George Gallagher talks about starring in ‘Perimeter’ on BET+

Actor George Gallagher. Photo Credit: Gary Robinson.

Actor George Gallagher chatted about starring in the new series “Perimeter” on BET+.

He also shared his thoughts on artificial intelligence (AI) and being a performer in the digital age.

‘Perimeter’

This show was created, directed and written by Armani Ortiz.

On being a part of “Perimeter,” he said, “It was great. It was a unique situation. This marked the first time that a TV show had a different writer, director, and showrunner other than Tyler Perry.”

“Tyler served as an executive producer for the show, but it was certainly Armani Ortiz’ whole inception and creation. It’s a soap opera. Armani was really great to work with, and he cared a lot about the actors and the performances. Creatively, it was one of the best experiences that I’ve ever had,” he elaborated.

Playing Lance in ‘Perimeter’

Gallagher opened up about his character, Lance Etzioni, in “Perimeter.” “My character, Lance, takes on cases that most lawyers wouldn’t necessarily,” he said.

“Lance is a champion for the anti-hero,” he said with a good laugh. “I like that he knows where his bread and butter comes from but he also takes on tougher cases that most people wouldn’t.”

“I like the characters that I’ve been getting to do lately,” he said. “I never thought I would be playing suit guys or business guys or lawyers or doctors. In real life, I would go crazy being an attorney; all that paperwork would be torture. I do like fighting for certain causes and I do like arguing with people,” he said with a sweet laugh.

“Getting to inhabit those roles is so much fun,” he admitted.

‘Six Triple Eight’

Gallagher revealed that six months later, he got a chance to be a part of “Six Triple Eight.”

“That one has a really good script,” he noted. “This film stars Kerry Washington, Oprah, Dean Norris and Sam Waterston, among many others.”

“The actors were all just wonderful. The script was really cool, and it is timely and relevant; it tackles cultural relations. I am excited to see how it turns out. It will be out Netflix later on this year. Overall, it was a fun experience.”

‘Over the GW’ movie

Gallagher starred as Tony in the movie “Over the GW,” which was written and directed by Nick Gaglia.

The synopsis is: A cult-like rehabilitation center abuses, brainwashes and imprisons vulnerable teens.

“That was a really interesting experience,” he admitted about “Over the GW.” “It was the first lead role I ever had in a movie. When we were filming it, I didn’t know that it was based on a true story. The director never clued me in… he just gave me the script and I thought it was different and interesting unlike anything I had ever previously seen before.”

“Nick [Gaglia] and I really had a really good collaborative experience together. I liked being very hands-on and collaborative on that project, and I took on many other roles. In this particular film, everything was in the script.”

“With this film, I knew that we had something really special in our hands early on,” he acknowledged. “Nick worked very hard on that, and it was obviously a very personal story for him. A lot of his family was in the movie, all of which have lived through it.”

“I was so blown away with how all these non-actors did such a good job in it, and that was because they lived it,” he added.

The film is mentioned in a congressional hearing

Gallagher shared that later on this film (“Over the GW”) got mentioned in a congressional hearing in California, where they were trying to pass a bill against institutional child abuse, and they referenced the movie.

“Looking back, it was a very impactful film, especially since it can create some sort of change,” he said.

Esai Morales

Gallagher praised veteran actor Esai Morales for being a “brilliant actor.” “Esai was terrifying in ‘Ozark’ and he is just so good in everything that does,” Gallagher said. “When you see him on screen, he just turns it on. He just kills every scene; he is so good.”

Advice for young and aspiring actors

For young and aspiring actors, Gallagher said, “If this is something you really love, you should take every opportunity that you can to do it. The more you act, the better you get…. The better you get, the more you are going to want to act. It’s not complicated.”

“You have to keep feeding that. It takes a certain personality, and your passion and love have to be there for it. You need to be willing to roll the dice,” he said.

“If you really love acting more than anything else in the world, then nothing is going to stop you,” he added.

The digital age

On being an actor in the digital age, Gallagher said, “I think content is king, and quality is important. You need to have craft and focus on really being good. It’s all about being good and doing work that actually is meaningful. You have to be an optimist, and you have to believe that talent will win out in the end.”

“The cream does rise to the top,” he underscored. “At the end of the day, people are going to get an opportunity. I’ve been grateful to getting jobs lately and getting to do what I love for a living. Hopefully, it will keep going in that direction.”

“You are never going to take storytellers away. You are never going to replace them with ChatGPT or AI,” he observed. “You are still going to need people.”

“If somebody is defined to be an artist, then nothing will stop them,” he acknowledged. “Nothing will knock them out, whether that is family tragedy, having kids, or financial circumstances or personal circumstances.”

Success

Regarding his definition of the word success, Gallagher said, “To me, success, means producing something that you are really proud of, and that you have confidence that you can put forward and know that it can be well-received by the majority of people.”

“Success really is about doing things that resonate and connect with an audience. That’s a metric that you can count on,” he concluded.

To learn more about actor George Gallagher, check out his IMDb page, and follow him on Instagram.