22-03-2025
'The Residence' breakout star Julieth Restrepo: Navigating motherhood with a newborn, filming a 'dream' show
For actor Julieth Restrepo, playing Elsyie in the Shondaland Netflix series The Residence, starring alongside Uza Aduba, was a deeply rewarding project to be a part of. After being featured in the movies like Loving Pablo and shows like Griselda, Restrepo has one of the most intersting and impactful arcs within the all-star ensemble cast of The Residence.
In this whodunit Aduba plays detective Cordelia Cupp, investigating the mysterious death of chief usher A.B. Wynter (Giancarlo Esposito) at the White House. And all the staff and occupants in the president's residence quickly become suspects.
Elysie is a White House housekeeper, who we find out over the course of the show had a relationship with engineer Bruce (Mel Rodriguez), all revealed in the brilliant and touching Episode 7 of the show.
Restrepo highlighted that feels "grateful" that she was able to work with Mel Rodriguez on the show.
There's one particularly moving scene where Elysie and Bruce, in the wake of the March 4 terrorist attacks in Washington, D.C., comfort each other and hold hand, as they laid on the floor next to each other. Elsyie also opens up to Bruce about how she always hoped she would go to Rome one day. It truly is a highlight of the entire season.
"I knew that scene was coming, because when I sent the [audition tape], one of the scenes was that one," Restrepo told Yahoo Canada. "It's so precise. It's perfect. It's juicy too. I was really excited to do that scene in particular, that one on the floor. It's a very deep and tender conversation about life in general, in some way, but it's very specific too."
"And I remember that day my family came to set to be with me. ... When you do that type of scene you just can't believe how far you've come and how amazing life is, in giving you the opportunity to do what you love the most with the people that you admire the most. Surrounded by the people that support you the most. So I had my baby on set and then I had my husband, and then I had one of my best friends, and then my sister was in town too, and they were there with me. They couldn't see the scene, so they had no idea what was happening. ... But it was just so pure to me."
While The Residence was an intriguing story for Restrepo to take on, she actually planned to take a break from acting work after having a baby. But when The Residence came through, she knew it was a project she couldn't turn down.
"I had a newborn at home, I didn't want to work right away. I told my team, 'Hey, I want to take some time off.' And two months later, after I had my baby, my manager sent me the audition for The Residence and I couldn't help myself," Restrepo shared. "I loved the material so much. Besides the fact that it was a Shonda Rhimes project, I just loved what Paul William Davies wrote and I just loved Elysie so much that, of course, I wanted to be part of it."
"I really asked the universe for a project that allowed me to be here in [Los Angeles], ... to work with amazing people, to be in Hollywood just making my dream come true, and everything happened at once. I'm so grateful."
In terms of sharing the screen with Aduba, and Randall Park as Edwin, who assists Cordelia with the investigation, Restrepo stressed that they have immense "generosity" as collaborators.
"My baby was a year old and [Uzo] just had a baby by the time we were doing those scenes, so seeing her work is like going to a play, and you don't want to stop looking at the actress, ... I was just staring at her," Restrepo said. "And I loved the generosity that comes with Uzo, and Randall too, just having them together, working with me, I really had to pinch myself."
Like many of the characters on the show, there's a moment where Cordelia has to interrogate Elysie to try to figure out if she could have been involved in A.B.'s murder. The result is incredibly captivating performances from both actors for that critical moment.
"I worked on those scenes so hard. I was home with my baby, going through the lines, just trying to stay as present ... as I could," Restrepo said. "And of course, I have to give a lot of credit to Jaffar [Mahmood], the director. ... He works in a very detailed way. ... And when you work with Uzo, ... she's like, 'Girl, let's just do it!'"
"[When] the scene was done, then she came to me and she gave me a hug, and I was just like, in tears. ... One of my heroes just gave me a hug and we had a wonderful time together. And this is why I've been doing this for 20 years."
Restrepo is a force as an actor, who navigated dramatic and emotional moments in The Residence with ease, giving the audience the impact we needed in this whodunit. So here's to 20 more years, and even more, of seeing Restrepo's talent on screen.
