pounds back over 22 miles every day for 26 days from the bay area down to San Diego and along the journey we’ve invited a lot of people to come along. [00:24:20] We have a special guest that we haven’t announced yet. It’s called 22 and you and the you is the all the special guests that are coming to share their stories and we’re hoping that through this documentary that we can really reach out to more people. I mean someone tingle down alone. And even John Preston said that on his music alone in the past few years we’ve received so many messages from people all around the world saying how much anger again has inspired them. John synthetic music has inspired those people to help them pick up martial arts and start boxing gonna start living again and not take their lives and we were thinking like this imagine what we can do. We try to do something a little more than involves more people you know. So we’re hoping that it’ll be you know send a good message. We’re also working on a horizontal feature film is creating that blend between the Walking Dead and alien. [00:25:19] Oh yes. It scares me every time I’m like I’ve done like a whole bunch of horror films recently like over the past year. I feel like I’ve been doing nothing but. And I could not watch like a clearance what. Right. Yeah I keep clearing them. [00:25:37] If you’ve been doing all these horror films you have to have your perfect horror scream. What does it sound like. [00:25:43] Oh my God. OK. [00:25:47] This is terrible. Oh try that again. [00:25:51] Lauren Lake I know what I like Godzilla. You guys are putting me on the spot and it’s like now I sound like a dinosaur has a cold. [00:26:08] I’ll have to work on that. Speaking of putting you on the spot time’s running out. So it’s time for the rocky eight. First thing that comes to your mind. [00:26:17] Yes. [00:26:18] No pressure. What hobby do you do with your downtime. [00:26:23] I like archery. I like to shoot at a target. [00:26:27] If you weren’t an actor you would have been an engineer. [00:26:32] I’m going to go public with what event in your life would make a great movie. [00:26:37] Oh. [00:26:39] This is kind of a long line. Is that OK. True. OK. So it was in college dorm formal we call that the dorm all and this guy. [00:26:49] He just kept messin us like he showed up super late. You know he was like he had a comb with him and he was up in his hair is it the whole thing and during that dinner he absolutely stole the water on me as well we exited the poor guy’s stance because we quite a few blocks up the hill. [00:27:08] And I had to walk up with my high heels and nice to have all it on. [00:27:13] I don’t need this equipment operations. And at the very end of the night when he dropped me off back at my college he goes. Julia I. I THERE’S SOMETHING I’VE BEEN WANTING TO TELL YOU. AND I’M LIKE WHAT IS IT. AND HE SAID WELL I JUST WANT TO TELL YOU THAT I. [00:27:31] And immediately after that the security van was behind him something unseen and they’re like you cannot park here in the street. [00:27:41] So keep cool. He drives around the corner and you stop somewhere else and he tries again. I just wanted to tell you and the same security that is right kind hunting. And this happened three times. And finally I’m like No it dude just drop me off. Park your car come over and we’ll talk. [00:27:58] So he does that he does that and it comes over and he says you know me I like to know that I have a crush on you goes right to you and I’m like I’m too crazy to feel the same way. And then he’s like oh well Well let me give you this. [00:28:15] And he pulls out this long rod with a whole bunch of melted cosplay on the end and I’m just like what. That is he’s like he had it in a suit the whole night during the whole dance. If you mean the end of the evening it’s supposed to be a rose. I’m so sorry. [00:28:34] Okay. Thank you. Thank you for this noted blog that in a way so that would have ended disaster day. [00:28:41] Okay. [00:28:41] Favorite Weapon. So many. Oh my God. You have to pick one. [00:28:47] And. [00:28:50] I would say the one that I built my artist team because it’s got Nicole bright ECB the super lightweight and that’s when Vanguard the ultra lightweight and fires like this really. I don’t have a scope on it. I know it’s just iron sight if fires really smoothly. [00:29:09] Favorite Sport I guess winning these days. [00:29:13] I mean biggest pet peeve when people try to make things like purchase followers and stuff like that so annoying like that. [00:29:28] Favorite guilty pleasure. [00:29:33] Oh yes. Ice cream. [00:29:47] She wants you to support a veteran actor producer nerd an extraordinary woman. Julia Ling Thank you so much for joining us today. And that my friends is Beyond the Mic.
