“All American” Actress Kari Perdue Shares How She Got Into Acting, Her Actor’s Bucket List, And Her Steadily Growing Credits

Kari Perdue is a Los Angeles based actress, who says she is just getting started! You may recognize her from her role as ‘Chanel’ on CW’s All American or for her supporting role from the 2019 film, Come As You Are. 

Kari is currently starring as ‘Janet’ in Amazon Fire Tv show, Them: Covenant and the recent Hulu series Casual, as ‘Heather’. 

As her credits are steadily growing, New Scene Magazine was able to catch up with Kari, to learn more about how she got into acting, her actor’s bucket list, and more!

Q. Kari Perdue, acting was always something you wanted to do, but not everybody knew  that. What made you keep this a secret and what was it like finally revealing that you  wanted to pursue acting?  

A. Growing up I was the ‘fat girl’ who didn’t have many friends and was often bullied. Because of  the lack of acceptance I experienced with my peers and the self doubt it created, I told myself  that acting wasn’t something ‘girls like me’ got to do. I pushed the desire to perform down and substituted it with another passion that wouldn’t put me in the limelight. After college, I realized that I didn’t care what people thought and I wasn’t going to live my life based on the opinion of others. So, I started pursuing acting and have not regretted that decision. Being able to finally proudly say ‘I’m an actor’ felt and still feels like taking a deep breath and coming home to  myself. At my core, this is who I am and trying to deny myself that was a mistake. I’m happy I learned my lesson early enough to change my life path. 

 Q.  When you transitioned into full-time acting, the first audition you went out for, you got it! How’d you prepare for it and what did you take away that you still will use for future auditions?  

A. At the time of my first audition I had never taken an acting class and was going completely off instinct. I was just winging it, having fun creating a character, and doing my best not to let my nerves get the best of me. I’d say the takeaway from that audition, that I still try my best to do currently, is to just have fun! Don’t try to ‘book it’, just try to create a character and a  

performance you can leave in the room and be proud of. Because oftentimes you can be ‘perfect’ for a role and have done everything in your power to ‘get it right’ and you still won’t get the job. So, if you’re not reminding yourself to have fun, it’s going to eat you up inside with the constant  rejection.

Q. You originally wanted to become a music supervisor. What first sparked that initial profession?  

A. Three words, One Tree Hill. Like I said previously, I didn’t have an ideal school experience and One Tree Hill was my escape. Those characters felt like friends to me. It was a way to witness  the high school experience I was dreaming of… well, minus the more dramatic storylines!  Something that was a huge part of the show was the music- each episode is even named after  a song! I began noticing how different song choices could change and evolve a scene to something extraordinary. After each episode I would go try to find the songs I liked and then I noticed I could slip back into the same emotional experience (good or bad) that I had when first hearing it in the show. When I later discovered that that was actually someone’s job to place songs in movies and television shows I was like, ‘yep, imma do that!’ I wanted to be a part of someone’s emotional experience when watching something they love. 

Q. Along with acting, you are a director and a writer. Any skills set as a previous music director that you’ve found useful when movie directing?  

A. I’d say the thing that transfers the most would be that art is interpretation. Each person that  hears a song, reads a script, or watches a cut of your film is going to have a completely different  experience. Their interpretation is filtered through their own life experiences and sometimes 

something that was very clear for you as one thing can be seen or felt completely differently by  someone else. 

Q. About a year ago, you were getting a cool plaster mold done – that many people were  surprised you were able to sit through – and you said that’s something you were able to  check off your bucket list! What was that process like and what was that for ?  

A. That experience was by far one of my favorites as an actor so far! It was for Them on Amazon,  but that storyline unfortunately got cut. Somewhere in a warehouse is a mold of my head sitting  on a shelf, which is kind of funny to think about. The process was pretty incredible to witness  and be a part of. They start by taking photos of you so they can recreate skin, hair and eye  colors, and textures. Then they prep you for the actual mold and walk you through how  everything will feel and how quickly they’ll be able to do the process. The actual time you’re  being covered with the layers to make the mold is pretty quick. I actually found it relaxing. It sort  of sounds and feels like you’re underwater, you can still hear, but it’s distorted and there is a  kind of pressure against your skin. It’s pretty hard to describe, but I loved it. 

Q. What is something else that you would like to check off your actor’s bucket list?  

A. Gosh, I feel like I’m just getting started, that list is so long! But, right now I’m really dying for the  chance to be a part of A Court Of Thorns and Roses, which is a book series being brought to  screen. It would be a dream to get to bring to life a character from a book series that I love. I’m a huge fantasy book reader and getting to live in one of those worlds would be indescribable for  my bookworm/actor soul. I’m giddy just typing this, that’s how exciting it would be for me! 

 Q. You’ve got an amazing line up of credits and recently you’ve added Them: Covenant!   What was your initial reaction to the show and to your character Janet?  

A: Them is an incredible show written by Little Marvin that touches on a lot of today’s issues  through the lens of 1950s Compton with supernatural elements mixed in. When I originally  auditioned for Janet I didn’t know much about the show, which is typical because most  productions don’t want storylines leaked. But, as soon as I booked it, the first thing I did was ask  for as many of the episode scripts as they would allow me. When I read them my mouth fell  open, the way he paints a scene for the reader is such a gift as an actor- you see everything so  vividly. Which was pretty traumatic when reading some of the more dark and haunting scenes. It  made stepping into the role of Janet seamless, as I understood the story I was telling from Little  Marvin. Janet is someone I wish didn’t exist in the real world, but unfortunately she does, so I  had a lot to pull from in that sense. She’s radically different from myself but sometimes that  makes for all the more interesting of a story to tell because you’re much more specific with your  choices. 

Q. First onscreen kiss! When you first saw that you would be encountering your first  onscreen kiss, what was your initial reaction? From there, how did you prepare for a  milestone like this?  

A. I’ll be honest, I was nervous! Luckily it wasn’t my first day of filming that we shot that, so I was  already pretty comfortable with everyone and felt safe. We had an Intimacy Coordinator who was there every step to make sure my scene partner, Spencer, and I felt comfortable. Our director Nelson Cragg took us aside privately with the Coordinator to talk and walk though how he wanted to shoot the scene. By the time we got on set, we felt confident in what we were shooting. It was a really great experience and I felt really taken care of on that production!

Q. You’ve had a good range in characters as well, what is one type of character that is on  your radar to play?  

A. I’d love to play a fighter/warrior or someone very messy that doesn’t have their life together. I  feel like those are two types of characters I haven’t got the chance to play yet and would love to  experience that life perspective creatively. 

Q. Outside of being in front of the camera – you also offer other actors and actresses an  opportunity to make at-home audition tapes. How have you been able to help others with  your business?  

A. Self tape auditions in recent years have become very common for actors versus going in the room. They can be very expensive to tape at a professional studio or to buy your own setup for home. When Covid hit, it became the only way we could audition for productions. I had casually been helping friends tape my home setup for a while, but when covid closed down  Hollywood a lot of studios weren’t open. With most of us not being able to work, studio tapes were too expensive for actors to afford. So, I started offering tape sessions at affordable prices to help fill in the gap for my community of actors. Now I’ve been offering it for about a year and  have evolved into an acting coach as well. I receive client referrals from agencies, actors, and  industry professionals. It feels really good to be able to work with so many actors and help them  along the way to accomplishing their aspirations in this industry. 

Q. Where can we follow your amazing journey?

 A. I really only use instagram at the moment and am pretty neglectful with social media. But, feel free to follow me @kariperdue and hopefully I’ll have some other cool projects to talk about soon!

By: Darasha Singleton

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Darasha Singleton– Entertainment/Celebrity Reporter– Darasha loves all things entertainment and pop culture. You can probably catch her grabbing the latest interviews of your favorite entertainer. If not, she is tending her studies. Darasha is grad student at Syracuse University, studying broadcast and digital journalism in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. She got her undergrad at Clark Atlanta University, which is about 2hrs from her hometown of Augusta, Ga. Darasha isn’t a huge binge watcher, but she does love her a good musical and rom-coms.