Sitting down with the world’s favorite ghostly musical trio

In a world where we’re all at home, flipping through our subscriptions and searching for the next big “thing,” Executive Producer Kenny Ortega and his newest creation just may be it. Julie and the Phantoms premiered worldwide on Netflix on September 10th, and the musical comedy-drama has been taking the nation by storm ever since. Featuring a cast of young, fresh talent with a set of pipes that will blow you away, and an original soundtrack that rivals even the catchiest of High School Musical tunes, the show has gripped audiences young and old in the mere month that it’s been available for viewing. We caught up with a few members of the cast of “ghouls” to ask them some questions about the show and being on set.

Luke, Alex, and Reggie make up the three-man band that protagonist Julie summons when shuffling through her mom’s old CDs. The twist? All three boys are ghost musicians that Julie calls from the grave by accident. “Playing a ghost is funny,” Jeremy Shada, who plays bass player Reggie, says, “because the other characters can’t respond to anything you do in the scene.” Dan Cross and David Hoge, the show’s creators, went to great lengths to ensure that the “ghost physics” were kept consistent throughout the show. “It was a new challenge for sure,” Owen Patrick Joyner, the actor who plays the Phantom’s drummer, Alex, says, “especially towards the beginning of filming. We would start working on a scene and constantly check in with Dan and Dave to make sure we weren’t doing anything that contradicted the story or our characters.” The boys worked together on set to stay in character, stay focused, and to bring the ghostly trio to life with passion and vocals that charmed audiences of all ages.

All three actors started their passions out young, of course, in various degrees of the arts; music, entertainment, and stage. “I started playing bass when I was twelve years old,” Jeremy says, “because at first I thought it was just the easiest instrument to learn. But over time I fell in love with it.” Charlie Gillespie, who plays lead singer Luke, also trained musically as a singer, and Owen began his life in the spotlight on the stage. “I started doing musical theater when I was ten after I watched a production of Aladdin Junior, and auditioned and fell in love with it,” he tells us. “Shortly thereafter I began playing the drums and never stopped.” Their shared, lifelong love of music and performance is what eventually brought all three actors together in front of Ortega.

Initially, each actor came to set through an audition process that set them apart from others. “I’ve known the casting team for a long time,” Jeremy says, “so they called me in specifically to read for Reggie.” Shada says that his first audition in front of Kenny and the producers involved playing the bass live, followed by a rigorous mix of testing out different versions of the band’s song Bright. When it got to the end and he played with costars Charlie Gillespie and Owen Patrick Joyner, Ortega got up and said, “that’s it – you’re the band.” Like Shada, both Gillespie and Joyner had a gift for music and performance. “I got this role by rocking out,” Charlie says, “and each one of us was already friends with our characters before stepping into the room.” Their third member, Joyner, had worked for Nickelodeon on and off for years, and had met the showrunners before. “The writers, Sean and Marc, reached out and said they found a perfect part for me,” the actor says, “and they were right.”

When it comes to their time spent with the show’s producer, Kenny Ortega, the boys dive deep into what it means to create such a special project, and what it meant to the people watching it worldwide.

“Kenny is an absolute legend,” Jeremy says, “with such an amazing childlike wonder and the most natural energy I’ve ever seen from a director.”

His vision and openness is what carried the project to fruition, and the core value that Ortega instills in his actors is passion and a reason for being.

“Raison D’etre,” Charlie says, “or reason to be. A Kenny lesson he learned from Gene Kelly and a lesson I’ll be passing down myself. Our show is making a big impact on families who have dealt with loss, and I never realized we could do that.

The outreach from folks who tell us we’ve helped them bring back an old passion of theirs that was lost blows me away. I thought we were making an entertaining musical with a bit of heart, but Kenny knew. He told me a few days ago:

‘Why else are we doing this if it’s not to better people? That’s what entertainment is really about.’”

This reason for being extends to his cast, which the boys say was a huge reason for the show’s success.

“Kenny has a unique way of pushing you past your comfort zone while making you feel completely safe at the same time,” Joyner states.

In addition to acting, the show’s creators gave the trio free reign to create music for the storyline as well. “The first song I ever wrote was with Madison called Perfect Harmony,” Charlie tells Rival editors, “and it’s a testament to what I just said about Kenny; we worked our butts off to write that song, and he loved that, and led the way to get it on the show.” Shada himself had been in a band for years before auditioning for Julie and the Phantoms to play Reggie, and had experience in performing, singing, and writing his own music. “I’ve been a part of a band called Make Out Monday for six years,” Jeremy says, “and we all write the music ourselves and I sing co-lead and play bass.” He says it was great having that experience for the show, and even helped when writing a few of the songs on the track.

“If we get a second season, there’s going to be a lot more opportunities for us to write songs for the show, which we’re all very excited about,” the actor says.

When asked what each actor thought stood out most about their respective character, no one was at a loss for words. “My favorite part about playing Reggie is his almost childlike innocence,” Shada says, “and that he’s happy go-lucky and tries to find the bright side of every situation.” Charlie says that playing Alex is great because he’s the funniest of the three, and the witty banter is a huge part of his character’s charm. “It reminds me of the humor from back home,” he says. Reflecting on the third bandmate, Luke, the lead singer, Owen claims that the trait that stands out most about his character is his “passion for the afterlife” and his ability to lead the group. We also wanted to round out our time with the trio by asking them what they think their ghostly band would have been doing had the plot of the show been different, and they hadn’t died at a young age. Owen Patrick Joyner had this to say:

“I think they would have gone up on stage that night in 1995, blown the record execs away, had great albums, and a nice fan base. But I think the path they were meant to be on is the one with Julie. Before they died, they would have done great things, but with Julie, I think they may end up doing legendary things.”

JEREMY

Favorites

Favorite Role: Reggie.
Favorite Actor: Bradley Cooper
Favorite Boy Band: the Backstreet Boys.
Favorite Clothing Label: Zara.
Favorite Food: my wife’s cooking! (Specifically her grilled chicken Alfredo).
Favorite show to binge: THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY.
Favorite song: “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey, but currently it’s “Haunted” by the Band Camino.