Lately, Julia Butters’s life has been full of firsts: She flew to London for Freakier Friday‘s summer press tour; worked alongside a woman director, Nisha Ganatra; and, upon our meeting, wrapped up her first New York Fashion Week. It’s a rainy September morning in Lower Manhattan, the first of many mornings that will usher in colder temperatures, but the dreariness outside has no impact on the actor’s verve.
Butters, a junior in high school, made her acting debut at age four on Criminal Minds, followed by a breakout role as the ever-so-spunky Trudi Fraser in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and a representation of Steven Spielberg’s sister Anne in The Fabelmans. Most recently, she co-starred in the Freaky Friday sequel as Harper, angsty daughter to Lindsay Lohan’s Anna. At age 16, Butters knows her way around a set and has the experience to prove it.
Whether singing in backyard shows for friends’ bands, chipping away at passion projects, or delving into the lives of long-ago stars of celluloid, Butters’ interests are united by a deep love of storytelling for the sake of storytelling. And the actor’s greatest power speaks to that: She is eager to learn and bring all these elements back to acting, but also knows when to step away from the job. To Butters, it’s not so much about memorizing lines as it is understanding a character; never just observing, but also making time to live.
As she settles into her junior year of high school, we speak with the actor as part of Teen Vogue’s New Hollywood Class of 2025.
Teen Vogue: You’ve come off quite a busy summer. Tell me about the past few months: Freakier Friday, its sweeping press tour, and overall reception.
Julia Butters: It’s all felt very surreal, like a dream sequence, so it’s been interesting waking up to the aftermath. When the movie came out, we got a lot of great feedback from fans who wanted [it] in the first place. They were very vocal, [had been] always asking Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan if it would happen. To be a part of it was really exciting, because I knew it was something so heavily anticipated.
TV: Where were you when you learned you landed the role of Harper?
JB: I was in the middle of tutoring…. I saw a call from my manager and was like, “Oh shoot, I can’t, I’m in math.” I hung up, then later I called her back, and she was like, “Well, we just wanted to say you got the part.” I ran out and told my dad, called my mom and my acting coach.
TV: You mentioned the “dream sequence” of the summer and the “aftermath” you’re in now. How did the press tour feel?
JB: It was so hard to process as it was happening. I live a very normal life outside of work and had been in that world for so long — hanging out with my friends, singing in their bands at parties. Then, all of a sudden, it was game time. [The press tour] was a lot of dressing up, a lot of interviews. It was such a different thing than what I was used to.
TV: How has playing Harper, playing Anna, impacted your outlook as an actor?
JB: I understand myself better and [have] learned to trust my instincts. When you’re nervous to take on a huge responsibility, you either “release your inhibitions / feel the rain on your skin” or crumble under pressure. I was able to relinquish myself to the character and let her find me.
As the production went along, I learned so much from Lindsay and so much about myself. I was the same age [Lindsay] was when she filmed Freaky Friday…. I was a teenager — I mean, I still am — but I was 15 filming. It was a vulnerable time that [I was] able to share with people who understood it. If I needed a break or a snack, [production] was like, “We get it. You’re a growing girl.”
TV: You made your acting debut at four years old. How have you grown as an actor since then?
JB: The most important part of my career has been pacing myself so I don’t burn out. If you don’t have that life outside — that foundation, blueprint, and normalcy — it’s so easy to get swept up in everything.
