INTERVIEW: Emma Berman Inspires as Voice of Giulia in Disney and Pixar’s ‘Luca’

Emma Berman landed the voiceover role of a lifetime as Giulia in Disney and Pixar’s new animation Luca, directed by Enrico Casarosa. Berman voices the character of an ambitious and no-nonsense young girl who is always up for a good challenge.

We find Giulia with her father Massimo (Marco Barricelli) every summer in the fictional town of Portorossa, a dreamy Italian sea village that has two unlikely visitors; sea monsters, Luca Paguro (Jacob Tremblay) and Alberto Scorfano (Jack Dylan Grazer), who have transformed into human boys and are on a quest for adventure.

Each summer, Giulia enters the Portorossa Cup race, and this year, she has some help as Luca and Alberto are hoping to win the race to earn money to buy a Vespa and see the human world. However, they have to be careful; Luca’s sea monster parents Daniela (Maya Rudolph) and Lorenzo (Jim Gaffigan), have made it to land as humans and are feverously trying to find their son as the sea village is known for not only their love of fish but their absolute disdain for sea monsters.

One drop of water and the boys start to transform back into sea monsters, so the swimming part of the race is a bit of a problem, as well as Luca’s parents splashing the town’s children to find their precious sea monster son. Giulia steps in at just the right time to teach the duo how to train for the triathlon, including devouring pasta with a twirl of a fork; they are sea monsters without pasta skills. She also teaches them how to cycle, have some guts to stand up to the village bully, Ercole Visconti (Saverio Raimondo), who always seems to win each year, how to live your dream and be your true self.

Emma Berman chatted with us on how she got her start in acting and voiceover and everything about this dreamy and nostalgic Italian Riviera film, how she landed the role, and the challenges of working during the pandemic. She also spills on how she nailed the perfect Italian accent and how her character was ambitious, inspiring, and full of girl power.

GLITTER: Where are you from originally, and when did you first know you had a love for acting and voiceover? 
EMMA: I was born and raised in San Francisco, CA. My love of acting first started when I was doing school plays, and I really liked performing.  When I was 8, I asked my mom to sign me up for a theatre summer camp where they were putting on a production of Annie, and I got cast as Annie! From there, I continued doing theatre and also signed with Stars The Agency in San Francisco, where I booked my first voiceover job when I was 9 voicing toys for LeapFrog.

GLITTER: How did you land the role of Giulia in Luca?
EMMA: My agent at Stars sent me the first audition for the role of Giulia in the fall of 2019.  I recorded the audition on my mom’s phone, and we sent it in.  A couple of weeks later, I heard Pixar liked my read, and I got the in-person callback at Pixar, where I met Enrico Casarosa, the director, and Andrea Warren, the producer.

At the studio, I got to read a few scenes with Enrico and do a few takes of each line with a different direction. It was really fun to work with Enrico, and I felt incredibly happy to have had a chance to experiment on how Giulia sounded.  A few weeks later, I heard from the agent that Pixar liked me, and they booked me to do the scratch recording for Giulia! So in January of 2020, I went back to Pixar and spent a full day there working with the studio teacher in the morning and then had the most delicious lunch at the Pixar cafeteria. Then, I went into the studio to record in the afternoon.

Spending the full day at Pixar and working with the most talented creative people in the world made me feel I was the luckiest person alive! I left the campus elated and a little sad, knowing that my job was done and I might never be back there again. That night, I was so excited I could not fall asleep. I kept replaying the day in my head and counting my blessings. I had no idea that I might be considered for the actual part, so when I got a surprise call from Enrico and Andrea three months later, in March of 2020, I had no idea that they were going to offer me the part. I did not expect it at all, and honestly, I still can’t believe this incredible dream became a reality for me! 

GLITTER: How did you prepare for the role? 
EMMA: The script was super fun, and there were some Italian words in there. I was working with my voiceover coach Bettina Devin who helped me a lot with the Italian words. I have been training with Bettina for about a year before I got the Giulia audition, and she really helped me to gain the necessary skill and confidence in my voice. After I knew that I got the part of Giulia, I focused on perfecting the Italian. I would go to our neighborhood Italian restaurant on West Portal in San Francisco, where we met the native Italian waiter there, and he helped me practice ordering the food in Italian for my family. It became our tradition to have dinner at Trattoria da Vittorio before my sessions.

GLITTER: Giulia is such an empowering character. How cool was it to voiceover such a strong female role, and what drives Giulia to be so ambitious? 
EMMA: I am so grateful that Pixar trusted me to voice this incredible female leader! Giulia comes to Portorosso only during summers, so she is sort of an outsider herself, she doesn’t have many friends there, and she is really ambitious to win the yearly Portorosso race because she wants to be accepted and prove to the townspeople that she is not just some weird kid who doesn’t belong.  She is very determined and ambitious and works hard for her goals.    

GLITTER: Are there any similarities between you and Giulia?
EMMA: There are definitely many similarities between Giulia and me. We are both passionate, outgoing, fiery, energetic, determined, hardworking and we also both love to learn, make new friends and go on adventures. We also both have a cat! 

GLITTER: How does Giulia inspire Luca and Alberto?
EMMA: Giulia and the boys bond over being outsiders, the kids who are different and feel like they don’t belong.  Giulia’s friendship with Luca is particularly strong because Luca is very curious and is very eager to learn about the world beyond the sea surface. Their friendship inspires Luca to explore the world outside his comfort zone and build self-confidence.  And Alberto finds a whole new purpose through his friendship with Giulia and her dad, Massimo.

GLITTER: What were some of the challenges of filming during the pandemic?
EMMA: The challenge of filming during the pandemic is that some of the recording sessions were done at home, so I had to be my own sound engineer in my own home recording studio. Although it was very fun, and I really enjoyed learning how I could record at home, I was super excited when I was able to go into the Pixar studio for my sessions. 

GLITTER: What was it like working with Jacob Tremblay and Jack Dylan Grazer, as well as Enrico Casarosa?
EMMA: Working with Enrico was the most fun experience ever! Enrico is very funny and creative and also very playful, and I loved how he let me explore and improvise with the script. Enrico is an incredible director!  He taught me to trust my instincts as an actor, and he allowed me the creative space to use my energy to bring Giulia to life. During the recording process, I never got to work with Jacob Tremblay and Jack Dylan Grazer in person, but I really enjoyed meeting them both at the press junket. 

GLITTER: Do you have any memorable or fun moments while working on the film? 
EMMA: The most incredible part of this whole experience for me was actually getting the part. The most fun day was when I got to do the scratch recording, met the Luca team, and spent the day at the Pixar campus before the pandemic. It was filled with all of these talented creative people working there, and the energy I felt that day was something out of this world. I will never forget that moment! 

GLITTER: What were your favorite scenes to voiceover?
EMMA: One of my favorite scenes not only to record but also to watch is when Giulia is teaching Luca all about the stars and the planets and gives him a book about the universe. That scene is just so heartwarming, and I really enjoyed recording all the lines where Giulia was so passionate and excited talking about astronomy. 

GLITTER: What do you hope fans and viewers take away from the film?
EMMA: There are so many inspiring takeaways from the film, like never judging a book by its cover, being kind, accepting yourself and others and overcoming our fears, and conquering our dreams. I really hope viewers get inspired to make new friends and maybe even a friend that pushes them beyond their comfort zone, and when they doubt themselves, they remember Silencio Bruno. 

GLITTER: Do you love acting or voiceover more?
EMMA: I love telling stories and exploring emotions, so all aspects of acting inspire and excite me equally. 

GLITTER: Glitter has a #SelfLoveCampaign we started in 2015. Empowerment and self-love go hand in hand such as in Giulia’s character. What does self-love mean to you?
EMMA: A day filled with equal amounts of work and play, doing things that challenge me, and spending time on fun activities make me feel happy and complete. For example, spending a weekend with friends, enjoying a nice meal and some outdoor time after a long week of finals means self-love to me. 

GLITTER: Do you have a favorite genre you’d love to be a part of?
EMMA: I am a big fan of movies and comedies are my favorite genre.  It would be a huge dream of mine to be in a movie, especially in a comedy!

GLITTER: What are you currently binge-watching?
EMMA: Me and my mom are binge-watching Big Shot on Disney+ and we can’t wait for every new episode to come out!

GLITTER: What’s next for you?
EMMA: I am currently working on a new animated series and I can’t wait to share more about it when I can!

Make sure to stream Luca June 18 exclusively on Disney+.