Julianne Morris is Rumina

Julianne Morris

"Character parts are so much more challenging than the young ingenue," says Julianne Morris. After a pause, she says with a laugh, "Who am I kidding? I really wanted to be the young, pretty one!" It's hard to imagine her as the crusty, old Aunt Eller in Oklahoma! Clearly, the theatre instructor at West Orange High School in Winter Garden, Florida had no vision - in more ways than one - of this beguiling beauty's potential. Now, as the evil and seductive sorceress Rumina in The Adventures of Sinbad, Julianne may just have the best of both worlds.

 

While many weekend viewers are catching Julianne for the first time in The Adventures of Sinbad, the legions of daytime The Young and the Restless fans will always remember her as the struggling, young adolescent Amy Wilson. This character, a perpetual victim of mental problems brought on by rape and other misfortunes, is certainly a far cry from the manipulative, self empowered villainess stalking the dashing young Sinbad. "I don't think either character is really much like me. Amy was this very young girl who had little control over her life. Rumina is this sorceress who is bent on destroying anyone or anything that gets in the way of her insatiable appetite for power. Talk about your polar opposites." Considering Meryl Streep is one of her inspirations, it comes as no surprise that versatility is a word often used to describe her range as an actress.

 

Although thoroughly trained as a stage actor (having studied at the prestigious North Carolina School of the Arts and American Academy of Dramatic Arts), the rigors of daytime soaps initiated Morris into the high pressured pace of television. Her whirlwind soap career began when she auditioned for a part at 10:00 a.m. and was on the set by 2:00 p.m. that same afternoon. "No matter how much training you have, you never know what it's going to be like until you do it. I think about my first day on the job and can't believe they let me do it again. The best thing about those early performances is there are no reruns!"

 

National exposure in a daytime soap can create some awkward moments in real life, as she soon found out dating co-star Eddie Cibrian. Cibrian, who played Matt Clark, the rogue who raped and destroyed young Amy, would be cursed and chased away by angry viewers protecting their ingenue.

Then Rumina suddenly entered her life. Within a week of auditioning, she was on the 25 hour flight to South Africa where the series is being filmed. From trips to the gorgeous wine country to riding horses on the pristine beaches near Capetown, she quickly acclimated to the many activities and stunning natural beauty the location offered. The role itself, however, took a little more of an adjustment. The challenge of playing such a dark and evil character often goes against her strongly religious upbringing. Brought up the daughter of an evangelist preacher, Julianne came to grips with Rumina with the knowledge that in The Adventures of Sinbad, good always prevails over evil.

Growing up in the small Florida town of Windermere, Julianne was exposed to virtually every cultural activity that would come through her small town. She studied everything from dance (ballet, jazz and tap) to gymnastics to ice skating to ukulele. When she was introduced to acting in the 7th grade, she knew she had found her niche. Under her mother's guidance, she learned to appreciate arts and culture and also developed a strong sense of community. As a young woman, she traveled with her parents to India to work in a children's orphanage and later traveled on her own to Belize to help build a pre-school. She currently volunteers with Stitches, an after school program in South Central Los Angeles designed to keep children off the streets and out of gangs. Hardly the typical work of a maniacal woman determined to take over the world.

Julianne makes her home in Toluca Lake (near Los Angeles) with her dog Wyatt.

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