Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 8/7/26 – As vertical dramas continue transforming the way audiences consume entertainment, one actor has quietly become one of the genre’s defining faces.
Throughout August, ReelShort is spotlighting actor Marc Herrmann, who’s emotionally charged performances in hit series including Bound by Vendetta: Sleeping with the Enemy, My Sugar-coated Mafia Boss, Dear Husband, Delete My Number, and Infatuated with the CEO have established him as one of the platform’s breakout leading men.
While millions of viewers have come to know Herrmann through gripping cliffhangers and larger-than-life characters, the man behind the performances is remarkably grounded. Thoughtful, articulate and refreshingly authentic, Herrmann carries none of the hurried energy so often associated with Hollywood. Instead, he speaks with an easy confidence that immediately puts people at ease, a quality that naturally finds its way into the emotionally honest performances audiences have embraced.
Ironically, Herrmann never intended to become one of the pioneers of one of entertainment’s fastest-growing formats.
“I kind of got grandfathered in, actually,” he said with a laugh.
Click below for our exclusive interview:
Three years ago, the actor stumbled across an audition for something called “vertical form content.” At the time, neither he nor his manager had any idea what that meant.
“I didn’t know what verticals were. I didn’t know anyone who knew anything about them,” Herrmann recalled. “There was a job on Actors Access… and it paid pretty well.”
Curiosity led him to accept the role, and it quickly became apparent that the emerging format was anything but a passing trend.
Coming from a background in television movies and romantic comedies, Hermann was immediately impressed by what these productions could accomplish.
“The biggest thing that amazed me was what they’re able to do with their budgets,” he said. “I read that first mafia script and thought, ‘How is it possible to do that on this budget?’ And sure enough, they made it work.”
Even today, the scale of these productions continues to surprise him.
“Recently I did one that was a post-apocalyptic show, kind of like Mad Max, and they completely nailed it. The locations, the wardrobe, everything. It’s wild.”
For audiences unfamiliar with vertical dramas, Herrmann explains that the concept is deceptively simple.
“It’s basically an entire movie, and it’s all shot vertically,” he said, motioning an up-and-down gesture with his hands. “It’s chopped up into one- to two-minute episodes… each of them leaving you on a cliffhanger to get you to watch the next episode.”
That storytelling structure, he believes, is one of the reasons audiences have embraced the format so enthusiastically.
“It makes the pacing of the story fantastic.”
As both an actor and filmmaker, Herrmann says vertical storytelling has changed the way he thinks about writing as well.
“You should probably do that even with a normal script,” he said of building frequent cliffhangers into a story. “It’s just a way of ensuring your pacing is staying up.”
The finished product may look effortless, but creating those emotionally charged moments is anything but easy.
“We deal with some heavy material,” Herrmann said. “You meet your co-stars, and you say, ‘Okay, let’s cry together in this scene,’ and we’ve got one take to do it.”
With productions moving at an extraordinary pace, actors often have little time to rehearse or refine scenes.
“It’s kind of like weight training for an actor.”
Yet that challenge is exactly what keeps the work exciting.
“We’re shooting ten pages a day,” he explained. “We’re constantly getting to dive into new scenes and new material throughout the day. It makes the whole process really fun because of how fast it is.”
The results are resonating with audiences around the world.
“People love these stories,” Herrmann said. “People fall in love with the characters.”
Rather than feeling satisfied when a story ends, viewers frequently find themselves wanting more.
“They’re so well paced that you never really finish a story and think, ‘Wow, I got everything I wanted out of that.’ A lot of times it’s, ‘Wait, keep going! I was so hooked.'”
As ReelShort continues to expand, viewers are even helping determine which stories receive sequels by voting for their favorites, creating an unusually interactive relationship between audiences and creators.
“It’s a cool way for the fans to get engaged and have a way to participate,” Herrmann said.
Although romance helped fuel the early success of vertical dramas, Herrmann believes audiences have proven they’re hungry for much more.
“They’ve been finding success with action films… thrillers,” he said. “I think at the end of the day what makes a show great is just good storytelling, good chemistry between characters, good performances, good directing.”
Those same storytelling values guide his own approach as an actor.
Rather than chasing celebrity, Herrmann says he prefers to let the work speak for itself.
“I’m a pretty private person,” he said. “I try to stay an artist.”
He admires performers whose personal lives remain secondary to the characters they create, believing a little mystery allows audiences to become more immersed in each performance.
“I love that idea of being that type of actor who can kind of be trusted with any type of role because that’s what’s interesting to me.”
His favorite roles aren’t necessarily heroes.
“I love antiheroes,” Herrmann said. “People who are not necessarily the greatest in terms of their morality, but you root for them because you feel that human quality inside of them.”
It’s a philosophy rooted in empathy, the belief that every character has a story worth understanding.
Looking ahead, Herrmann’s career is entering an exciting new chapter.
He recently wrapped an upcoming ReelShort collaboration with WWE, where he’ll take on a rare villain role as an arms dealer.
“It’s going to be really cool,” he said.
Even more significantly, he’ll soon add producer to his résumé.
For the first time, Herrmann will co-produce one of his upcoming ReelShort projects, allowing him to contribute creatively from the earliest stages of development.
“I wanted to get more involved creatively and have a larger impact on the projects that I’m involved in,” he said.
“My hope is that by being a producer on a project, I’m able to help the project be even better.”
The interview concluded with one final personal announcement.
When asked what fans might be surprised to learn, Hermann smiled.
“I’m getting married.”
He and fellow actress Anna Marie Dobbins, whom he met while filming a Lifetime movie together, are planning a Palm Springs wedding before Thanksgiving, followed by a honeymoon in Thailand.
For an actor who accidentally found himself at the forefront of an emerging medium, the future has never looked brighter.
With new leading roles, an upcoming WWE collaboration, his first producing credit, and millions of viewers discovering vertical storytelling every day, Marc Herrmann isn’t simply riding one of entertainment’s fastest-growing trends, he’s helping shape where it goes next.
Watch Jessica Kenley’s full interview with Marc Herrmann below.
