Julio Torres
Meeting of the Minds
Past Tidal cover star Ziwe interviews Julio Torres, mastermind behind the surrealist classics Problemista and Fantasmas. The two discuss creating, criticism, and hilariously banter about veneers.
Spring / Summer 2025
PHOTOGRAPHY Kevin Alexander
STYLIST Angel Emmanuel
ZIWE: Do you like modeling as a comedian? You’re very good at it. I’m wondering what inspired you to have such a visual package with your work?
JULIO TORRES: I feel like I’ve always been a pretty visual person. My mom is a very visual person, and that was always something that I thought I had to forget when I decided that writing was my thing. But then through stand-up, I realized, Oh, wait, I can actually merge these interests. And then with directing, I realized, Oh yeah.That’s what that is. It’s the combination of those two things.
Z: That’s really interesting and wild, especially because I remember,when I was talking to you about getting into directing, you were like, “Why don’t you direct your own stuff? You should.” And that really made me reconsider why I didn’t do that. Why did you give me that advice?
JT: Because I feel like you already have the gig—that thing is already green-lit. You have the power, the support, the infrastructure and the producers that understand you and the world that you’ve made. That feels so much easier and better than starting from scratch somewhere else.
Z: What is your taste as a director, writer? What are you looking for in your dream cast? I know you did a Cruel Intentions reading recently.
JT: Honestly, you think of the ecosystem of it a lot, like, Will these people have fun backstage?
Z: That’s so SNL of you.
JT: Especially with something that’s low-stakes, like a live reading—why would you take it so seriously? Just have it be fun. And also, you want the people’s vibes to complement but also offset each other. That’s why I like working with a combination of capital-A actors and comedians, so that you can find a midpoint.
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Z: How has acting broadened your worldview?
JT: Has it? I don’t know that it has. With acting, I always forget that I signed myself up to do it. It’s the hardest part for me, for sure. But I do love working with actors. I love, love, love, love, love working with actors.
Z: Why is it the hardest part for you?
JT: I think it doesn’t actually come naturally to me.
Z: It’s interesting because you are a writer, you’re a director, you have a book, you are an actor. Do you think that this new age of entertainment requires us to do 100 different things at a time? Or is that just a personal taste thing for you?
JT: No, it’s a personal thing for me. I think I’m very creatively scatterbrained. I start writing something and then I’d be like, Maybe it’s this. Oh, maybe it’s that. Oh, maybe it’s an outfit. So, no, I don’t think that it’s something we have to do…
Z: How was the reception to Problemista? Were you prepared for that attention?
JT: I wrote it in 2020, directed it in 2022, edited it in 2023… It was supposed to come out 2023 but then it actually came out 2024 because we had a false start in the release… So, honestly, I was so tired by the time we released it. But I don’t know. I think the people who found the movie and liked it, really liked it.
Z: Cult classic. I think that’s a movie I wanted to be in. I feel like you’re comedy’s Bong Joon Ho.
JT: Oh, my god.
Z: No, seriously. You are so dedicated to the satire and specifically the class satire. It is in every single element of your work. And I find it to be so exhilarating, because it is visually like a cartoon lives in your head. But then when you read the writing or listen to the words, you’re like, Oh, my gosh, this is such a powerful critique of systems of power.
JT: Have you seen Mickey 17?
Z: Of course! I saw it yesterday.
JT: We should work with Rob Patt [Robert Pattison].
Z: You know I’m a Twilight girl! I wish my wedding song was the New Moon theme.… Where do you find happiness in your personal life?
JT: Where do I find happiness? Honestly, this sounds so corny. Scribbling and coming up with little ideas or figuring out an idea.
Z: A work idea, a creative idea?
JT: A creative idea… that is truly what centers me. If I have too much free time, I start to spiral. And then what anchors me is coming up with a little idea and then texting people about making it. And it can truly be anything—I’m not just talking about a show or a movie. It can be like, Now, I know what to do with this corner of the apartment, or, I know what a fun little hat would be to wear to this thing, or something like that.
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Z: Is your apartment still decorated with clear things?
JT: Actually, no. There’s a lot of metal now.
Z: Whoa. This is breaking news. The last time I talked to you, you insisted that clear was your favorite color. This is like your Picasso Blue period.
JT: Yeah. I think that what changed is the need to feel solid and strong.
Z: Oh, no.
JT: Oh, no.
Z: Oh, no, Mickey 17. That’s funny. Okay. Interesting.
JT: He [Robert Pattison] has such a good voice in it. I love his voice in it.
Z: He’s a brilliant actor. And he broke my heart. The movie broke my heart. Obviously, it’s about the exploitation of this labor. And he had such low self-esteem.
JT: The scene early on in the movie where he’s fixing something on the spaceship outside and they just let him know that he has to stay there until he dies, and he’s like, “Okay.”
Z: It breaks my heart. It breaks my heart.
JT: It’s just so good…Toni Collette.
Z: Oh, my god. You’ve seen Snowpiercer, obviously.
JT: He loves fake teeth. He loves giving them big fake teeth. It acts like a status symbol. Like veneers as a status symbol.
Z: Where do you stand on the veneer politics of 2025?
JT: Everyone should own their mouth in whatever way they want to own it, but I think that Americans are definitely very obsessed with the idea of perfectly white straight teeth. And I’m just like, It’s not natural for people to have blindingly white teeth.
Z: It’s very strange when you watch a period piece and then you see something with some chompers, and it’s like, Come on, this is supposed to be 17th century France.
JT: No, exactly. I think it takes you out and it’s limiting. Actually, maybe makeup people are going to have to start to learn how to yellow teeth for that.
Z: Oh, really? Is that a requirement in your next project, do you think?
JT: Well, I love having people have something in their teeth, which I haven’t done yet. Or not perfect makeup, unless the character is someone that would have perfect makeup. I love wrinkles in clothes. I keep meaning to have someone have a cast but never address it.
Z: Have you seen Vanderpump Rules?
JT: No. Is someone broken in it?
Z: Yeah, Kristen Doute is a cast member and she’s always injured. Like, she has a sling or she’s wearing a foot boot. And then she never talks about why. It’s just like she’s perpetually hurt.
JT: I love that. In Fantasmas, I had Natasha [Lyonne’s] character be pregnant, and it was never addressed, which I like. I’m like, Yeah, people are pregnant sometimes. And they’re not talking about it all the time.
Z: If I got pregnant, I wouldn’t tell anybody. I would have a secret baby, honestly. I totally would.
JT: You would have a secret baby, via a surrogate is what you would do.
Z: Absolutely, 100 percent. And it would never come up. And one day, it would be like, “And this is my son, Ziwe, Jr.” And he’d be very, very successful as a nepo baby.
JT: Oh, my god. People are doing that more and more, I feel like.
Z: I’m skeptical of the experiment that is the Internet.
JT: Meaning, being super public with your baby?
Z: Yeah. Or being super public, period, not even with your baby, because I can’t speak to that. I don’t have a secret baby to hide. But I don’t even put my dog online that much. I was just raised to be a little more private with everything.
JT: Me, too. Actually, the Internet, for me, is like an extension of work. It’s drag.… There are things that are for everyone, which is your work, and there are things that are for you.
Z: Yes, which is your baby.
JT: Ziwe, Jr.
Z: Ziwe, Jr.… You’ve recommended a bunch of movies to me. What do you like to read, to watch? What is your entertainment? What inspires you?
JT: I definitely watch a lot of things. Recently, I’ve been coming around to series that I never saw when they came out, and then get obsessed with them, like Six Feet Under, True Blood. Did you see True Blood?
Z: Yeah, of course. I saw it when it was out. And it was pornographic, and my parents were like, “You’re going to hell.” Okay, so you’re throwing it back. So, it’s almost like you are nostalgic for the early 2010s. Like, you want to just go back to the Obama administration?
JT: Yeah. To coming out of Bush into Obama.
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Z: Would you ever do a science fiction or vampire fantastical?
JT: Yeah, definitely. But it wouldn’t be straight-up. Ideally,you’re watching it and you’re like, Wait. So, what is happening? What is happening? Is it vampires? And then you discover it as you go along… I do really want to do something with fairies. Like a big children’s movie about fairies.
Z: That seems like a perfect match for you. I would like to be a fairy.
JT: You’d make an amazing fairy.
Z: I know. I’m always like, “Can I just be in a bikini?” And everyone’s, “No, you’re an intellectual.” And I’m like, “But what if I was in a bikini? What if I was a mermaid?” And they’re like, “No.”
JT: What do you think I’m working for?
Z: I know. I work so I don’t have to work with my hands. I get to work with my chest… Okay, how often do you get asked about immigration politics in interviews?
JT: Surprisingly, not. Well, with Problemista, it really landed because that is such a big part of the movie. But not as often as you’d think. I wonder if we are past the period where comedians were, unbeknownst to them, elected as policy advisors.
Z: Let’s have a conversation about how from 2020 to 2022, suddenly we were thrust into the policy nucleus.
JT: Suddenly, we were elected representatives. And what we said was policy that affected millions of people.
Z: Eek dot-com.
JT: I think society was like, “All right, thanks for nothing.”
Z: What about, “Thank you for the laughs?”
JT: Yeah. What about, “Thank you for the laughs?” Did you ever think of that?
Z: Okay, let’s talk about reviews. One time someone wrote a review of my work that was like, “I don’t understand the point besides it’s funny. It doesn’t end racism.” And I wanted to be like, “You are so daft.” I was so mad. There’s no expectation of my peers to end this large, all-consuming system, but obviously, with other people’s work, the burden falls on you. So, have you ever gotten a review or a critique that really needled you?
JT: Through Problemista, I learned to disengage from reviews. But honestly, the things that really stuck with me were the ones I thought were accurate.
Z: Oh, damn.
JT: I was like, “Fair point.”
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Z: Are you hard on yourself? Are you a perfectionist?
JT: When I’m doing work, I’m not a perfectionist at all. I’m really not like, We need to edit this for three years. I’m like, It’s done. It’s done. I don’t belabor… But press is very difficult for me. It’s hard. I think maybe it’s control. The success or failure of the work that I’m very proud of hinges on my performance as a subject of press. But now, I’m like, It’s fine.
Z: I feel the same way. And then there’s an added irony because I obviously interview people but find interviews to be so invasive where they’ll be like, “What’s your mother’s maiden name? Have you ever had sex with someone of the same gender? Where are you right now? Give me your address.” And it’s like, Can I just talk about my art? I can do that with proficiency, but everything else, again, it’s that privacy. I don’t want to open up. But to be...this new age Internet, you have to be really, really raw and quirky and real all the time.
JT: Yeah. It’s exhausting.
Z: It’s strange. I think, eventually, we will go back to the ’60s where the artist popped up and then they disappeared, hopefully. I don’t know.
JT: That would be heaven. And then they disappear, which is a very musician thing.
Z: know. It sounds like you want to be a pop star.
JT: I think you want to be. Maybe we both want to be pop stars.
Z: Maybe your next movie is a pop star movie.
JT: Because it’s like they put out an album, they have something or a tour or whatever. And then when they’re not doing that, they’re living their lives.
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Z: So, what do you hope that your legacy is in this world? What do you hope that people take from your work, your life’s work as an auteur?
JT: I think to do stuff, to find friends and make things with [them].
Z: Oh, really? Tell me more.
JT: I hope it awakens... My very favorite thing is when I’m doing something and then a makeup person, someone that works in costumes or production design or whatever, and they’re like, “Oh, I get to do the things here that I don’t get to do anywhere else.” I love that. So, more of that.
Z: That’s such a perfect encapsulation of your work that I didn’t even realize I absorb. When I saw Los Espookys and the Greta [Titelman] scenes, the pink, it just blew my mind. Again, it’s so deep in aesthetic and feels so childish, almost.
JT: Yeah, it’s like a cartoon.
Z: That really expanded my mind for my set of my former show. I wasn’t thinking outside of the box until I really encountered your work. I think there are people in comedy that push the boundaries in ways that are so much more influential and expressive than we even appreciate today. And I think that your work is so impactful because of its freedom and liberty in the costumes and the makeup and the sets. And then you combine that highbrow ideal with the satire. It’s so powerful.
JT: Silly stuff. Are you still in your pink phase?
Z: I’m thinking of pivoting colors, actually, but I don’t want to tell people because I’ve started noticing... Do you ever have this problem where you start to see your old work in the pop culture?
JT: I can see that for you, definitely, 1,000 percent.
Z: No, but not for you.
JT: No, no, actually. I don’t think people want for themselves what I’m putting out, but people do want to be Ziwe, for sure.
Z: That’s not true. I saw someone do a stand-up bit about shapes two years ago. And I was like, This is Julio. I’m constantly shifting, so as not to feel derivative of myself.
JT: That’s smart.
Z: But I don’t want to. I would love to just do one thing. It would be so much easier. I don’t want to grow and evolve [laughs].
JT: Yeah, you want to be the gap.
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Z: Yeah, exactly. Is there a quote that you always return to in your mind that uplifts you or motivates you that you found to be really inspirational? I can give you mine first.
JT: Yeah, give me yours.
Z: So, there’s this Beyoncé quote where she basically says something along the lines of, “You’re never too good to lose. You’re never too smart to lose. You’re never better to lose. Sometimes you just lose.” And that has given me a lot of peace, especially in my artistic work, that it’s not a zero-sum game of wins and loss. Sometimes you do your best job that you put it into the world and you have to release it. And that’s not a critique of me as a creator.
JT: Sure. Yes. Okay. I don’t know why I’ve been thinking about this one quote. And I can’t even tell you who said it in which of the Star Wars prequels.
Z: Okay, let’s go.
JT: And I can’t even remember the context. I think that young Darth Vader has fallen onto lava or something. Hayden Christensen has fallen into the lava. And then I think Ewan McGregor is fighting with him. I think that Sith was the political party sect thing that the bad people belong to, right? And Ewan McGregor screams, “Only a Sith deals in absolutes.”
Z: Okay. Wow.
JT: Which I’m like, yeah, thinking in absolutes is not a good thing.
Z: That’s a perfect way for us to end this interview. Only Siths think in absolutes. ❤
STORY CREDITS
PHOTOGRAPHY Kevin Alexander, STYLIST Angel Emmanuel, HAIR Sean Michael Bennett, MAKEUP Cyler Says PRODUCER Masha Spaic, CASTING DIRECTOR Muzam Agha, PHOTO ASSISTANT Alejandro Poveda, LOCATION Prop Haus NY, VIDEOGRAPHER Anthony Kadel
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