An Interview with Julia Mayorga from ‘American Rust: Broken Justice’

Julia Mayorga as Lee English in ‘American Rust: Broken Justice’ (Photos Courtesy of Dennis Mong/Prime Video.)

Julia Mayorga is a rising star in Hollywood, and she is quickly making her mark by way of her current role, as Lee English in the Prime Video series, American Rust: Broken Justice. And it just so happens that we had the distinct honor of sitting down with Julia to discuss the brand-new season of the show. 
 
John Betancourt: I would love to know to start off what it means to you, we'll be back for a second season.
 
Julia Mayorga: I'm super excited that we get to continue telling the stories for these characters with this business, you don't know if something's gonna get dropped, picked up. And so, I'm so glad that we got picked up with Prime (Video).
 
John Betancourt: So, speaking of the characters and their stories, I think what I noticed when I was going through season two, was that there's a lot of wanting this season for every single character. What would you ultimately say Lee’s searching for in season two?
 
Julia Mayorga: She's searching for truth, a lot. Her own truth, truth in her workplace as well, I think. I think she wants to be honest. And I think she wants to open up with the people that she loves. And that doesn't work out. I think she gravitates towards, like, her passion, her work and people, and relating to people.
 
John Betancourt: Obviously, this is a series that is just jam packed with all kinds of moral conundrums and fascinating lessons about who we are right now. What do you ultimately hope kind of audiences take away from season two?
 
Julia Mayorga: The humanity of it, I think, I think sometimes it's easy to judge the characters or it's easy, or maybe it's just part of it, you know, you're just like, you feel like you would never, you would never, never do that. But the question always comes up, like, how far are you willing to go for the people that you love? And these people are put in extraordinary, crazy circumstances that keeps coming up. And they're flawed, but they're also… they want to be good people… want to do good things. So that push and pull, I hope, I hope they can see the humanity of that. 
 
John Betancourt: Now from a broader perspective, what are you most excited for audiences to experience in season two in general? 
 
Julia Mayorga: I hope they get shocked. I hope that… there's a lot -- because I was even just reading it -- I'm just shocked by what I'm reading. I'm like, “Oh, my.” I hope they don't see it coming. 
 
John Betancourt: What are you most proud of when it comes to your work over the past couple of seasons on this show?
 
Julia Mayorga: I made it. (Laughter) Um I am, I'm very proud to be working with such talented people. People that care about this project, from the writers to the crew, to the actors on the show, I'm proud of Lee as a character, her trajectory, her growth, her misses and just her faults and being able to play all of that, makes me grow as an actor, and as a person to understand. 
 
John Betancourt: Last question that I have for you today. If you had to describe Season Two of the show in the single word, what would that word be? 
 
Julia Mayorga: Suspense. 
 
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

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