Charlie plays "Garrett Alderson " on Palmetto

1) What was the attraction of doing this series?

I was interested in doing the series after reading the script of the pilot episode. The writing was very intriguing; one of its great attributes was the vast array of character types. I personally believe this to be a good thing, since it allows the audience to find a character that they can easily relate to, which is a large reason I enjoy playing Garrett. He embodies a great deal of the youth population, teenage kids who have a family consisting of a stepparent and a biological parent- which can be very hard at times, and they can look to Garrett to see how he deals with it which might be able to help them in their situation.

2) What makes PALMETTO different from any other teen drama you’ve seen?

There are quite a bit of defining characteristics that separate Palmetto from other teen dramas. First, its characters are more realistic than other teen dramas because even though some characters on the show are wealthy, not all of them are. They can’t all just be crazy and irresponsible because their parents can’t bail them out with large sums of money. Most of all, these kids don’t live huge lavish lives only experienced by millionaire’s kids, the show is very similar to my own high school life- which is great to see, quite a change from almost all teen dramas that came before Palmetto.

3) What are the challenges of playing a character coming from a small town?

Personally, I don’t really face too many challenges by playing a mall town character. Garrett is originally from Ft. Lauderdale, and I have done my homework as an actor to see what teen life is like in that area and how it would have been for him living down there. As for his life in Palmetto, it is similar to my hometown that I went to high school in (a very small town, everyone knows everyone else and their business).

4) Without giving too much away, can you talk about your character?

Well, as you probably know I play Garrett. I’ve already given a little background, he is originally born and raised in Ft. Lauderdale and moved to Palmetto for sophomore year of high school. This would be hard on any kid and there’s plenty of drama that sparks from this. Like I also mentioned earlier, Garrett lives with his stepmother, Sue, and his dad, Mitch. His mother passed away earlier in his life, which is why his father remarries later. Garrett is a very strong willed kid, very witty, and does what he believes he needs to do.

5) How do you prepare for your scenes? What do you do to get “into character?”

The way I prepare for my scenes, I basically do a lot of script study and method work to figure out what the situation is and how I would feel if I was in the same place. The way I get into character, I spend a few minutes in complete silence just thinking about my surroundings and what situation I’m in- almost like meditating on what’s happening.

6) Without giving too much away, what has been your favorite scene to shoot?

I really enjoyed every scene because Garrett is very real. He is very witty, like I mentioned earlier, so he brings the comedy to a new level when he gets the opportunity for a smart comment. I would have to say though, that shooting the emotional scenes is what I enjoyed the most because dramatic events are the things that show what people are really made of- this is when Garrett is completely exposed.

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