Marlon Palmer
Marlon Palmer – an aspiring actor is new school. Appreciating that the traditional model of getting into the acting business is a little dated he has taken matters into his own hands and created his own platform off of which to promote his talents. To date his Youtube channel ThatdudeMCFLY has had almost 4.5million views, creating him a following from all over the world. Many of the most popular pieces produced and starred by the young Canadian are heavily influenced by Palmer’s Jamaican heritage. These include ‘A Jamaican Valentine’s Day’ and ‘Sh*t Jamaicans say’ – a take on the popular ‘Sh*t ______ say’ online sensation. CaribDirect’s Malachi McPherson spoke exclusively with Marlon about his journey so far…enjoy!
First of all, thanks for agreeing to do this interview with us! We love your videos and look forward to seeing more. For those who don’t know you, tell us about yourself?
Well I’m 23. I live in Toronto, Canada and I make Youtube videos. I’ve been doing it for a little over a year now and people seem to really enjoy my stuff.
You go by the alias ‘ThatdudeMCFLY’ where did that name originate?
Well I was making my twitter account and I was watching Back To The Future so I took the name Mcfly from there.
With thousands of followers on Twitter and subscribers etc on Youtube do you feel it’s affected your life offline? And if so how?
Well I get noticed a lot more when I go out. I notice it happens a lot more when I’m wearing clothes from the actual videos. I’ve also gotten a lot of work for hosting jobs since I started doing the videos.
Are you surprised at the reach that your videos have had?
Yeah I didn’t expect this type of response at all. It’s definitely been really great seeing all the love people are sending my way.
What’s the craziest response you’ve had from a fan so far?
To be honest there are too many for me to remember. Everything from pics with my name written on their bodies to T-shirts being made with my face on it.
You feature dancehall music heavily in your sketches. Who are your favourite dancehall artists?
Definitely Vybz Kartel, Movado, Beenie Man, Popcaan. There are a lot more, just too many to name.
Are your sketches inspired by things that have happened in your life?
Mostly my Jamaican videos are things I’ve picked up from my mom and other Jamaican influences in my life. TV inspires me more than anything because I imitate most of the behavior and mannerisms from there.
What’s been your favourite sketch/video and why?
My favorite is probably the make up video just because I remember thinking how ridiculous it was that we were doing it in the first place.
What comedians or actors inspire your comedy?
Will Smith is probably my number one influence. I love all of his work and I think he’s an amazing actor.
If you wasn’t doing comedy, what do you think you’d be doing?
Probably sad and depressed finishing school.
We first heard about you with your ‘Sh*t Jamaican’s Say’ video, which has almost 800,000 views. What’s your favourite Jamaican saying?
“Yuh mussi drink mod puss piss!”
Apart from yours what’s your favourite ‘Sh*t ____ say video?’
Sh*t White Girls Say To Black Girls.
Have you had to deal with negativity from your videos? How do you deal with it?
Not really. I haven’t heard anything negative about it.
Jamaica or Canada and why?
Canada because it’s all I know.
What are your aspirations for the future?
I just hope to be acting for the rest of my life and God willing it will happen.
How can our readers get more info about you or follow you/any parting words?
You can follow me on twitter ( @Thatdudemcfly) and my blog is www.marlonpalmer.net.
Check out Marlon’s most populaar video: Sh*t Jamaican People Say
