Last year, Julianna Gamiz was in the cast of the biographical sports drama film Unstoppable, playing Ronnie Robles – the sister of Anthony Robles (played by Jharrel Jerome), with their parents played by Jennifer Lopez as Judy and Bobby Cannavale as Rich. In Series 4 and 5 of Jane the Virgin, Julianna played Young Jane (Gina Rodriguez), and her previous roles include the co-lead character Lita in Instant Family with a cast including Mark Wahlberg as Pete, Rose Byrne as Ellie, Isabela Merced as Lizzie and Gustavo Escobar as Juan, and she had her first role playing Isela Camayo in East Los High. Julianna also has voiceover experience, including voicing Sadie in episodes of Superkitties for Disney Jr. Speaking with us, Julianna told us about playing Ronnie Robles in last year’s biographical sports drama film Unstoppable, filming as Young Jane in Jane the Virgin and her time on set of Instant Family as Lita.

Can you tell us about last year’s biographical sports drama film Unstoppable, and how would you describe your character Ronnie Robles?

I can describe my character as an only girl with four brothers – always having to defend myself and having a harsh childhood. Most of my clothes were hand-me-downs from my older brothers and my parents struggling to pay the mortgage. My character had to witness things that no kid should have to witness at such a young age. All while having an older brother that was born with one leg.

What was it like being part of Anthony Robles’ story and how was it like taking on the role of his sister Ronnie?

Being a part of Anthony’s story was an incredible experience. Anthony’s story has so much emotion and a powerful message of never giving up. When I received the part, I was very happy and honoured, given the fact that I was his only sister. Taking the role of his sister was challenging but also rewarding, being the only sister and knowing that I had to portray his sister the best I can with such a strong message. There was a day that the actual Ronnie Robles came to the set and she and I took a picture together and posed the same way without even planning it – it was the sweetest experience.

How did you find the experience on set of Unstoppable, and what did you enjoy most about meeting and filming with the rest of the cast, which includes the film’s star Jharrel Jerome as your brother Anthony Robles and Jennifer Lopez as your mother Judy Robles?

I really enjoyed the experience and it was very fun and amazing. All the cast was so kind, and my cast brothers and I would spend most of our time together. We would play games, one of our favourite games was Sleeping Queen. It was a very cool and fun experience getting to work with the one and only Jennifer Lopez as my mother. She is a very kind and sweet person to talk to and would work very hard. I admired seeing her study her lines in between scenes trying her best to get into character. Jharrel Jerome was also very kind, and since he had to portray Anthony Robles, you could tell he wanted to portray him the best that he could. He would have a specific diet and would only eat specific meals to get the right build that Anthony Robles had. Filming this movie was such a great experience that I would love to experience again.

Was there anything that drew you to the role of Ronnie and how did you feel after finding out you’d booked the project?

Yes, what drew me to the role of Ronnie Robles was everything she had to go through at such a young age, and her older brother Anthony having to go through so much more. I have an older brother, but he doesn’t wrestle but we do like to play-fight for fun so I felt a small connection being the only sister in a family full of boys. When I found out I booked the role of Ronnie, I was super-duper excited to be filming again. I was even more excited when I found out because it was a movie with Jennifer Lopez and I was just like “OMG” and I couldn’t believe it. A fun fact is that my dad from Unstoppable is the partner in real life to the actress who played my mom in the movie Instant Family. Filming is one of my most favourite things to do and brings me a lot of happiness getting to portray characters that I might not act like in real life.

How was it watching Unstoppable for the first time and who do you think the film will appeal to?

Watching Unstoppable for the first time, I was a little nervous because I wasn’t sure how good my acting skills were. I was hoping they were the best they can be because of how big the message was and what the story shared.

I think this film appeals to anyone who is struggling with family issues and bullying. Like Anthony says, “when someone looks at you, sometimes they look at what’s missing, not what you have”. It’s ok if you have something missing, just be grateful with the life that you are given and don’t take it for granted. This film can also appeal to all athletes who think that they are not good enough. If you work hard and try your best you can get to the top, you really just have to try and commit to it.

You played Young Jane (Gina Rodriguez) in Series 4 and 5 of Jane the Virgin, what was the show like to be part of?

Being a part of Jane the Virgin was such a wonderful experience and even just getting to play her made me feel so honoured. I really look up to Gina Rodriguez because, not only is she an actor, but also a director and a producer. So, taking on that role was the biggest joy for me. At the time, I was one of the hugest fans of Jenna Ortega, and would always watch her show Stuck in the Middle. So when I got to film the scene where Jane gets married, I was so happy when I saw Jenna Ortega and I even got to take a photo with her, which I was very happy about.

Do you have any stand-out memories from being on set of Instant family as the co-lead role of Lita that you can tell us about?

Yes, me and Mark Wahlberg would do this thing called ‘jumpy jumps’. I was younger back then so I would get tired in between scenes and we would do it to get me more energy. Mark also had this chair he would let me sit in, but it wasn’t just a normal acting chair, it was a fancy chair and it could recline. Me and my acting brother Gustavo (Escobar) would play games in between scenes, and they all know that I was the UNO champ. Gustavo and I even had nicknames for each other. He would call me “Sophia” and I would call him “Gugu”. Rose Byrne would also hang out with all of us in between the scenes, as well as Isabela, she was like the older sister I never had. It was really cool because production actually gave Gustavo and I a scooter to go from our trailer to set. My mom actually had a picture of Isabela and I riding the scooter together.

What was it like getting into character as Lita and working with Mark Wahlberg, Rose Byrne, Isabela Merced and Gustavo Escobar?

It was a lot of fun getting into character. Lita was a character that was loud and rambunctious, which was a little opposite from me when I was younger because I was shy and would need to get used to people. It was very fun getting to scream a lot for my potato chips because when do you ever just get to scream? If I were to ever scream that loud for food, my parents would get so mad at me. So in Instant Family when I had scenes like this, it was super fun and I just got to let everything out.

All the cast was super nice and we were all pretty close. The hotel we stayed in, in Atlanta, had a swimming pool, so Gustavo and I would swim there after filming and we just got really close. It’s actually pretty funny though because one time when we were going to the pool we got stuck in the elevator for like an hour, and Gustavo had to jump out and help us get out to safety.

Were there any scenes of Instant Family you particularly enjoyed filming?

Yes, one of my favourite scenes was the Barbie scene because, when I was younger, Barbies were one of my favourite toys to play with, and now this scene is actually pretty popular because of what I said: “Santa got me a fat Barbie, I want a skinny Barbie”, which is both pretty funny and iconic.

Another one of my favourite scenes is the camping scene. I really liked this scene because we all got to really bond and play with water guns and eat s’mores. A cool fact from this is that I wore my hat backwards because I was making fun of Mark Wahlberg, but wardrobe ended up approving of it so I got to wear it like that for the actual scene.

Another one of my favourite scenes is the SpongeBob knife scene. I like this scene because it’s a really funny scene and it’s not really what you would expect to happen if this were to happen. Also, because it’s a scene where you can see how much my character really likes potato chips, and how just me complaining about chips can cause a small fire and so much more.

For your first role, you played regular character Isela Camayo in East Los High, what do you remember from being involved with the series?

Honestly, I don’t remember much from working on East Los High since I was so young. But, from what I remember, there was this one time I bought a game called BeanBoozled to the set, where there’s both bad and good flavours of jelly beans and you have to spin the wheel to see which one you get. I got everyone from the cast to try them and some of them didn’t know what they were so it was pretty funny to see their reactions. My mom and I from East Los High kept in contact and we like to reach out from time to time.

You have also worked in voiceover, and have voiced Sadie in episodes of Superkitties for Disney Jr., what are voiceovers like to do?

Voiceovers are both easy but a little trickier because you have to act out your lines with your voice. But it is also easy because you have the lines right in front of you where you can just read them off. I usually do my voiceover auditions in my mom’s closet so I can just be free and get into character. I also most times look pretty funny when I do them because I can act crazy while playing with the lines. I also like to sometimes change my voice depending on how I think my character would say or deliver the lines.

Where does your love for acting come from and how did you get into it?

My love for acting comes from me wanting to be a very successful actress and my family who is always supporting me and helping me while acting. They really help me and support me and always being there every step of the way really makes me love acting even more. I got into acting at the age of two years old. At first, my parents put my brother into acting, but he didn’t really get into it, then my parents put me into acting and I ended up booking one of my first auditions, which was East Los High.

What are some of your favourite films and TV shows to watch?

Some of my favourite films to watch are My Girl, The Sandlot, You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, It Takes Two, and my top favourite is Uptown Girls because I am a big fan of and really look up to Dakota Fanning. My favourite TV shows to watch are The Rookie, Dance Moms (both the new and older Dance Moms), Victorious, and The Summer I Turned Pretty.

How do you like to spend your time away from acting?

I like to spend my time away from acting by baking, doing nails, playing with my siblings and dogs, going shopping, going e-biking, and hanging out with my friends. I also do cheerleading, soccer, track, and volleyball, which I really enjoy.

Do you have any projects coming up that you can share, and what are you hoping 2025 brings for you?

No, I don’t have any upcoming projects, but I hope 2025 brings me another movie or show where I can get to play a main character with many big actors. I hope that it can also be a big movie that can boost my acting career and make me a well-known actress. I hope that someday I’ll be so good I will be winning many awards.

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