(Cover Photo: Courtesy of Xana Mills)
With Turn It Up heading to the Tribeca Festival and a role in Neagley, the Reacher spin-off, Justine Nelson is stepping into a new phase of artistic expansion. In this interview, the actress, writer, and creator reflects on perseverance, creative freedom, and the excitement of continuing to build a career both in front of and behind the camera, shaped by versatility and a strong authorial voice.
Turn It Up is premiered at the Tribeca Festival, which is such an important space for independent film. What does this moment represent for you?
This moment is many things to me, but a big one is a reminder of how important perseverance is. This career has been a marathon, and reaching a landmark moment like this is a wonderful reminder that staying on the track, no matter how long it takes, or how winded you get, is worth it.
You work in front of the camera, but you also write and create your own projects. How do those different roles inform one another in your artistic process?
It gives me great appreciation for everything that goes into it. It’s not lost on me how hard it is to get anything made. So, being asked to be a part of someone else’s brainchild means the world to me because I know how much blood, sweat, and tears went into getting it to this point.
Mind Fudge reveals a very author-driven side of your work. What interests you most when you are building a story from the ground up?
It’s so hard to distill it down. However, I’d have to say it’s stories that scratch a certain itch inside of me. At different moments in time, there are parts of myself that scream louder than others, so I’ll often write stories that give me permission to indulge in that corner of myself.
You also appear in Neagley, the Reacher spin-off. What was it like stepping into a universe that already has such a strong fan base?
It was my first time getting to do so, and I am so excited! On set everyone was so warm and welcoming and made me feel right at home. It’s hard to know exactly what it’s like until it comes out. I hope the fanbase is intrigued by my character.
Your career is growing across both television and film. What kinds of characters or stories are most exciting to you at this stage?
Even though I’ve been at it for over a decade, I still feel like I’m at the start of it all, so everything excites me. Give me gritty characters, soft characters, a superhero, a villain, I want to try it all!
As a multi-hyphenate artist, do you feel writing gives you a different kind of freedom than acting alone?
Honestly, not always. Sometimes getting to just focus on one thing is the most freeing to me. When I’m doing both, it can be harder not to think about a million things at once. Though I do enjoy being immersed in it from all angles. I guess they bring freedom in different ways. One allows me to zone focus, and the other lets my ADHD brain run in multiple circles at once.
Looking at this current moment in your journey, what excites you most about the path you are building, both in front of and behind the camera?
What excites me most is that it feels like momentum is catching and that more doors are opening, allowing me to get to do the thing I love more than anything more and more. I’m just so grateful for any moment I get to be on set. A moment on set is worth the waiting.
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