Monday, May 29, 2023 | 2 a.m.
Actor Julia Ling is passionate about her latest project — Veteran Powered Films.
You might recall her from her recurring role as Anna Wu on the NBC TV series “Chuck” or from appearances on “ER,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “House” and “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.”
But her current role is that of a filmmaker and co-producer for a company she started with Micah Haughey in 2017 that aspires to have a positive impact on veterans.
Ling, who is in the Navy Reserve, empathized with veterans who carry heavy burdens of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and combat disabilities as they return into civilian life.
The U.S. Veterans Affairs statistic of 22 veterans committing suicide every day alarmed and distressed her. She joined in the 22 Pushup Challenge, a social media campaign to promote awareness of this grim statistic.
It went viral when celebrities — Chris Evans, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, John Krasinski, Chris Pratt and others — posted videos of themselves doing 22 pushups and challenged others to do the same.
“I lost a lot of people I know in the service — four committed suicide. I wanted to do more than just pushups,” says Ling, noting that she, too, struggled with depression related to her military service.
That’s when she began reaching out to help veterans by inviting them to be scriptwriters, producers, actors, prop and scenery workers, videographers and editors on films.
Thus, the Veterans Producing Films production company was born. She co-starred with Ryan Stuart (“No Time to Die”) in its first film, “Tango Down,” a short feature released in 2019 about two Afghanistan War veterans facing off in civilian life.
The script was written by Rick Swift, a Marine Corps veteran and associate producer on the project, who lives in Florida.
“We brought vets together to write, tell a story, direct and perform. It was really surprising that the concept worked,” Ling says. “Starting this whole thing wasn’t easy, but we created this community. … A few different vets came up to me with tears in their eyes saying, ‘You have no idea how this project saved my life.’ ”
Swift puts it succinctly: “We are working with them because we are them.”
The project inspired Jesse Ryun, an Army vet in Oregon whose weight had crept up to 300 pounds, to begin taking better care of himself. He started working out, lost 105 pounds and got an award from his gym for spending the most time there — three hours a day, six days a week.
“Jesse inspired us,” Ling says.
Next month, Veteran Powered Films will shoot scenes for an as-yet-unnamed horror feature film using veterans. It’s also supporting and getting the support of veteran-owned businesses.
“We want to employ veterans, train them with valuable skills and ultimately give them the tools they need to transition out of the military mindset and find a new mission in life,” Haughey said.
One veteran who worked on “Tango Down” was inspired to use his GI Bill to enroll in film school, he says. Creation of a platform inviting veterans to pitch stories and movie scripts is also in the works.
Michael de Leon, who retired as a Navy chief petty officer in 2016, met Ling in 2019 when both were on the set of the sci-fi film “Tenet,” directed by Christopher Nolan. De Leon identifies with the VPF mission and is helping with the film projects.
It’s critical for vets suffering with mental health issues to be involved in activities with other vets because of the camaraderie and brotherhood and a chain-of-command style of operation, de Leon says.
He doesn’t play a role in the upcoming film or trailer but will be working on prepping the set, decor, supplying provisions and community outreach.
“The concept is absolutely amazing,” says Ryun, who had a nonspeaking role in “Tango Down.” “It’s probably one of coolest things I’ve ever heard of.”
“Even if it’s not the next Hollywood blockbuster, we all band together and create a brotherhood doing cool things together,” Ryun says. “And there’s no need for anyone to end their life.”
Diane Bell is a columnist for The San Diego Union-Tribune.
