Hi! My name is Julian Villela, and I am Young Simba on the Lion King’s North American Broadway Tour. I have been on tour for the last 10 months, and I’ve performed over 130 shows and in front of over 325,000 people. Oh yeah… I’m 11 years old ☺.

To be honest, there are SO many “favorites” about performing on the Lion King’s National Broadway tour. I love to perform in front of people of all ages and put a smile on their faces. The best part of this musical is that I get to act, sing and dance ALL in one show. Also, don’t forget that musicals are LIVE, so we have to be able to deliver a high energy performance every time in one take – NO pressure…

Also, I love bringing the character to life, in this case Young Simba. The funny thing is that Young Simba and I are very similar. We are confident, we view our dads as our hero, and we are loyal to anyone we love. What’s pretty cool is that I can give my character as Young Simba my own flavor and swag.    

I love the feeling I get on stage. It’s a “NervCited” feeling…the nervous and exciting feeling I get as I walk onto the stage, especially for the first few shows. It was an adrenaline rush!!! The best way to describe it is like the feeling you get when there is a drop in a roller coaster. You are nervous, scared, but the rush is so fun!  

The cast, crew and company of this tour is hands down AMAZING! There is SO much talent here. I learn a little every day from them. Every person on tour is so kind, so supportive, and has beautiful personalities. 

I bet you are wondering if I go to school? The answer is absolutely!  We have an onsite teacher and child wrangler – Lisa Swift (better known as Ms. Lisa). She is a rockstar! On tour, we have 3 other kids she oversees to teach. My mom always says, “Lisa is an extension of her backstage.”    

Traveling on tour has been so eventful. I have been in 13 cities across the country in less than a year! Fun fact is that I travel with my whole family – Mom, Dad and sister.  They are my biggest fans!!! Can you guess how much luggage we travel with? 10!

We have been able to do fun things in every city such as college campus visits, attend interactive science museums, amusements parks (I love roller coasters, by the way), film studio tours, tons of new restaurants, several zoos and a tour of Paisley Park (the home of Prince!).

I was born in Miami and currently live in Lake Nona. My mom is of Colombian descent and my dad is of Honduran descent. I’m one of the few Latinos on this tour and love representing my heritage!