Celebrated performer Justine Lupe has established her voice in the world of film and television, but she says her primary aim is to serve the creative spirit behind whatever project she’s working on.
“With every part I play, I love being a function in someone else’s vision. That’s what turns me on,” she says. “It’s less about what I want to achieve personally and more about seeing the idea and story come to life.”
Over the last few years, the stories Lupe has brought to life are ones you probably know. From her work on the prestige TV blockbuster Succession to roles in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and the Apple TV+ series The Big Door Prize, the Colorado native has built a career most actors would envy — and worked with some big-name costars along the way.
“I just feel really lucky to be constantly surrounded by all these great actors,” Lupe, 35, says. “They’re just all so good in their own respective ways. And they are really nice people.”
Lupe’s latest series Nobody Wants This, streaming now on Netflix, finds her working with another impressive roster of performers. Kristen Bell stars as Joanne, an agnostic sex podcaster who falls in love with newly single rabbi Noah (Adam Brody). Lupe plays Morgan, Joanne’s sister and fellow podcast host, whom she describes as “unbridled.”
“She has no filter. She’s very reactionary. But she’s also self-conscious. She is very aware that she’s this very presentable woman and the effect she has on people,” Lupe says. “I just had so much fun with that dichotomy.”
‘Completely obsessed’
Born in New York, Lupe moved to the Colorado mountain town of Bailey at a young age. The family ultimately settled in the Mile High City, where her dad was an installation manager at the Denver Art Museum. She spent most of her childhood watching movies and playing games with her younger brother, Colin.
Lupe would force her sibling to film “random sketches” with their dad’s video camera. It was just for fun, but the experience had a huge impact on Justine and Colin. Not only has she remained in front of the camera ever since, but today he works as a cinematographer.
Disney movies were Lupe’s early inspiration. She particularly loved Ariel from The Little Mermaid and the anthropomorphic critters from The Jungle Book. But her fascination with acting deepened when a babysitter put on the 1998 British period film, Elizabeth.
“I was too young to understand what was going on. But I just remember it being incredible and epic,” she says. “Especially because Cate Blanchett starts out as this young girl and ages all the way through. She does the whole trajectory of the character. I just remember thinking she was this amazing actress.”
With her interest turning into an obsession, Lupe’s parents sent her to the Jewish Community Center, even though they weren’t Jewish, because it “had a really great theater program.” At the age of 11, she auditioned and got into the Denver School of the Arts, where she studied until she was 18.
“I was completely obsessed with [acting] as a kid. I wasn’t really good at much else,” she says. “I loved reading and writing. But I was terrible at sports.”
It wasn’t long before Lupe set her sights on furthering her education at New York City’s Juilliard School, having seen a PBS documentary on the prestigious performing arts institution as a kid.
“As I got older,” she says, “I realized there was nowhere else I wanted to go.”
‘I hit the jackpot’
Following her graduation in 2011, Lupe’s career took off with roles in films like David Chase’s Not Fade Away and Noah Baumbach’s Frances Ha. But it was her work on the small screen that caught the attention of Nobody Wants This creator and writer Erin Foster, who thought Lupe would be perfect for the role of Morgan.
“As soon as I got the script, I just immediately fell in love with the character and the show’s humor,” Lupe says. “It was this weird mix of dry and biting. It was smart and cynical, but there was also this heart and joy to it that I found really interesting.”
Lupe says it also helps that she continues to be surrounded by actors of the highest caliber. She compares Bell to her Succession co-star Sarah Snook and Marvelous Mrs. Maisel lead Rachel Brosnahan, praising the trio’s skill, consistency and professionalism.
“That’s why they’re leading ladies,” she says. “They create an environment that’s safe, but the set is still lively and full of creativity. It’s so fun to work with people like that.”
Meanwhile, Lupe describes actor Timothy Simons — the Veep breakout with whom she shares most of her scenes in Nobody Wants This — as a comedy genius. As for Adam Brody: “There’s a reason why [he] always plays the dreamy guys,” she says. “He’s sweet and really warm.”
With her latest project continuing a hot streak that began more than a decade ago, Lupe can’t help but reflect on a dream start to her already impressive career. Given the fierce competition of a cutthroat industry, she knows just how rare of an opportunity that is.
“I’ve just been really lucky,” she says. “It feels like I hit the jackpot.”
ON SCREEN: Nobody Wants This is streaming now on Netflix.