British-Canadian actor Julian Richings is the kind of actor I think of as a chameleon; not just for his ability to disappear into the characters he portrays, but because whether you realise it or not, you’ve probably seen Julian in at least half a dozen movies or TV series.
Over the past few decades, he’s appeared in hundreds of films, television series and video games, with a clear penchant for tales of mystery and malice – but never allowing himself to be boxed in as an actor.
Despite the world of cinema hitting a roadbump in the last year or so, Julian’s as busy as ever with the release of two new feature films:Β Anything for Jackson, an occult horror from director Justin G. Dyck and writer Keith Cooper, and girl-power grindhouse flick Spare Parts from director Andrew Thomas Hunt and writers David Murdoch & Svet Rouskov.
I had the absolute pleasure of speaking to Julian about his diverse body of acting work, his approach to the very different characters he portrays inΒ Anything for JacksonΒ andΒ Spare Parts and much more.
Youβve been in such a phenomenal amount of films and TV projects. I think such a strength of yours as an actor is that you bring you A-game to everything youβre involved in. Youβve popped up in just about everything Iβve ever seen, I think.
Julian: You canβt get rid of me!
As an actor, what helps you bring your A-game to all these projects, no matter how big or small?
Julian: Well, Iβm lucky in that I love what I do. I love acting. The thing about being an actor is that, really, you can only be an actor by acting. You canβt sit and think about it. You can take classes or you can train, but itβs all about the moment. Itβs all about being out there and telling stories, and people are my medium. So I find COVID-19 very difficult, for instance, because sitting down and reflecting on who I am and what Iβm doing is very tricky. Even having a conversation with you on the phone or Zoom or whatever, itβs not the same as being up close and personal with people, and thatβs what I enjoy.
I guess my joy in life is to be part of a story, a narrative. Iβm always happy to keep going there. Itβs nice of you to say I bring my A-game. I guess what I would interpret that as being is that hopefully I bring myself and I bring myself with no pre-conceptions, no prejudice. No kind of, βhereβs a character that I know what Iβm doing with. Iβm smarter than this guy, but Iβm gonna play him anyway!β, those little hints that you get when you watch performances.
Hopefully, I just immerse myself in the character. Iβm equally happy to play a small role in a story and be a primary color that affects the rest of the canvas, or to take on a larger role and take the story arc for an entire production. That means I will always be open to do stuff, so thatβs probably why I keep going and why you see me a lot β I actually like what I do.

Spare Parts and Anything for Jackson are two very different films in many ways, but both are very fun. As Henry in Anything for Jackson,Β you managed to find the balance in what is quite a funny role, but also quite a tragic role, and frequently frightening too. Thereβs a lot going on in the role of Henry, and Iβd love to know your approach to him.
Julian: Well, I think itβs a great script. As soon as I read it, I thought, βthis is a terrific script with a lot going on between the wordsβ. There were so many elements to it. I love the fact that it centers on a couple, not just an older man and woman, but the dynamic that that creates when two people have been together for a very long time. Theyβre undergone joys and pain together. I love the fact that theyβre propelled by grief, and theyβre propelled by their love for each other. In fact, their actions are informed by trying to appease or to enable their partner in the terrible, terrible actions that theyβre putting in place. Theyβre deflecting the responsibility for their actions.
I find all that fascinating, but very real. Not just a cerebral idea, but something that all of us have experienced or do in some form or another. I loved all that complexity, but I love the fact that it can be grounded in something as simple as my love for another person. Sheila and myself worked very well together. We were able to get to that place as actors. Weβd both come from similar theatre and film backgrounds. We get each other. We are also fortunate enough to have enjoyed long-term relationships with other people. So we bring an honesty in that, and we celebrate the idea of being a long-term couple.
We understand the idea that you donβt just act on your own; you make an action, but always looking at your partner and always including them in everything that you do. We realized that that was the key to Henry and Audrey β they were interdependent as an entity. So that was our jumping-off point, and we enjoyed it. We trusted each other, and we trusted the story because it was such a great script. We allowed it to sort of unfold as the story unfolds. We shot it sequentially, so we were able to grow with the story-telling.
Spare Parts is very much on the other end of the emotional spectrum, but no less fun. The Emperor, of course, is a very fun character β as much of the film is, itβs quite a campy role.
Julian: Itβs important to leave your logic at the door to a degree. When you come in to watch the movie, you have to sort of suspend your disbelief and just embrace the chaotic glory of the film.
That really is the magic of genre film, especially these grindhouse style films. You go in knowing you donβt need to take its premise or logic too seriously, especially when youβve got characters having limbs replaced with chainsaws and drills. How was the role of The Emperor pitched to you β was it more or less as it looks on paper?
Julian: Yeah, pretty much. Itβs kind of self-explanatory, too. Weβre not dealing with clichΓ©s, I underline that; weβre dealing with archetypes. For it to work, you need those archetypes in place. You need the Gladiator movie, you need the punk sensibility, you need the blood and guts grindhouse thing. Thereβs a pretty clear requirement for The Emperor.
But you mentioned the word camp. Thereβs an underlying camp thatβs kind of fun, and thereβs underlying mischief. It doesnβt take itself overly seriously. Itβs a great thing. Itβs got a twinkle in its eyes. And even though weβre dealing with crazy things, thereβs a sort of relish about the way the film is executed. I think that gives it its energy. For me, thatβs fun, and itβs tapping into that thatβs important to me, rather than embodying a cliched Emperor-type person. Itβs about getting the right energy.

I love listening to you talk about how you approach your roles, because you clearly have such a great understanding of media, like the archetypes and what an audience is looking for when they walk into a certain kind of film. Of course, you sometimes walk into a film and get something else entirely, which can be a good or a bad experience.
Julian: I look it as my job as an actor to always slightly subvert your expectations, but to also provide whatβs required for the story. So if there is a role of a very, very powerful figure, itβs important to include vulnerability or to provide a counterpoint so that thereβs dimension to that person. It can be on a very, very basic level β it doesnβt have to be heavily though-out. As long as thereβs a little bit of complexity and itβs not one-note, itβs important. And the beauty of a movie like Spare Parts and a confident director like Andrew is that he allows that to come in. He allows a bit of sparkle and a bit of individual quirk to come into the archetypal world.
As you mentioned earlier, COVID-19 has made things rather difficult in the acting world. With things looking slightly brighter in certain parts of the world at the moment, what have you got on the horizon?
Julian: Well, I think Iβm very lucky. Iβm in Toronto, which is a large city thatβs still in its third phase of lockdown. Itβs as depressing for us as anywhere. But Iβm very fortunate because I work in the film industry. The film industry has managed to keep going, up to a certain point. Obviously, thereβs restrictions, but itβs behaved very responsibly. Itβs an economic generator in some regions of Canada.
In the fall, I went to Nova Scotia. Thereβs a thing in three or four maritime provinces called the Maritime Bubble, in which they were comparatively isolated from COVID. There was a thriving film industry there for a period of time, so I was one of the few fortunate actors that was working at that time. I did a show that will be out soon; itβs called Chapelwaite. Itβs an adaptation of Stephen Kingβs short story Jerusalemβs Lot and it stars Adrian Brody and Emily Hampshire. It will be a ten-part series, coming soon β I think maybe next month. But thereβs a sort of pre-promo beginning to emerge right now.
I was very fortunate that I was engaged during this terrible period of time. But I donβt find it easy. Iβm now back in Toronto, and I must admit, itβs counter to everything that comes naturally to me β the idea of not being able to go out, or to be careful and masked up. Anyway, weβre all doing our best and weβre all coping with it, so I canβt complain, for sure. But the one thing to look out for is Chapelwaite, and Iβm involved in something else too but I canβt talk too much about that. But Iβm happy to say that there are things on the horizon.
As an enormous Stephen King fan and of yours, Chapelwaiteβs sounding like a must-watch.
Julian: Good! I think itβll be fun. Itβs based on his short story, so the writers have taken license with it in a very creative way. Sometimes they can feel like a bit of a clunky adaptation of a Stephen King work, but this one is taking it into a slightly new, completely faithful to the original direction. Itβs embellishing and taking it further, and I think it works very well.