'Julie and the Phantoms': Meet Madison Reyes, Charlie Gillespie and rest of the cast of Netflix musical series
'Julie and the Phantoms', Netflix's new original series, is the latest hot musical show to hit the scene. It follows the life of its titular character, Julie, who following the death of her mother and the loss of her passion for music, runs into the ghosts of a rock band who were sadly cut down in their prime, right before their big break. When they realize they have an odd and unique connection with Julie, the trio of specters decides to hang around a while and possibly reignite their own music career through her. Emmy Award-winning director Kenny Ortega's touch on this show is unmistakable, seeing as 'Julie and the Phantoms' delivers a little bit of the teen romance and breaking out into song amidst the auditorium of 'High School Musical' and a bit of the fantasy musical elements and intrigue of 'Descendants'. But outside of its crew, the show's cast is definitely a big part of what makes this tale work.
Madison Reyes as Julie
Reyes makes her big debut with 'Julie and the Phantoms', in the leading role no less, and she does a fantastic job at bringing the character to life. It certainly helps that the youngster is actually close enough to her character's age that it makes her portrayal of Julie believable. She is additionally a gifted singer herself, and that lends more credence to her acting. But another important factor that makes Reyes perfect for the role is her ethnicity. Ortega was adamant that the show hired someone from the Latinx community for the lead role, owing largely to his desire to tell a story that is rooted in the Latinx experience. Julie's family, therefore, is Latinx and their ethnic identity is peppered throughout the show.
(Kailey Schwerman/Netflix)
In an interview with ET, Ortega shared, "I wanted this to be a Latina family, and I also wanted a Julie 'from the block' — a young girl that was relatable, that other young women could relate to. A nationwide search and thousands of applicants later, Ortega's crew found him his Julie. "[The casting director] called me one day and said, 'Sit down and get ready.' They did this with me with Zac Efron [on High School Musical]... They said, 'We think we found your Julie. And I'll never forget it. I turned on my computer and punched her video and there she was... never having been in front of a camera or in a recording studio or ever having worked professionally. Just this 14-year-old high school freshman in Allentown, Pennsylvania, that, for me, had the magic."
Charlie Gillespie as Luke
Gillespie is no stranger to television, having previously starred in the 2018 series '2nd Generation' as Brody Johnson. The show dealt with racism, friendship, and more, and the young actor got to flex his skills as a budding talent. Prior to that, he portrayed Oliver in 2017's 'Degrassi: Next Class' and he went on to play Brian in 2018's 'Charmed'. But on 'Julie and the Phantoms', he gets to show his audience so many more sides to himself, including his musical talents as well as his comedic skills. While this role will probably earn a whole lot of comparisons to Zac Efron's Troy, he does manage to prove his mettle. Luke, the leader of his band, is a musician whose dreams have not ended, even if he is only a ghost. Gillespie's portrayal of the character's drive to keep creating music despite not being alive any more is certainly worthy of praise.
Jeremy Shada as Reggie
Shada is the veteran performer when it comes to the leading cast on 'Julie and the Phantoms'. The actor, voice actor, singer and musician is widely known for his voice acting roles as Finn on the animated television series 'Adventure Time' and Lance McClain in 'Voltron: Legendary Defender'. He also voiced several characters in the sketch-comedy series 'Incredible Crew'. Outside of his voice acting roles, Shada is also known for his work as the bassist and secondary vocalist of the rock band Make Out Monday. On 'Julie and the Phantoms', Shada portrays Reggie, one-third of the ghostly trio, but his role as one-half of the comedic duo with Joyner is arguably the standout of his performance.
Owen Patrick Joyner as Alex
Joyner found fame playing Crispo Powers on the 2014–2016 Nickelodeon comedy television series '100 Things to Do Before High School'. He continued his winning streak playing Arc on the 2018–2019 Nickelodeon series 'Knight Squad'. On 'Julie and the Phantoms', he portrays Alex, a member of the deceased rock band and a kind, compassionate person who just so happens to be gay. Outside of this, Joyner also gets to flex his comedic muscles and is one of the standout performances thanks to his remarkable timing.
Savannah Lee May as Carrie
May portrays the archetypical 'Queen Bee' who goes by Carrie on the show. But unlike regular portrayals, she's far less of a regular mean girl who bullies her classmates for the pure evil joy of it all. Carrie, it would appear, is modeled after 'High School Musical's Sharpay, a character that is so dedicated to making her dreams come true she is not averse to stepping on a few toes along the way. May, with a background in musical theater, gets the opportunity of a lifetime to fully showcase her talents this time around, after having previously co-starred alongside Joyner in 'Knight Squad'.
Supporting Cast
In keeping with his quest to hire a diverse cast, Julie's family is also portrayed by Latinx actors. Carlos Ponce stars as Julie's widowed father, Alison Araya plays her aunt Victoria and Sonny Bustamante plays her younger brother. The diverse cast is rounded out by 'Descendants' actors Booboo Stewart, who makes an appearance as a skater boy named Willie, and Cheyenne Jackson, who stars as ghost magician Caleb Covington. Both Stewart and Jackson have Native American ancestry. Additionally, the cast includes Black actresses Jadah Marie as Julie's best friend Flynn and Marci T House as her music teacher Mrs Harrison. Sacha Carlson also stars as Nick, Julie's crush.
'Julie and the Phantoms' will launch via Netflix on Thursday, September 10.