With Victoria Justice’s new movie Trust now available to watch in select theaters and on PVOD, she took the time to join us for an episode of Collider Ladies Night to revisit some of the most pivotal moments of her career and break down how they paved the way to her latest project.
Justice stars opposite Matthew Daddario in Trust as Brooke and Owen, a married couple who appear to be living the dream. She’s an art gallery owner, he’s a popular news reporter and they’re thrilled to be building a life together. But then doubt starts to creep in in the form of new temptations. For Brooke, it’s Ansgar (Lucien Laviscount) the new artist she signed, a suave painter with a thing for married women, and for Owen it’s Amy (Katherine McNamara), an aspiring journalist and a big fan of his.
For anyone who’s followed Justice’s work, you’re probably sensing that Trust is mighty different from the content that jumpstarted her career. After being a key part of Zoey 101, Justice went on to lead her own Nickelodeon show, Victorious. As one would expect, at a certain age, Justice set her sights on more mature roles to push her craft further.
Just as the projects she took evolved as she got older, so too did her sources of inspiration. At first? It was all about Barney and seeing kids her own age on television:
“The thing that really first got me started when I was young, I was watching Barney. I loved Barney, I loved that they would sing and there were kids my age on it. And I just remember watching TV and watching Barney and watching kids in TV commercials. It kind of all started with me seeing this on TV and screaming to my mom for her to come in from the other room and I was like, ‘Mom, do you see those kids? Like that kid? I think I could do that! I want to do that! How do I do it?’”
From there it was on to some of the hottest Disney Channel shows of the 2000s and a Barbara Streisand classic:
“I loved Lizzie McGuire so Hilary Duff was a big inspiration for me and Raven-Symoné on That’s So Raven, Amanda Bynes. I loved strong comedic actresses, and I’ve always loved music. My mom, when I would be driving to modeling jobs, we had a VHS player in our car so I could watch movies in the car on my way to these jobs and I remember her introducing me to Funny Girl with Barbara Streisand and me just being blown away and like, ‘I want to be like her. I want to do that! I want to sing. I want to act. And she’s so fabulous and confident.’ And I just loved it.”
Justice essentially went on to do just that with Victorious, but when that show came to an end, she had reached a new point in her career and life in general. She was older and had her eye on material that spoke to her at this age, and that included shows like the HBO hit Girls.
“I loved Girls. I loved Lena Dunham. I was just really wanting to take on some more mature roles. To this day, still I would love to work with Lena Dunham. I think she’s so incredibly talented. I just love her style. I love things that feel real, you know? So yeah, I really admire her and I really admired that show a lot.”
If you’d like to hear more about Justice’s journey to Trust, there’s loads more from where this came from. You can catch our full conversation in the video at the top of this article or using the podcast embed below.
Victoria Justice:
- 01:15 - Justice pinpoints the sources of inspiration that first made her want to become an actor.
- 03:20 - When Justice first pictured herself “making it,” what did the dream initially look like?
- 04:07 - The steps Justice took that convinced her that that dream could be a reality.
- 05:48 - Justice revisits working on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody; what she admires about Dylan and Cole Sprouse.
- 07:58 - How Justice booked her role on Zoey 101; lessons learned from watching Jamie Lynn Spears lead Zoey that she took to Victorious.
- 11:09 - How her craft evolved throughout Victorious’ run.
- 12:50 - Justice revisits the cancelation of Victorious.
- 14:34 - How did Justice’s sources of inspiration change when she made the move to more mature content?
- 15:19 - What it was like booking roles that felt like a departure from Nickelodeon content after Victorious.
- 17:17 - Justice discusses her experience working with Quibi on 50 States of Fright; working with writer-director Daniel Goldhaber and writer Isa Mazzei.
- 20:30 - Having hosted the 2020 Kids’ Choice Awards, what advice does Justice have for others hosting virtual award shows?
- 22:10 - What drew Justice to committing to Trust; how the film is a conversation-starter.
- 23:25 - The benefits of filming an emotional scene in the middle of a busy Manhattan.
- 25:24 - What it was like reuniting with Matthew Daddario for Trust after having made Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List together.
- 26:54 - Justice highlights the importance of an organization like Girl Up.
- 27:20 - Random questions begin! Find out the most recent show Justice binge watched, the most intimidating animal she’s encountered face-to-face, why she’d rather not go skydiving, the movie character she’d most like to play from a past favorite, the female filmmaker she thinks is changing the industry for the better, and her biggest fear overcome.