Actor John Palmer chatted with #Powerjournalist Markos Papadatos about being an actor in the vertical drama space.
Alabama football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant once said: “If you believe in yourself and have dedication and pride – and never quit, you’ll be a winner. The price of victory is high but so are the rewards.” This quote applies to John Palmer.
On his experience in the vertical drama world, Palmer shared, “My experience in this space has been incredible! It has been very fast-paced and I have been doing it for almost three years now. I consider myself to be Season One in verticals.”
“I’ve been riding the wave with it and I’ve been wanting to see where it goes before we really dive into it,” he admitted. “Now that I know where we are, I am diving into this world.”
Palmer starred in the vertical drama “How to Break My Best Friend’s Dad” on Vigloo opposite Liv Kirby. “I did that one with Liv and it was great,” he said. “That one was definitely spicy. It has gotten me a lot of attention… a lot of people reach out to me about it and they send out a lot of compliments.”
“Now everybody wants a sequel for their verticals,” he noted. “They fall in love with one, and then, they want a sequel. This one had an unusual story, but I feel that my chemistry with Liv was very good!”
The digital age
On being an actor in the digital age, Palmer said, “For me, I’ve always known it to be hard, so this is all I know. Everyone says, you missed the industry when it was really great, but for me, ever since I moved to Los Angeles, it has been absolutely incredible.”
Palmer is drawn to the vertical drama space because of “The people.” “I like it because we are all on the grind together,” he admitted. “There is no nepotism. You have to work hard and you still have to network. I’ve learned that the hard way because I’m a very introverted person. This feels like a leveled playing field.
Working with Jake Lively
Palmer had great words about working with fellow vertical actor Jake Lively in an upcoming project. “Jake is great… we definitely bonded in this project and he is such a good guy. I definitely feel I got a new brother out of the deal,” Palmer said.
Jake Lively was the male lead on “Kissing Lessons with My Basketball Star” on Vigloo.
Future plans
On his future plans, he remarked, “It looks like I could be doing a movie for Netflix here pretty soon in the next few months. Then, I am still on the vertical grind right now. In fact, I am starting another vertical in two weeks.”
Stage of his life
On the title of the current chapter of his life, Palmer revealed, “10 Seconds Till Takeoff.”
Superpower of choice
If he were to have any superpower, it would be to “be the master of the piano.”
Success
Regarding his definition of success, he said, “success, to me, means being able to pay rent through your passion.”
Message for his fans
For his fans and supporters, Palmer expressed, “I am extremely grateful for the fans. Without them, we don’t have anything. I feel that what I do is somewhat of a service industry job. I went to the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, where they teach us to take care of humanity and to always tell the truth of our characters.”
“When I went into the vertical drama world, I got a lot of flak from people (especially in theater) telling me that it’s not real acting. We get to tell our true stories, and I agree with that. When I first started taking off in this world, I received a message from a message who tell me that she ‘really appreciated all my vertical because she has been in the hospital with her mom, and the verticals give them both something to do. So, that message really stood out to me,” he elaborated.
“As soon as I heard that, I said to myself, ‘Man, when I do these verticals, I really want to go a great job’ because you never know who is watch, and how your work can impact people in a positive way,” Palmer concluded.
To learn more about actor John Palmer, follow him on Instagram.
