Julia Garner only turned 28 on February 1, this year, but her film and TV portfolio is starting to read like that of a very experienced actress. She has played a myriad of significant roles on different productions, before stepping into her most recent one - Ana Sorokin 'Delvey' - in Shonda Rhimes' miniseries Inventing Anna on Netflix. Other credits in Garner's name include The Americans, Maniac, and Dirty John. Perhaps most notably, she is now best known for her work on Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams' crime drama series, Ozark - also on Netflix.
Garner's role as Ruth on Ozark is a role that she has played for the last four years, and one that bagged her the first two Primetime Emmy Awards of her career. On the big screen, Garner has starred in films like Martha Marcy May Marlene, Electrick Children, and The Assistant.
Garner's life is about to change significantly in the coming weeks and months, however, following the decision by Netflix not to renew Ozark for a fifth season. The series has been a critical part of the actress' life.
According to Garner's own sentiments, Ozark will be a loss that she will struggle to recover.
7 Julia Garner's Role In 'Ozark'
Julia Garner was confirmed as part of the Ozark cast for the first time in October 2016, as the producers finalized the lineup. She was cast in the role of Ruth Langmore, who is described as 'a 19-year-old woman who is part of a local family of habitual petty criminals.'
Over the course of the story arc, Ruth joins forces with main character Marty Byrde, who is played by Arrested Development star, Jason Bateman. As a consequence, she grows to become a big-time criminal in her own right. According to IMDb, the 44 episodes in which Garner portrayed Ruth in Ozark by far constitute the longest run she has ever had on a TV show.
6 Julia Garner's Awards For Playing Ruth Langmore On 'Ozark'
Apart from earning a fortune to enhance her impressive net worth, Julia Garner has achieved incredible career accolades through her work on Ozark. Garner won her first Primetime Emmy Award in 2019, in the category 'Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.'
The following year, she repeated the trick, beating bigwigs like Laura Dern, Thandie Newton - and even Meryl Streep - to once again take home the gong. Still in 2020, she earned a Golden Globe nomination for 'Best Supporting Actress – Television', but she eventually lost out to Gillian Anderson of The Crown.
5 Julia Garner Converses With Her 'Ozark' Character
For most actors, their characters are not just a collection of lines on the pages of a script, but real people whose lives they embody and translate to the screen. It is no different for Julia Garner, although she does take things a little further when it comes to her Ozark character.
"I know this sounds crazy, but I try to remove myself completely and become Ruth,” she said in an interview with TIME Magazine. “I’m half-asleep, half-awake so it’s this subconscious-type thing and I ask myself, as Ruth, questions."
4 Julia Garner Wishes 'Ozark' Would Continue Forever
It is not uncommon for actors to fall in love with a character or a project, and hope to prolong their involvement in it. Julia Garner's investment in Ozark is so serious, however, that she currently feels like she could comfortably go on playing Ruth for the rest of her life.
"It’s really bittersweet," she said in the TIME interview. "Personally, and selfishly, I could shoot this show until I’m 70 years old."
3 Julia Garner Feels That 'Ozark' Has Been Life-Changing
Looking back on her time as part of the Ozark family, Julia Garner admits that it's not just her career that has been positively impacted. In an edition of Entertainment Weekly's Around the Table series, she spoke about the life-changing experience of having worked on the show.
"I feel like Ozark changed all of our lives for different reasons," she reflected. "When you have a life-changing experience, you're always going to be connected to those people."
2 Julia Garner Met Some Of Her Best Friends On The Set Of 'Ozark'
The significantly better part of Julia Garner's 20s so far has been spent as a working member of the cast of Ozark. Unsurprisingly, this has meant that some of her strongest friendships have been built on the set of the show.
W Magazine recently did a profile on the actress, where they referred to her as being 'criminally good.' In the spread, Garner spoke about how some of her core relationships have been born around the Netflix series. "I [have] met some of my best friends here," she said. "It’s almost been like my weird version of a college experience."
1 What's Next For Julia Garner After 'Ozark'?
Julia Garner has already achieved so much in her career so far, most of it thanks to her stint as Ruth Langmore on Ozark. She will likely feel, though, that there is still so much more to come from her. She has already making waves with her star turn performance in Inventing Anna.
Not having Ozark's grueling filming schedule to contend with might also allow Garner room to venture more into film than before. She is involved in a film titled You Can't Win which is currently in post-production, and we could yet see a lot more of her on the big screen.
