Meet Julian Enriquez | Actor, screenwriter, director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Julian Enriquez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Julian, how do you think about risk?
I think about risk as not being a risk if that makes any sense. I just do the things that I want to do and know that I am going to accomplish them one way or another. I don’t know how long I got on this beautiful planet, all I know is that I want to live my life doing the things I love. So any risk I have to take I will take if that means it’s one step closer to my goal.

Let us go back to when I was graduating high school, a standard A+ student maybe a B+ or two in there, but I was set to be an orthopedic surgeon. I thought to myself, hey I love sports, doctors make a good living, I’m good at science, why not? So that is what I did, I went to college as a pre-med student and boy were I busy. 5 am woke up, showered, eat, school, studied, work, eat, studied, bed, repeat. You can say that life wasn’t for me without getting into the depressing details.

One day I got a call from my best friend Brandon Rubalcaba, to transfer schools and go to film school with him. You see I loved making films, acting, writing, and directing. I did this a lot as a kid, then in high school, I was more of an actor, but as you grow up and you let other people’s thoughts and opinions affect your decisions your dreams, and goals that seem impossible but really aren’t fade away and you just become another person doing what they think others want them to do. So after the call, I quickly said no. I mean why would I say yes? I had 3 semesters of pre-med under my belt. I was already shadowing a doctor, I had already made some medical school visits, and my life was already planned out for the next 10 years. But Brandon being the amazing friend he is kept pressing me to transfer and go with him until I finally agreed to go to an orientation, not transfer an orientation to see if I would consider it.

Well, that orientation came around and I drove 8 hours just to hear them out. I left that orientation and walked straight to the registrar and registered for a full semester and dropped all of my pre-med courses, and transferred Universities.

If it wasn’t for that risk, I would’ve never met the people in my life today, I would’ve never been a part of ZebraTail Studios, there are a lot of things that wouldn’t have happened if I never took that risk. So my advice to whoever is reading this TAKE RISKS.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m a born visual storyteller. For me, movies/films (whichever you prefer) have always been a form of escape. Growing up wasn’t easy for me and I turned to movies or TV to forget as I did that I always thought of how I could recreate what I was watching or how I could play the part of a character I liked and I thought like this every time I saw a movie. So that’s what I do. I make movies and tell stories, to hopefully let people escape on their own.

What sets me apart from others? I answer this question the same every time, nothing. Nothing sets me apart from others. There are so many people doing what I do that it is almost impossible to be like well stand out because of this. No, what sets me apart from others is that I am Julian Enriquez and no one else. I just try and be the best version of myself instead of comparing myself to others and that individuality will speak for itself.

I got to where I am today because I am delusional. Like there is no other option for me, I know that I will be at the top one way or another. No, it’s not easy. I just make sure to keep myself in check and keep doing what I love. As a kid, I always wanted to be an actor to make movies, okay now I make sure I never forget that.

I want the world to know that I enjoy entertaining them and I hope to do so for a long time.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
So for breakfast we eating at Seven Mile Cafe, then we hit up family thrift. Then for lunch is taqueria el paisano, then head over to Deep Ellum and walk around the local shops, then for dinner there is only one place to go and that is JINYA ramen bar. That is day one.

Then we can go to fort worth and see the stockyards, and the art museum, we can go to Arlington and go to six flags and watch a cowboys game. Catch a movie at the Angelika theaters my favorite spot to watch a movie.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would first want to thank both of my parents, my mother who has always supported me and my decisions and has always stood by me regardless of if she thought it was the right decision or not. She has always been there to cheer me on or pick me up and I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her, and to my father who has also backed me up in my decisions. My mentality of taking risks, and having confidence in my work comes from him. Both my parents have shown me nothing but love and support and because of them, I am living the life I want.

Next, I want to thank my best friend Brandon Rubalcaba. Without him, I would probably still be a medical student right now and not a very great one. He has been like a brother to me and I love this man with all my heart. We created an amazing 2 season web series titled Rising Stars on youtube that was an amazing experience.

Lastly, I want to thank Fredrick Ewelike and all of ZebraTail Studios for allowing me to be my creative self and allow my voice to be heard through the art I make. Fred took a chance on me and now we work together on almost every project.

Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10819605/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julian.a.enriquez/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5TprWzqluVq7wgPESFU9oA/videos

Image Credits
Jason Mehrtens Cara Buse 14th shooter Ryan Brown