Har Mar Superstar Won't 'Sensationalize' His Acting Career

There aren't many singers who name themselves after a shopping mall. But there are not many singers like Har Mar Superstar, whose name falls snappily from the tongue but seems meaningless: A perfect moniker for the flippant disco savant. However, Har Mar, whose real name is Sean Tillman, actually named himself after a childhood landmark.

"It's the name of a mall in St. Paul, Minn., where I'm from," he Tells Spinner. "I'd hang out at that mall and write lyrics when I was on break from work. That was when I worked at this government agency," he without elucidating on what agency that might be. Far from an ironic name-check, the mall was a place that Har Mar says he appreciated.

"I really liked it. I used to go see movies there all the time," he says. "There's isn't a theater there now, but I don't live there, so it doesn't really matter. It's kind of a mall I like and I decided to make it my moniker."

So, do people he knows well call him Har Mar or Sean? "They call me both. I don't prefer one or the other," says the 32-year-old, who also heads the indie-pop band Sean Na Na. For several years now, Har Mar has lived in Los Angeles where he mixes up songwriting with scriptwriting, and even does a little acting, such as his recent appearance in pal Drew Barrymore's 'Whip It.'

"I don't want to sensationalize it. I'm not a musician per se. I do a lot of things and music happens to be one facet of the whole process," he says. "I'm not trying to prove a point. I'm not trying to say, 'Hey, I do all this other stuff, wooohoo!' But I guess I am good at a lot of stuff," he adds with a chuckle.

One particular "celluloid" venture of Tillman's is his ongoing 'Crappy Holidays' series. "There's like 10 or 11 or 12 now. I'm playing different characters, hanging out. It's a good series," he says before curtly ordering: "Just watch it."

Watch Har Mar Superstar's 'Death Cab for Cupid'