The band isn’t just back in town, they’re back from the afterlife! When Julie meets three dreamy ghosts in her mom’s old music studio, they form a band unlike any other and use their special bond to deal with (after)life’s challenges. Julie and The Phantoms premieres on Netflix tomorrow. Here are some fast facts about the stars.
Madison Reyes
Madison Reyes stars as Julie. She was chosen by casting directors Jason La Padura and Natalie Hart out of 700 auditions from around the world! Madison’s teacher at Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts suggested that she send in an audition tape. (Shout out to Madison’s teacher for finding us the perfect Julie!)
More Facts about Madison:
- She self-recorded her audition tape in her family’s home. She memorized all the dialogue from the audition sides and played every character in the scene. She also played the piano and sang the song “She Used to Be Mine” from the musical Waitress. (One of faves!)
- Julie and the Phantoms is Madison’s first professional acting gig. She found her love for acting in seventh grade when she played Jasmine in a school production of Aladdin.
- Madison’s mom is a Sergeant in the US military, so she would often sing the national anthem at military events.
- At her quinceañera, Madison choreographed and performed “Don’t Rain on My Parade” from Funny Girl with her friends. (Those friends were not ghosts.)
- Madison is a huge Broadway fan (of course!). Her favorite musicals include Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights and Hamilton, and she dreams of someday starring in a Broadway show. Her dream roles are Veronica Sawyer in Heathers: The Musical, Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton, and Lydia Deetz in Beetlejuice.
Charlie Gillespie
The Sunset Curve’s lead-singer and electric guitar player, the ghost with the biggest connection to Julie is played by Charlie Gillespie. Charlie is as much of a music fanatic and talented musician as his character!
More Facts About Charlie:
- Charlie has played acoustic guitar for as long as he can remember, and also plays the bass, trombone, tuba, piano, violin, and saxophone. He and his four siblings often play together.
- He knew that Luke would play electric guitar over acoustic, so a month before the audition, he rented an electric guitar and amp and practiced every day.
- Charlie started performing at open mic nights around Los Angeles to build up his confidence for his Julie and The Phantoms audition.
Owen Joyner
Drummer, shoulder to cry on, and friendly ghost Alex is played by Owen Joyner. A musical theater actor, Owen has gone from the stage to the screen to join this ghostly band.
More Facts About Owen:
- Owen is obviously a huge musical theater fan. When he was growing up in Oklahoma he participated in a lot of community theater, and by the time he was 18 he had acted in 38 musicals! Owen’s favorite role to play was Curly in Oklahoma when he was 16 years old.
- He also played sports growing up and remembers getting made fun of when he would show up to baseball practice with mascara still on from theater camp. (Sometimes we take out costumes from the studio to the street! We get it, Owen.)
- Owen has played the drums since he was 12, and had to sing a song and play the drums at the same time for his audition. He chose the song “Buddy Holly” by Weezer.
- The cast pranked each other throughout filming. When Owen went home for a weekend, Charlie switched all the belongings in their bedrooms and gift-wrapped every single item.
Jeremy Shada
Jeremy Shada plays Reggie, the band’s enthusiastic base player. You might not recognize his face from any of your favorite shows, but he has voiced some of your favorite characters like Finn in Adventure Time and Lance in Voltron: Legendary Defender.
More Facts About Jeremy:
- When Madison first met Jeremy during auditions, she fangirled out a little because she was such a huge fan of his work in Adventure Time and Voltron: Legendary Defender.
- Jeremy has been playing the bass for years and plays in a real-life alternative pop punk band called Make Out Monday.
- He played “Young Blood” by 5 Seconds of Summer for his Julie and The Phantoms audition.
- Charlie and Owen lived together during filming in Vancouver, and Jeremy—who was living with his fiancé—would come over and play Xbox with them almost every night. He says they quickly became “like an old married couple.”
Cheyenne Jackson
Forming a ghost band comes with some challenges—like evil ghosts that want talented musicians for their elite afterlife club. That evil ghost is played by Cheyenne Jackson.
More Facts About Cheyenne:
- Cheyenne, Jadah, and Booboo have all previously worked with Kenny Ortega on Descendants 3 and got to reunite for this project.
- He appeared in four seasons of American Horror Story and even had appearances on Glee!
- Cheyenne has a Grammy nomination! He was nominated for Best Musical Theater Album at the 57th Grammy Awards for his work on West Side Story.
Jadah Marie
Julie’s best friend and biggest supporter is the aspiring young DJ Flynn. Flynn is played by the multi-talented Jadah Marie whose talents for acting, comedy, singing, and dancing all come together to bring her character to life.
More Facts About Jadah:
- You might recognize Jadah from her roles in Descendants 3, and Ready Player One.
- She has competed in cheer and gymnastic competitions. At only four years old, Jadah won three national titles in cheer as a flyer!
Booboo Stewart
A Skater ghost with the afterlife knowledge the band needs, Willie is played by Booboo Stewart. Even though his character isn’t in the band, Booboo is a singer as well as an actor. Will we eventually get to hear Willie sing?
More Facts About Booboo:
- He has been in several major films. You might recognize him as Seth Clearwater in The Twilight Saga, Warpath in X-Men: Days of Future Past, and Jay in the Descendants movies.
- Booboo plays a skater, but he’s been studying martial arts since he was three years old! He has won several awards for this passion including the Junior Martial Arts World Championship in 2002 and 2003.
Savannah May
The lead singer of Dirty Candi and Julie’s ex-best friend Carrie is played by Savannah May. Savannah is a dancer, so it’s no wonder her character’s girl group loves a musical number with choreography.
More Facts About Savannah:
- Savannah has starred in Nickelodeon’s Knight Squad and Lifetime’s The Secret Lives of Cheerleaders.
- She grew up taking dance classes!
- Savannah took acting, dance, and voice classes at Humphrey School of Musical Theatre with Theatre Under the Stars for five years.
