Rising actor Martin Kamm plays a lead role in new teen sitcom Hollywood Arts, released on Netflix.
It is a spin-off to classic Nickelodeon series Victorious, which aired from 2010 to 2013.
The new show’s premise sees Trina Vega return to the titular performing arts high school – but this time, as a teacher.
Martin plays the role of Oscar Ward, a confident-yet-vain student in Trina’s class.
Scroll down below to read our full interview with Martin – about Hollywood Arts and his wider career.
What inspired you to become an actor?
Martin Kamm: I’ve been a performer all of my life. My mom is a vocal coach, so I was always forced to perform growing up.
Did that for a few years and when I got to middle school, I got really angsty. “I don’t want to do this anymore, it’s not my choice.”
I stopped performing for a little while. Then when I was 14, my hometown had this little theatre and they were putting on Beauty and the Beast.
My family was like, “Hey, we want to do this as a family. Do you want to do this with us?” I thought about it and I was like, “Absolutely I do”.
So, I auditioned, I get the starring role – of the Pepper Shaker. And then when we started working on the show, I kind of fell in love with my castmates.
You’re spending so much time with people. You build this community and I got to meet people that I wouldn’t have met otherwise.
Then you finally put on the show and finally hear that applause after you did a huge dance number. You’re like, “I get it now”.
What kind of locked me into it is: I get to provide a space for people to come in from their lives, sit for a few hours and escape to a different world for a little bit.
There’s enough stuff going on that I want people to come in and just escape. To experience joy and that magic is real.
That’s what really pushed me to be an actor.
Before booking Hollywood Arts, how familiar were you with Victorious?
Martin Kamm: I was a fan growing up. The funny thing about that though is when the show was coming out, my Dad was getting his Master’s degree.
So, he got rid of cable – so he could focus. I was like, “Oh okay.” So I went to my buddy’s house and that’s how I got to see the show.
I enjoyed it because during that time, there wasn’t a lot of shows about artists. You had Teen Wolf and all these other shows, we didn’t have anything that kind of represented artists.
That was a show that I felt represented [in] – just as an artist and a nerdy theatre kid. I was definitely a fan growing up.
How would you explain the premise of Hollywood Arts, to anyone who hasn’t heard about it?
Martin Kamm: It’s a different take, a different viewpoint [of Victorious].
We’re dealing with Trina, she’s coming back to Hollywood Arts and doing it as a teacher.
It was something growing up, I thought, “If they ever brought the show back, it’d be really cool if she came back as a teacher.” Sure enough, she comes back.
In terms of Oscar, who from the original cast would you say he’s most similar to?
Martin Kamm: A lot of people say Beck [Avan Jogia], that’s their go-to. Visually, yes, he’s kind of got a little bit of his aesthetic.
But truly, he’s like Trina. He’s very full of himself, the only difference is that… he actually has talent. He can actually back it up.
So when people compare them, I would say Trina is closest to what Oscar is in the show.
How was the experience of working with original cast members like Daniella Monet and Matt Bennett?
Martin Kamm: My experience with some of the original cast members was kind of a dream come true.
Robbie was my favourite character, growing up. And the fact that I’m working with him, it was a dream come true. He’s super funny, very professional.
I remember he invited me out to dinner one time. [He] was like, “Hey, if you’ve got any questions about anything, I’m an open book. Feel free.”
These people kind of mentored us. Daniella Monet, she’s very different from what Trina is.
In real life, she’s very put together. She’s vegan, she eats well. But she also kind of has that teacher quality. She was a good mentor for us on set.
Kind of keep us honed in, focused and diving into multi-cam.
A lot of us – especially me – I’d never done multicam before. This was my first experience with that.
She really made that transition very smooth. It was just absolutely incredible.
Where did filming take place?
Martin Kamm: It was in Vancouver, Canada. In the dead of winter. I think it rained like 60 days straight or something crazy like that.
There’d be little moments when the sun would poke out. We’d run outside like, “We’ve got to soak it in while we can.” It was awesome.
Whst was it like working with your castmates in Hollywood Arts?
Martin Kamm: Oh my gosh, my castmates. First off, [they’re] some of the most incredible people I’ve ever met.
I remember when we first met, we clicked immediately. It took no time, the chemistry was already there.
They’re the most talented people I’ve ever had the honour to share a room with.
I remember one time, during the first episode when Alyssa who plays Emmy does her big performance.
I remember sitting there on the set like, “Wow, how lucky am I that I get to be here and witness this?”
The closeness we shared outside of set too, we would hang out all the time.
We really did become a family. Some of the most fun I’ve had with people, it was incredible.
How long were you waiting for the show to come out, after filming it?
Martin Kamm: Quite a while. We wrapped filming in March, like mid-March.
Many of months of like… I’m back home. We go to Canada, have this amazing experience, tons of highs. We’re living our dreams, this is incredible.
I come back to my home in Oklahoma and… nothing’s changed. I have to be quiet too – it’s a wild, wild experience.
The good thing is, the connection I had with the cast, it made it so much better.
We all can relate, we’re all going through the same thing. “Wow, I’m missing the show. I’m missing being back in Vancouver.”
It was good to have them to kind of lean on.
While in Vancouver, did your cast encounter any casts from other projects?
Martin Kamm: Actually yeah. The place they had us booked up, we were with the Scrubs cast. They’re doing a reboot of Scrubs.
One of the guys – man, he is jacked. Him and I would go up to the gym and catch lifts together. It was actually really kind of cool meeting other actors.
Are there any original Victorious characters – who haven’t yet appeared – that you’d want Oscar to have a scene with?
Martin Kamm: If I had to choose an original character… I would probably say Beck.
Then people would get the actual contrast of the two characters. Beck is smooth, he’s very charismatic. But he’s very chilled, very laid back.
Oscar is bombastic, full of energy – just like myself. I’d want that, for sure.
What can you tease, if anything, about the future of Hollywood Arts?
Martin Kamm: All I can say is I’m crossing my fingers for more. That’s all I can say.
I’m right there with everyone. People keep texting me, like, “When’s more? When is more episodes?” I’m like, “I’m waiting right there with you, pal.”
Aside from Hollywood Arts, are there any other projects you’d like to mention?
Martin Kamm: Absolutely. In fact, the day after the show came out, I released an EP called Listen To The Radio.
I have some released music – there’s four songs on the track. If you want to check that out, I would greatly appreciate it. It’s pretty good stuff, if I do say so myself.
My Dad and one of our best friends are also working on producing our own TV show. So we’re very much in pre-production, trying to get that going.
We’re just filming the pilot as a proof of concept – we’re just working on that stuff.
I’m staying busy, dude.
