An Interview with the Young Jedi Actress Emma Berman
We recently had the amazing opportunity to chat with actress Emma Berman. There is no doubt that many people will be familiar with Emma's voice because she lent hers to a lead character in Luca, a film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. Emma played Giulia, one of Luca’s –voiced by Jacob Tremblay– best friends, alongside Alberto,’ –voiced by Jack Dylan Grazer–. I’m pretty sure we’re all familiar with the cute Disney Pixar movie. Now she's lending her voice to “Nash Durango” in the upcoming Star Wars series for Disney+, Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures. The animated series occurs 200 years before "The Phantom Menace".
We had the great opportunity of chatting with Emma about her career as an actress, Russian heritage, Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures, working for Disney, and more. This young girl has achieved much at the age of 14. Let’s read what she has to share about her fascinating experiences with us!
HI EMMA! HOW ARE THINGS IN YOUR LIFE?
Thank you so much for having me! Life is great now that it’s summer break and Young Jedi Adventures is finally out!
TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOU, EMMA. WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO PURSUE ACTING?
I was inspired to start acting by performing in my elementary school productions and watching live theater. I decided to take theater classes and camps and audition for shows in the Bay Area when I was 8 years old. I fell in love with acting and decided to take some on-camera classes to broaden my acting bubble. At one of the classes I took, I was scouted by STARS the agency and that is how my acting journey took off.
WHAT TOOK YOU TO BECOME A VOICE ACTRESS?
I never really thought about voice acting until I got signed with my agency and they sent me a voiceover audition for LeapFrog. I absolutely adored the script and the process of recording my take and I was very delighted to hear that I booked the job. Since then, voiceover has become my passion and I hope to be able to continue voicing for different projects in the future.
YOU SPEAK BOTH ENGLISH AND RUSSIAN. I IMAGINE YOUR PARENTS HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THIS. IS ONE OF THEM RUSSIAN?
Both of my parents immigrated from Moscow, Russia in their later teen years so my brother and I are both first-born generation Americans. My grandma also lives with us, so we speak Russian at home often.
I READ YOU PLAYED ‘BABY JUNE’ IN THE PLAY "GYPSY", CRITICS LOVED YOUR PERFORMANCE. WE'D LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT IT, WHAT CAN YOU TELL US?
Playing Baby June in the Bay Area Musicals production of ‘Gypsy’ in 2019 was a highlight of my theater experience in many ways! This was the most fun and the most challenging part because Baby June does splits and cartwheels, so I had to train for months to do the splits and to be able to do all sorts of fun acrobatics! It was so much fun getting into Bay June’s character and it was really awesome to read all the positive critics reviews of my performance and to see my hard work get recognized.
IT MUST BE QUITE DIFFICULT TO BALANCE YOUR JOB WITH YOUR STUDIES. HOW DO YOU DO IT?
The recording studios I have been fortunate to work with have always booked my sessions around my school hours so there has never been a conflict with my studies. I will be starting 10th grade this fall and I look forward to continuing working on my voiceover projects while also taking challenging classes like AP World History and Advanced English 2 at school. I am grateful to have this balance of living a regular teenage life while also being a kid actor!
HOW HAS YOUR EXPERIENCE WORKING AT DISNEY/PIXAR BEEN? YOU VOICED THE FILM "LUCAS", SO IT MUST'VE BEEN QUITE AN EXPERIENCE!
Working on Luca was the most incredible experience of my life. Being 11 years old and getting my first job voicing for a Pixar feature film is mindblowing! Everyone at Pixar was so kind and really fun to work with! I am very proud to have given my voice to the iconic Guilia and I absolutely loved seeing the amazing fan art and so many positive messages from Luca fans all over the world!
HAVE YOU WORKED WITH OTHER STUDIOS? MAYBE IN THE VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY?
My first voiceover job was for LeapFrog so I worked with that production company for about a year voicing 5 different toys. In animation, in addition to working with Lucasfilm for Young Jedi Adventures and with Pixar for Luca, I worked with Netflix for the Go! Go! Cory Carson! series and with Disney Junior for SuperKitties, for which I also recorded video games available on DisneyNow.
YOU ARE SOON TO BE 15-YEAR-OLD AND YOU’RE THE LEAD VOICE ARTIST IN THE NEW STAR WARS SERIES. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT IT?
I feel so proud to be part of the galaxy, and I couldn’t imagine a better way to celebrate entering this upcoming chapter in my life.
COULD YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT STAR WARS: YOUNG JEDI ADVENTURES AND YOUR CHARACTER NASH DURANGO?
Nash Durango is the pilot for the Jedi Younglings Kai, Lys, and Nubs, and she takes them all around the galaxy on their adventures! She also works with her parents at their family shuttle company where she transports all sorts of things and makes deliveries with the help of her best friend and co-pilot, RJ-83. Nash is a dextrous, confident, and charismatic character, and I am honored to have brought her to life.
ARE THERE OTHER PROJECTS YOU ARE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW OR YOU’D LIKE TO WORK ON?
Right now, I am working on SuperKitties Season 2, and I would love to be able to continue working with Disney Jr. on other fun projects!
EMMA'S INSTAGRAM
Interview by Armando Vera