Actor Kevin O’Sullivan is keeping busy—very busy in the world of vertical series. The microdrama is one of entertainment’s hottest trends, and Kevin has appeared in over two dozen of them so far, including Being Fired Now I’m Out of Their League and The Quest for Harvard. But Kevin is used to working quickly; his previous credits include appearing on the soap opera Days of Our Lives.

Kevin joined TVBrittanyF.com to talk about the popularity of verticals and how the process of working on a microdrama has helped him grow as an actor. He also shared some of his favorite roles and on-set experiences. Plus, what would he call himself a superfan of?

Brittany Frederick: Microdramas have come in and taken the entertainment world by storm. What was it about the idea that excited you as an actor?

Kevin O’Sullivan: What was attractive to me about verticals, I was reflecting back on my days on Days of Our Lives, where I had a small minor character on that soap opera. And from what I saw, it was fast-paced. You have to memorize your lines very quickly, adjust on set… So not knowing what to expect kind of attracted me.

I think I’ve done like 31 verticals now, so far in supporting roles or lead villain roles… I like the characters that the writers write for me. They can be very controversial. The violence, the name-calling, the slapping—it’s sort of like a Three Stooges type of thing to me. And going back to being able to tell a story, I don’t want to portray a character that’s just so terrible. I try to find some sort of redeeming quality with those characters, especially the ones that are the villains—who are beating up the girlfriend or the wife, unfortunately, or doing terrible things. I try to find something redeeming, that the audience can find attractive. But I like that fast-paced [storytelling]. And it’s just really exploded.

Does your process change when you’re working on something of this size, as opposed to a longer movie or TV show?

Days of Our Lives, it’s very similar to the vertical microdramas that I’m doing now. Sometimes I would get a script two days in advance on these microdramas. Sometimes I get the contract the day before and I get the script the day before. And then it’s in New York City; I don’t live in the city, so I’m memorizing my lines while I’m driving my car into the city, a three-hour drive. It gets kind of crazy, but I use my past on Days of Our Lives and some other things I’ve done earlier in my career [where] we were very on the spot and you have to be very aggressive with learning and making a choice.

I use that experience nowadays with these micro dramas. I like the fast-paced stuff. I like the pressure coming on to me. I like last-minute changes. I can show up on set, know my lines, feel really comfortable with my choices. I’ve never met the director. Maybe I have, but the writers [are] on set and they go no, we want him older-looking—so let’s start spraying gray paint in my hair. And they’ll say, instead of him being a bad guy, make him a little bit happier and friendlier. You have to be really flexible. I actually strive and like that environment. It helps me grow as an actor, and it makes me a little bit stronger as a person as well.

Are there particular verticals that you’d recommend to someone who wants to get into the genre, or to see some of your work? What are your favorites?

I would say watch my second vertical that I ever did, which was Crush on the Unwanted Princess with Noah Fearnley and Mariah Moss. I’m missing a few actors, but it was a great cast. But that was the second vertical I did. It was like summer camp to me. They put the cast at an Airbnb, and we kind of just kind of molded together.

I was clean-shaven on that series, and I play FBI agent Perry, and I’m a good guy. But then a couple of casting directors got with meand they said, the client likes you a lot… and they gave me advice—why don’t you grow a beard and really play a villain? And I said, I’ve never really done that before. I’ve always been the baby-face guy. So since then, I’ve played a lot of villains.

The one that released a couple months ago—Being Fired Now I’m Out of Their League; it’s on Dramabox—I play Mason Brooks. He’s someone who takes bribes from the main villain [played by] Ryan Jacobucci, great actor out of L.A. I’ve worked with him on a couple of these. And of course in the end, my scheme, along with Ryan’s character scheme, is exposed by the good guys. And I get cuffed and stuffed.

Also, The Legal Queen’s Comeback; it’s another Dramabox [release]. David Brooks is my character’s name, but same kind of character. I love playing the villain who’s not really beating people up, but is clearly communicating to the audience that I’m on the take. But you know what? There’s a lesson to be made, and I’m going to be the one that’s going to be the example, and I’m going to be the one that’s going to jail. [Laughs.]

I’m kind of seeing a little pattern where I’m actually moving into a good guy role. I’ve just wrapped one in Los Angeles called My Quest for Harvard. It’s going to be a TikTok production, which I’m excited about. TikTok is kind of getting into the production of [verticals]. I play the country’s richest oil tycoon [and] Caitlin Peluso, I play her father in it. I’m in a wheelchair. It’s a small supporting role, but that was a lot of fun. And I was really enjoying the good guy part of that role.

Microdramas have cultivated a huge fan base. What or who would you call yourself a fan of, or what are you passionate about?

Anything Billy Bob Thornton does, I’m just attracted to. [His] last two series, Landman—which is still ongoing—and then Goliath, that was just a home run to me.

I try to spend as much time with my family. We just had our 25th anniversary, my wife and I, and we have a teenage daughter. We have a horse; we love horses. And I’m a big professional wrestling fan. I’ve been watching wrestling since the early 1970s.

Some of the money that I make from performing, I put into animal welfare. That’s another thing that I’m really passionate about, is whatever I can do to help with the pet population when it comes to dogs, cats—especially those two species, but any kind of animal. Through the HSPCA out of Florida, we adopted one of our two horses. All of our animals have been rescues. I’m a vegetarian. I’m just passionate about animal welfare, and that’s something that keeps me going.

For more on Kevin O’Sullivan, visit his website. Photo Credit: Set image courtesy of Dramabox, headshot by Amy Jones/Courtesy of Studio Matrix.

Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.