In 2013 Julia portrayed the lead Elizabeth in short film Aquarius' Mule, a drug addict who has to face the consequences of her drug abuse. In 2014, Papp played the female lead role of a young prostitute Magdolna in the film Tariro, a story about human trafficking.

Papp portrayed the lead character Anna in the 2015 film Archie, a story about a young mother and her six-year-old autistic son. Later in the year Julia played Catherine in Pulitzer Prize winning play Proof. Her performance was well-received by critics.