Former ABC-7 Anchor stars in Zach Galifianakis film ‘Masterminds’

Former ABC-7 Anchor Laura Palka, an actress and award-winning journalist, appeared in the movie Masterminds.

“Can you believe that story really happened? There are truly criminals that dumb,” Palka said in an email sent to ABC-7 General Manager Kevin Lovell.

Mastermind stars Zach Galifianakis as David Ghantt, a disgruntled armored truck driver lured into “the heist of a lifetime” by his work crush. Palka plays a television reporter in the movie.

Palka worked at KVIA from 1992 to 2000 and co-anchored with Gary Warner and Rob Elgas. She left for a weekend anchor job at WSOC, the ABC affiliate in Charlotte. She left her job in 2008 to spend more time with family and pursue a career in acting.

Palka said Masterminds was filmed two years ago in the Asheville, North Carolina area. Production company Relativity Media filed for bankruptcy and that delayed the film’s release, Palka said.

The film is directed by Jared Hess, who directed Napoleon Dynamite. “He was so funny to work with,” Palka said, “He is a Mormon and did you notice there wasn’t one cuss word in the film? A rarity these days with all those big stars.”

Palka said she landed several television roles. She will appear in the series finale of Rectify as well as Red Road for Sundance TV. “You might catch me in the new Michelle Dockery series Good Behavior on TNT,” Palka said, “It premieres next month.”

LINK: Laura Palka’s IMDB profile

“Casting directors read me a lot for shows like Nashville and House of Cards so I keep my fingers crossed,” Palka added, “I have probably auditioned 10 times for each show. It truly is a marathon and not a sprint. The competition is more fierce than TV news.”