Exclusive Interview with ‘Deputy’ Actress Valeria Jauregui

Valeria Jauregui is an up-and-coming actress you’ll want to make yourself familiar with. She most recently made her mark on the small screen in the recently cancelled FOX drama Deputy alongside Stephen Dorff.

I got the chance to talk to her about how she got into acting, what it was like working with Stephen, whether she’d be interested in pursuing singing in addition to acting and so much more. Keep reading to see what she had to say!

Tell me a little bit about how you got into acting originally.

I was a timid child in public and really outgoing in my room, where I felt comfortable. My mom, who has always had an unwavering faith in me, pushed me to audition for theatre and that’s sort of where it all began. I guess I just felt such rapturous joy when acting that I never wanted to stop. I’m also a very demonstrative person by nature so that helps.

Was there a specific person or experience that you would credit with helping you decide that acting is what you wanted to do for a living?

Probably Annie, the musical. It was the first show I ever did, and I played Annie! Doing the character research with my mom, watching the movie over and over again, working hard for the audition, putting together the show and then getting to see it all come together amazed me. At that moment, I knew I wanted to continue doing that. 

You’re still super young with a long acting career ahead of you, but is there a specific role or type of character you haven’t gotten the chance to play yet but are hoping to cross off your bucket list? 

Yes, I would love to play a role that brings singing and dancing into it on film! Or just a character that’s the opposite of my personality to take on a challenge.

Let’s talk about Deputy. What was your audition process like?

I booked Deputy in quite a funny way actually. I recorded the audition with my oldest brother who, of all of us in the family, is the least talented when it comes to showing the slightest bit of emotion. His dead voice pitch and mannerisms were what lead to me transmitting exaggerated sarcasm to try to push his reader skills. I guess they liked it and I got the role.

Tell me about your character, Maggie Hollister. What is she like? 

She is sweet, sarcastic, stubborn, and silly! I think Maggie represents that, at the end of the day, the Sheriff has a family at home who just wants him to come home safe every night. We like to joke around on set about how she’s the most understanding fourteen-year-old there ever was. Playing her is challenging in a sense where I have to keep in mind that still, she is way younger than me, and being 14, you think you know everything when you don’t. 

Would you say that Maggie is more similar or different to the person that you, Valeria, are and why?

Well I think Maggie gets sarcastic with her parents sometimes and I for sure do all the time. We are both really understanding and love our family. I think she is more similar to me than different.

Stephen Dorff plays your dad on the show. What’s it been like working with him? Did you guys done anything fun to create that father-daughter bond?

It’s awesome. Stephen is so sweet; we’re always joking around with whatever is happening in that episode with our relationship as father-daughter; in the episodes where I have a boyfriend, he would always come up to me and be mad and act overprotective as a father would. We just like to make father daughter jokes here and there and he’ll fake ground me or something. I also ask him to do impressions too because he’s very good at that.

Deputy is the first television show you’ve worked on. Now that season 1 is over, what are some of the biggest things you learned from being on set?

Answer: So much it’s hard to say everything. A lot of the basic stuff about working on a network drama! Something I learned that’s interesting is the film slang that they use on set. I also had to learn how to horseback ride!

I know you also previously competed in La Voz Kids USA and earned a spot in the finals. You also post a ton of singing videos on your Instagram. Is singing something you’re interested in pursuing professionally alongside acting? 

YES! I love singing and it is actually the passion which brought me to acting so to not pursue it as well would be to stab five year-old me in the heart. 

Last question — we’re called Talk Nerdy With Us because we all have an inner nerd so what is something that you’re currently nerding out about?

Space. Being stuck in quarantine, I’ve been spending a lot of time with my brothers, they’re both very smart, and one is really into space, so we’ll stay up watching videos of NASA or looking at the Hubble telescope space pictures. He’s also taking an astronomy class, so he’s been teaching me some things he’s learning and I find it super cool! 

Make sure you follow Valeria on Instagram.

Featured Photo Credit: Jorge Campos