Owensboro native Oliver Palmer has made quite the name for himself in the film world. Now based in New York City, the actor and writer has had roles on sets such as FBI, Blue Bloods, and Orange is the New Black. He’s now in the middle of making his own film, and he’s got a role in an upcoming feature that stars Hollywood star Christian Bale.
Palmer moved to Owensboro at age 3 when his father became the conductor of the Owensboro Symphony. He attended East View Elementary and College View Middle School and spent most of his formative years at the Theatre Workshop of Owensboro.
“My first show was with Lisa Mingus-Tullis in a Robin Hood play. She really gave me the acting bug,” Palmer said. “Todd Reynolds at TWO was a huge champion of mine. He and Thad Mayhugh, Lisa Mingus-Tullis, and Carolyn Greer – they all helped me a lot.”
Palmer attended high school at Tabor Academy on the Massachusetts coast before applying to New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. There, he realized that an acting career was within his realm of possibility.
“Being accepted to Tisch made me think I had a better shot at pursuing acting as a career,” he said. “My dad was the conductor of a symphony, and he was always like, ‘well, I did it – I made it work.’ So he was always supportive.”
Palmer’s mother also studied film and television in college, and while she never pursued a career in it, she always supported his efforts. Palmer attributes much of his success to his parents and his many supporters and mentors in Owensboro.
He is currently making a film about a Marine veteran who was a game warden, and Palmer said his former middle school English teacher at College View Middle School, Marsha Moore, provided the inspiration.
“I was getting lunch during one of my return visits to Owensboro with Ms. Moore and her husband, who was the gym teacher,” he said. “We were just talking, and he began discussing his friend who was a game warden in Kentucky. I wrote a script based on the idea, and now, I’m making it into a short film.”
Palmer said he looks forward to bringing his New York-based crew down south for filming, offering insights into his constructive years.
“It’s very ironic because Ms. Moore pioneered my writing when I was in 7th grade. She was a big champion of mine. She was always telling me to continue writing, and I never thought I would go anywhere,” he said. “I stopped writing for a long time, but it’s so funny that talking to her and her husband would offer up this idea for a screenplay.”
As a screenwriter and a playwright in New York, Palmer’s work is constantly infused with his Kentucky roots. One of his full-length plays pays homage to the coal mining industry in eastern Kentucky and Appalachia during the ’20s.
Even the title of his most recent film, “German Ridge,” is a reference to the recreation area just across the river in the Hoosier National Forest. He said they frequently visited the area for recreational activities and trail riding.
“I’m always connecting my writing back to Kentucky and the area. I find that in my work — my acting and my writing — I’m always drawn back to Owensboro,” Palmer said. “It’s important to me because I think a lot of southern characters that I see in film and TV are portrayed in a certain way, and I try to convert those stereotypes.”
He said it’s easy for a writer from New York or L.A. to mischaracterize a person from Appalachia or the South. He wants to bridge that gap and paint a more accurate picture through his writing and acting.
In addition to working on his own pieces, Palmer is currently acting in a feature film with Warner Brothers Studios, where he’s acting opposite Christian Bale. The film’s release date is set for October 2025.
“I think this film will be really exciting,” he said. “It’s called ‘The Bride,’ and it will come out next October in IMAX. I executed multiple scenes opposite Christian Bale, which was fun.”
Bale is an English actor who became famous in the early 2000s before playing Batman in the iconic Dark Knight trilogy. Palmer said several members of The Dark Knight team are involved with the production of “The Bride,” including the film’s director, Maggie Gyllenhaal.
From performances at TWO to Hollywood films, Palmer has established himself in the industry.
“To this day, it’s the lessons I learned at Theater Workshop that keep me going because they were truly formative for me,” Palmer said. “There are just so many folks that continue to inspire and feed what I’m doing. It’s like I am always trying to make my way back to Owensboro through my writing and acting.”
