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Your new movie Lulu
and the Electric Dreamboat - in a few words, what's it about, and
what can you tell us about your character?
It's an indie Irish rom-com about mental health and pretty much trying to fit IN while dealing with said
mental health, amid the historic punk/alt rock back-drop of Limerick
itself. I play Trevor McDonagh, an American expat (and an early 90's
metalhead) who is the father of brothers Mark & Steve, who make up
one half of the band known as Lulu & the Electric
Dreamboat. What did you draw upon to bring your character to life,
and how much Steve J. Palmer can we rind in Trevor?
I have known A LOT of metalheads growing up on the American east
coast. Though I wasn't one myself (I'm more of a classic 60'-70's rock
enthusiast), I went to high school in the early 90s during the advent
of grunge. When Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots and Pearl Jam ripped
through the music scene with that unique Seattle sound, I remember my Aerosmith,
Guns'n'Roses, and Metallica-loving purist pals getting
slightly defensive of their "chart turf", as it were. But
music taste is subjective, and good music transcends; there was room for
EVERYBODY in the 90s, and after the initial hesitation and bewilderment
settled, everyone shared happily by spring of '93. Look... when the guy in the black James Hetfield T-shirt and patched
denim vest is rocking out to Digital Underground, you're in the best
timeline, man! So, aspects of me and 3 of my old high school buddies are in
Trevor's DNA. Definitely. How
did you get involved with the project in the first place, what drew you to
it? And how did you end on the production side of things as well?
Paddy Murphy, the film's co-director and co-writer, reached out to
me back in 2011 when he was with The Gaming Liberty, Ireland's premiere
gaming site. He was a fan of my character Bill Williamson from Red
Dead Redemption (which had been out for about 8 to 9 months at that
point) and hit me up on social media for an interview. We did one that was
LOADS of fun, and in turn I introduced him to Rob Wiethoff, who plays Red
Dead Redemption's lead John Marston. They knocked out another interview that
also was pretty entertaining and enjoyable, and just like that, we
clicked. I'd made a cool buddy. We stayed connected the next several years, but as he was
"gaming press", as it were, with the website, I had to
withdraw due to my involvement in filming Red Dead Redemption 2, as production rumors
began swirling with other sites. Things stayed locked-down, and once the
game released in October of 2018, he was one of the first to reach out;
"Hey buddy!! So THAT'S where you've been!! Totally worth it; missed
ya, man! Congrats and welcome back!"
So, we have another few years of professional bliss, as I was
hitting the convention circuit and he was deep into the indie film
circuit with his production company Celtic Badger
Media. In fact, things were going so well, Paddy brought up around Christmas of 2019 how we
just HAD to work on a project together. I was down, definitely; then... Covid-19.
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Look, I don't need to go into detail, because it sucked for ALL of
our asses, but during this time, Paddy and I helped each other out in
Zoom calls by uplifting each other in pep talks, a.k.a.
"old-fashioned buddy therapy". We talked DEEPLY about our
deteriorating mental health, but we also talked quite positively and
enthusiastically about our desire to return to making art when the
pandemic was over. It was at this point he brought to my attention this
great story by Mikey Casey, Lulu
and the Electric Dreamboat. I told him a big fat YES, just by his description of
Mikey's script. "I'm in", I snapped. A film about the
struggles of anxiety as we're both going through this shit? I thought it
was perfect timing.
How I also became an executive producer on it? That's a whole big
tale in itself. What
were the challenges of bringing Lulu
and the Electric Dreamboat to the screen from a producer's point of view?
As 2021 rolled around, and Covid-19 vaccines became available
worldwide, we could start having some serious discussions about getting
the ball rolling on pre-production. I hadn't had any lucrative
professional work in over a year, minus some virtual on-line autograph
sessions and a few smaller voice-over gigs. Celtic Badger's situation
wasn't any different, so we needed capital. Paddy suggested
crowd-funding, and with my social media acumen and decent sized
Instagram following, I spearheaded that, which is where the production
credit came from. Paddy & Mikey had complete script creative control
as they SHOULD, and I was given room with marketing direction.
We set a KickStarter goal, and not only did we hit our goal early,
we passed it! Even some of my dearest friends, who were ALWAYS
supportive, had doubts this was gonna work because of the pandemic, and
how that affected MANY financially. By either the grace of God, or
karma, or fate, or the Ghosts of Punk Rock Past... whoever one believes
is out there... they ALL listened and helped us out.
Here's the trick though; we were still technically in a pandemic,
and Paddy's goal was to have production start that last week of October
2021, through the month of November, then wrap by early December
2021. You've got an indie crowd-funded micro-budget, with STRICT
Covid set officers having cast and crew test daily. If anyone of us had
gotten sick or tested positive - we were screwed... mo one got sick, or tested positive. NOT ONCE. Producing a film
during the pandemic was one hell of an eye-opener. We were also DAMN
lucky. Do talk about Lulu
and the Electric Dreamboat's directors Paddy Murphy and Michael
Casey, and what was your collaboration like?
I miss those 2 horribly. They let me have fun with Trevor, and
really allowed me to ad-lib, and make some bold creative choices. I said
before I simply fell in love with the concept, but once I officially
read the script, I just doubled-down on my conviction. What can
you tell us about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?
I was introduced to Barry's Tea and Tayto brand Irish crisps. The
greatest craft service discovery in my life on set, swear to God. (Need
to get that out first and foremost, thank you Mikey Casey & Darragh
O'Flannagáin for those 2 gems.)
The atmosphere was sublime; I felt so spiritually at home on the river Shannon. My cast and stellar crew were lovely, and we became this
connected family. I CANNOT express enough how fortunate I was to have
Frances Healy (BBC's
River City) play my wife Ellen in the
film. She was my rock for the entire shoot, so welcoming, such a gift to
the profession. Met her entire family, and they were just spectacular. Paul Fitzgerald (Dublin
Crust, The Perished) was completely "down to clown" in our scenes, and brought the
perfect amount of comedy to the role of Steve, the older McDonagh son.
Drinking with him was also hysterical, and boy, can that cat MC a
party!! Though I only had one scene that included Maeve McGrath (Apple
TV's Bad Sisters, Brooklyn), she is an absolute
stalwart in the Irish indie film scene, and her presence is felt on and
of set, which had everyone's joyous admiration. Any
future projects you'd like to share?
Going to stay mum on a few things, but just keep checking my social
media. That's where the news drops. What got you into
acting in the first place, and did you receive any formal training on the subject?
I got into stand-up comedy when I was 16-years-old, because I loved
doing impersonations. As I said previously, I was an early 1990s
teenager, so that period of SNL was peak television: Dana Carvey, Phil
Hartman, Norm MacDonald, Kevin Nealon, Chris Farley, David Spade, Mike
Meyers, Chris Rock, Tim Meadows, Jan Hooks... I worshipped them all! My
father saw I was becoming less introverted with my impersonations, so he
helped me write my first stand-up act for my high school's talent show.
That performance caught the eye of the head of the drama department, who
found me backstage, grabbed my arm and proclaimed, "Where the hell
have you BEEN!?!?!" From there, I read plays, performed IN plays, ran lights, ran sound,
built sets, did EVERYTHING a rounded theatre student SHOULD do,
auditioned for colleges, got theatre scholarships, got my BA in Theatre,
auditioned for regional theatre/summer stock, did student film, moved to
LA, paid for private coaching, did background work, got an agent...
I've just kept at it. I got bit by the acting bug, plain and simple.
What can you tell us about your filmwork prior
to Lulu and
the Electric Dreamboat?
I didn't have any substantial "film" work on my
resume per se; I'd plenty of voice-over, full performance-capture via
video games, theatre and television work, but funnily enough, not a single
feature film... let alone experience in producing one! Still don't know what in God's name Paddy and Mikey were thinking. How would you describe
yourself as an actor, and some of your techniques to bring your characters
to life? Hmmm... everyone's technique is different, and to be honest, I guard
my process, but I'll share a tidbit I learned from one of the best
acting coaches I've ever had, R. Dale Reynolds. Dale would have a myriad of scenes for me to work on, and no matter
what, hit-or-miss, after I'd perform one in class, he'd slowly remove
his reading glasses, put his notes down, and say, "What do you feel
WORKED or DIDN'T work?" He NEVER used the word "fail", as
it can be so counterproductive in the craft of acting. I took that
perspective and ran with it. I approach a role asking myself this FIRST:
"What best serves the script/text?" Find THAT out, what will WORK in name of that service, and the
nuance will follow, and yes, you can then have a little fun. Maybe even
A LOT... TONS perhaps. Actors (and indeed actresses) who inspire you?
They all inspire me. If you're hustling and booking, well heck, you're
inspiring me! Your favourite movies?
Oh Lord, this interview is long enough... alright, I'll list one that always reminds me of my
dad: 1972's Joe Kidd with Clint Eastwood. If I'm back visiting my folks
in Florida, which I was just doing 2 weeks ago, and Joe Kidd comes on
Turner Classics or something, we stop whatever we are doing and
watch. The same goes for any Indiana Jones movie. ... and of course, films you really deplore?
I make it a rule not to "film-bash" while... you know, promoting
my OWN film. But that's not a fun answer, is it? Alright...
*ahem*... I have always thought The 5th Element was extremely overrated. Your website, social media, whatever else?
Instagram: @steve_j_palmer
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Anything else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?
I want to once again thank the cast and crew of Lulu and
the Electric Dreamboat for making me
feel so at home in Ireland 4 years ago. I also want to thank our
FANTASTIC distributors at One Tree Entertainment for finding us after
our first big film fest win, and believing in the film as WE did. Also, our DOP & fellow
producer Barry Fahy, as well as Jared Nadine & Jacob Woulfe (our 2 maestros
behind the music)... the three of those gentleman had mountains to climb
in a short amount of time. They nailed it. Last but not least: Michael J.
Casey, the writer whose brainchild this story is, and Paddy Murphy, the
heartbeat behind Celtic Badger
Media; you both sacrificed EVERYTHING in
terrifying times to make this impossible film happen. I love you both.
Let's do it AGAIN!!! Thanks for the interview!
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