Julia Ling talks to me on speakerphone as she drives to her next appointment. I get the sense that her days are filled with lots to do, but when she parks her car and gives me free reign with her time, I feel like maybe we operate on the same wavelength of human consideration. I’m so glad she’s in it for the long haul, because there’s a ton I want to know.
For starters, how did she become so cool? Besides her job as an actress, her interests include guns, swords, videogames, Dungeons and Dragons, building computers, martial arts, medicine and anime. Ling lists an HK USP 9mm compact as her favorite gun, and in her eyes, the straight sword is beautiful when in motion.
“Part of it is the gaming side of me,” Ling said. “I love Counter-Strike and Call of Duty and all those military strategy games. I also have a lot of friends who are military and law enforcement, so I’m really into all types of weapons.”
After I drool over her obvious experience with all sorts of arsenal, we talk about her acting career, specifically her latest role in Command and Conquer Red Alert 3: Uprising. This expansion for last fall’s Command and Conquer Red Alert 3 includes four new minicampaigns set in the aftermath of the events of Red Alert 3.
The game also features the new Commander's Challenge mode, a series of 50 scenarios that unlock new units. This is Ling’s second appearance as Izumi, a Japanese school girl with telekinetic powers. Uprising, like previous releases in the Command and Conquer series features live-action sequences as well as voice work, and after a few hours inside the sound booth, Ling steps into a live gaming experience that even paying customers can’t get.
“The set of Command and Conquer was amazing,” Ling said. “Everyone was really down to earth and chill. We all shared the same jokes, and we had all seen the same sci-fi movies. It just felt like family in that way.”
”Any drawbacks?” I asked.
“They gave me this great big wig,” Ling said. “It was a huge ponytail, and it weighed about 5 pounds.”
Ling’s experience on set isn’t her first taste of video games and fantasia. Growing up in a predominantly male household, Ling cultivated her interests with guidance from her brothers and cousins. These male influences helped to shape her future interests in gaming (and relationships).
“When I started dating, the guys I dated were real gaming nerds,” Ling said. “There’s just something about those guys that was really attractive. They are really sweet.”
Through those initial experiences with gaming, comic conventions and gen-cons around her Southern California home, Ling developed her own tastes in fantasy and sci-fi. Perhaps it is no surprise that Ling left her original love of medicine for the chance to role-play professionally.
“In college I kept going out to auditions while I was pre-med,” Ling said. “Ultimately, I worked on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which was three 16-hour days.”
Ling soon made a choice between her path as a student and becoming a full-time actress. She knew continuing both would end in disaster, but she wasn’t ready leave a promising career in medicine to embrace the artist within.
“I went to Hollywood and gave it a shot for a few days to decide if it’s something that I really love,” Ling said. “That was about four years ago.”
Her success as an actress doesn’t diminish her dreams of that doctorate, and Ling still daydreams of a life less publicized.
“I’m a real nerd in life. I’ve always wanted to be a neurosurgeon;” Ling said. “I’m a little bit heart broken every time I see a doctor.”
Since then Ling appeared in several television series’ including NBC’s Chuck, The O.C., House, Alias and Grey’s Anatomy. Recently Ling was on the set of the 2010 film High School. Directed by John Stalberg, High School also features the talents of Michael Chiklis and Adrien Brody. Ling plays a pot-smoking speed spelling bee champion.
“I’ve never played a stoned girl before,” Ling said. “I can honestly say at the end of shooting, I felt like I was a master of rolling joints.”
When she’s not twisting fatties for her craft, Ling is an avid martial artist who competes in her spare time. Her most memorable moment in martial arts found her at the 2007 Jackie Chan Disciples.
“I participated in this national competition to challenge myself to see how good I could be,” Ling said. “It’s given me something to look back on and motivate myself with.”
As she’s meandered her way through life’s overgrown lawn, Ling made some tough decisions. For her, all roads lead to life as an artist; however, she knows there are still some things to learn, and she’s still a ways from the end.
“I don’t have any regrets for any decision I’ve made,” Ling said. “But I can definitely become a better actress and a smarter business woman. I always feel there is room for growth and improvement.”
Five Favorite Games
Dungeons and Dragons
Counter-Strike
Munchkins
DanceDance Revolution
Final Fantasy 10
