Julia Fox never set out for Hollywood. As a New York-based conceptual artist and fashion-forward fixture of the city’s downtown scene, she was more at home in galleries and at underground parties.
A friendship with the Safdie brothers changed everything. When the directors were casting Uncut Gems, their rattling drama from 2019, the studio pushed for Scarlett Johansson or Lady Gaga, but the brothers insisted on Fox.
Charismatic, unpredictable and a walking headline generator, she was invited to screen-test with Adam Sandler, the film’s star. Despite having no formal training, Fox landed the role and stole every scene.
“My first day, seeing hundreds of people, cranes, equipment, I thought, Oh, s**t, this is real,” Fox says. “I didn’t understand the magnitude of the opportunity until I got there. I was overwhelmed but excited. Surreal. In awe.”
Today the 35-year-old is reclined on a chaise-longue in a Soho hotel. She stretches out her fabulously mismatched nails to shake hands. The London paparazzi are lurking outside.
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