Carthage grad has act together on TV

WHO: Mark E. Tallman, 27, is a working actor from Northern New York who recently moved to New York City to pursue his career. He played football at Carthage Central School and Bucknell University in Pennsylvania before coaching at St. Lawrence University, Canton. Mr. Tallman has a recurring role on the ABC soap opera "All My Children" as Kyle, bartender at the Comeback bar.

HOW DID YOU BECOME INTERESTED IN ACTING? "I always had something inside of me that knew I wanted to be an artist. I think a lot of it was from my father (Rick Tallman of Carthage).

"Growing up I was a military kid and everywhere we went, regardless of where we lived, we would take trips to New York City to see Broadway plays. My father was always in plays in the military and when we lived in Hawaii he had done plays with a pretty large theater company there.

HOW HAS YOUR CAREER BEEN GOING SINCE YOUR MOVE? "It's definitely been good because aside from doing the show I'm able to audition for several other things, which just is so good as an actor.

"I've had a chance to film an independent film, I was a model on the Rachel Ray show this past month for a Valentine's Day segment they did. I just recently did two ESPN photo shoots."

WHAT IS IT LIKE WORKING ON A SOAP OPERA? "Oh, it's incredible.

"It's not similar to most forms of acting in theater or on film, where you know you have tons of rehearsal time and you do this and that to get all your marks down, dry rehearsals and stuff.

"With a soap, an entire episode is filmed and done in one day. It's just been an incredible learning experience."

WHAT IS THE CRAZIEST PLOT YOU HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN? "I mean nothing too crazy. I guess being a bartender at Comeback bar, more than anything, it's been breaking up fights.

"As a recurring role, which is what Kyle is as a bartender on the show, you don't get wrapped up so much into the crazy love triangles, at least not yet. If that happens that's real good news for me."

WHAT DOES YOUR FAMILY THINK ABOUT YOUR CAREER? "They love it. They were definitely a little skeptical to begin with.

"So when I first told them, I was I was like 'Yeah, I think I'm really going to pursue this acting thing,' they were like 'Are you crazy? You have a great life. You're a college football coach, you have an undergrad, you have a master's, why throw all this away?'

"And of course that's how parents are going to be. I'm sure if I had kids at this point I'd understand even more. So because of that they were really skeptical, but when they realized I was serious about it and next thing they knew I actually had a job as an actor, they loved it.

"Now my mother (La'Dell Tallman of Carthage) can't wait every time she sees me on TV."

WHOM WOULD YOU MOST WANT TO WORK WITH? "Don Cheadle would be a dream for me. His ability is absolutely ridiculous. He is one of those rare people who has never been in a bad movie."

WHAT'S UP NEXT FOR YOU? "I don't know, the sky is the limit.

"I don't know if something more is going to develop (on the soap) You never know; for example the guy who plays Chief Frye, Derek Frye (Charles Parnell), he started like myself as just a recurring role they wrote into the script