Juliet Brennan appears in Trap, by famous U.S. filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan
Woodstock actor Juliet Brennan saw a dream come true when she landed a role in the feature film ‘Trap.’ The movie, which stars Josh Hartnett, debuted at Atlantic Cinemas in Woodstock in early August.
Brennan, who is 13, has been acting locally since she was six, starring in school plays and Standing Ovations Drama Camp productions.
“Since I was so good at [acting], and I kept getting these lead roles, [I thought] maybe I could try and pursue acting professionally,” said Brennan.
Juliet was 12 when her mother, Katie Brennan, started researching ways to make her daughter’s dream come true –safely.
“You always hear these horror stories about scams,” said Katie, noting she didn’t want her daughter to fall victim to one of them. Katie eventually found some information on Facebook, leading to Juliet acting in a New Brunswick Dental Society commercial.
With the help of her mom, Juliet has secured a few professional on-screen jobs over the last couple of years. Aside from the dental commercial, Juliet was offered a role in a music video for Canadian musician Becky Leigh. That role meant travelling to Toronto, which led to Juliet connecting with more people in the film industry.
“It’s all about who you know,” said Katie, noting that musicians and other actors in the music video shared industry hints on where Juliet could look for roles.
After a few more acting roles, an agent contacted Katie, asking to represent her daughter. That new partnership led to more roles and, later, securing a second agent. She now has one agent for acting and another for singing. Her singing agent got her the audition for ‘Trap.’
Juliet had to travel to Hamilton, Ontario, during school months for that role.
Katie says her teachers have accommodated her daughter’s filming schedules, uploading schoolwork to Google Teams. Production companies are legally obligated to provide tutors for all child actors for longer filming jobs.
Juliet said the biggest challenges to acting are tight deadlines and start times. She only received the music for her part in ‘Trap’ the day before filming began and was expected to have it memorized quickly. She’s often expected on set very early in the morning and can sometimes work up to 14 hours a day.
Juliet is now a registered actor within the Canadian Actors Union, which has strict rules around child actors’ hours and breaks.
As for what’s next for the teen actor, Juliet said she will be working in Hamilton this month for another role she recently landed while she waits for word on two other roles she’s auditioned for.
Juliet isn’t sure that acting will always be in her future, as she’s always had another goal in mind.
“I really do love acting, but I don’t want to keep doing it forever. I’d really like to be a teacher someday.”
