Vents MagaZine Music and Entertainment Magazine
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1.) We’re super-excited to have some time today with acclaimed actress, writer, producer and director extraordinaire Julia Wackenheim; greetings and salutations Julia and thank you for taking time out of a very busy schedule to speak with us here at Vents Magazine! Before we meander down the celluloid Q&A pathway, how is 2025 finding you and yours?
Thank you for having me – it’s a total honor! So far, 2025 has been a wild year. On a macro level the world has been on fire – literally in my hometown of Los Angeles, and globally it’s been easy to get lost in what’s wrong/scary/awful. But in my (micro) world, it’s been a year of growth and exploration – with some whimsy sprinkled throughout.
2.) Major kudos and accolades on your recently wrapped pilot presentation for Ethel & Ernie which you wrote, directed and starred in! Though these are still early days in the life of Ethel & Ernie, can you give our ever-inquisitive readers a hint or three as to what they can expect and look forward to with this series?
That’s so kind of you – thank you! This has been one of the best experiences in my life. I’ve had the honor to work with incredibly talented people, who all helped create a top-notch, fun, and productive set, with only a little (fake) blood spilt!
Ethel & Ernie will evolve into a dynamic duo – they’re like bacon and chocolate. It shouldn’t work together, but somehow it really does. We’ll see antics aplenty from Ethel, while we witness Ernie balance her family back in the Philippines and her job caring for Ethel.
3.) You’ve written another pilot prior to Ethel & Ernie entitled Whoa Nellie! What has the creative experience been like thus far with Ethel & Ernie versus Whoa Nellie!?
Whoa Nellie was conceived from my time taking horse riding lessons during the pandemic – it was one of the only “safe” ways to get exercise. I loved the experience so much, I decided to pull a Taylor Sheridon and write a show set on a Kansas horse farm. Mostly so I could play with horsies… Both pilots were a ton of fun to write.
4.) In your humble opinion, what differentiates Ethel & Ernie from the Distinguished Competition on the 2025 television landscape?
It’s a multi-cam featuring two leading women who are from demographics not typically seen on tv as leads: women over 65 and Filipino Americans.
5.) You’ve produced the short 2020 film Becoming Eddie, as well as thirteen episodes of the television series F’d. Is producing – as well as writing and directing – something which you hope to do much more of in the future?
Absolutely! I love getting to create from the ground up – solving puzzles and working with other creatives to make TV – or believing in a project, like Becoming Eddie, and helping get it made.
6.) What’s the status on Super Drunk Girl which you co-wrote, and which is now in development as a live action and animated series?
Super Drunk Girl is a free agent and looking for a home to call her own!
7.) You’re a longtime champion of Domestic Workers Rights and Long-Term Healthcare. Can you talk about what inspired this well-placed advocacy?
I first attended a social justice meeting for domestic workers’ rights in 2012, I was shocked and horrified at how caregivers are being treated. Soon after, I found myself co-founding a grassroots interfaith coalition educating and advocating for domestic workers’ rights. Everyone had a compelling story, because we’re all touched by caregiving – needing it or giving it. After I gave birth to my son, I suddenly had my own story to tell.
Right now, approximately 10,000 people are turning 65 every day and we’re living longer than ever. Most caregivers, about 80%, are family members, typically women, who have to give up everything in order to take care of their loved ones. Domestic workers are often taken advantage of by wage theft, unjust working conditions, trafficking, and oftentimes have to choose between their own health and their jobs. It’s a crisis – but there are solutions.
It’s a compelling issue for me, and one that can unite us, no matter our political leanings.
8.) Who are some of the folks both in and out of the entertainment industry who have inspired and informed your own pathway as an actress, writer, producer, and director?
My aunts and uncles are Scottish; the storytelling gene runs very deep – as does comedy. (One holiday visit my auntie did a tight five on why “green beans are terrible” and the negatives of owning a cookbook. Nearly peed myself.) As a kid of the 80s, I grew up on sitcoms and Weird Al. As a kid, British shows melted my impressionable mind: Fawlty Towers, Black Adder, Are You Being Served?. Later, my brother and I would sneakily put on MTV (forbidden at our house) and watch The State – every cast member on that show is pure genius. My high school drama teacher, Chip Garrison (who’s retiring this year! Kudos!!), changed my life. He took me under his wing and showed me how to put up a play – from sets, to audio, to choreography, to acting – he taught me so much. After moving to Los Angeles, I honed in on comedy and had some incredible teachers and colleagues; Craig Cackowski, Bob Dassie, Paul Vaillancourt, Mo Collins, Tami Sagher – the list is endless. Phoebe Waller-Bridge has inspired me tremendously, she wears all the hats, and with her vision creates hilariously tragic content.
9.) Your first credited work came in the form of the 2005 podcast series Ask a Ninja. Any special memories of that freshman production?
That was such a fun gig! Douglas Sarine is a comic genius – after he saw me in a live comedy show “The Friday Forty” playing a character named, Bitsy McGee (an improv student that can only talk in bits), he came up with the idea for me to play the Ninja’s niece. Do you ever have that thing where you go to a different country or part of the USA where the accent is totally different from your own? And then you start talking with a Scottish accent or keep saying “Y’all want some grits?!” Well, Douglas’ ninja voice was so great I had a really hard time not talking in “ninja.” Also, I got to put on a gui. That was pretty sweet.
10.) Final – SILLY! – Question: Favorite movie about the making of movies – Living in Oblivion, The Player, Swimming with Sharks, The Big Picture, Hollywood Shuffle or Barton Fink?
Barton Fink. Hands down. Because: John Turturro.
