Keke Palmer wants fans to know: 'We're one and the same'

Oct. 18 (UPI) -- Actress and singer Keke Palmer says she is candid with her fans because she wants them to understand she isn't perfect and hopes they find strength in her struggles.

"When social media came around, it felt like the opportunity to really let my fans not idolize me because that really bothered me. I felt like, with the career that I have, coming from where I came from, there is an opportunity for young people to really be not inspired by me, but inspired by my story and to really put themselves in that position to achieve all of their dreams. Being able to see: 'Yo, we're not so different. We're one and the same,'" the 24-year-old Illinois native told UPI in a recent phone interview.

"I really found solace in the communication on social media as being able to really allow them to see how human I am," she said.

Palmer can be seen in Season 2 of the contemporary spy drama Berlin Station, opposite Richard Armitage, Rhys Ifans, Michelle Forbes, Richard Jenkins and Ashley Judd.

Palmer was attracted to the role of newbie agent April, in a kind of "coming of age story" partly because it was a new genre for her, "this thriller, political, CIA world."

"She's realizing what she learned in school can prepare her, but it's never going to prepare her for the gray that you have to deal with in life and that you definitely have to deal with trying to make the right choices in something as major as the CIA, dealing with the politics of the world and how one thing can cause a chain reaction for a million other things. And for her to be so young and dealing with those responsibilities, you get to see her growth period and understanding that sometimes the decisions aren't as easy as you want them to be," she said.

Best known for her work on TV's Jump In!, True Jackson, VP, Grease: Live, Scream Queens and Star, Palmer is at work on her next project, Season 3 of the MTV horror series Scream.

"I'm having so much fun!" she said. "I love my cast members so much. ... These are some of the coolest people I have ever freaking met. I really, really love it!"

A huge fan of entertainer and producer Queen Latifah, Palmer said she is always looking for empowering roles that challenge her to explore all aspects of herself as an artist and a person.

"I'm always trying to do stuff that is different for me, but also different for who people see me as -- as a girl, as a black girl, as a black American girl, as a young woman, as a millennial. I am always trying to break those kinds of barriers or views that people have or people try to put you in," Palmer said. "So, for me, doing something where I can be just kicking ass and being awesome for women, being awesome for young people, in general, and doing something that we can really champion and be proud of, those are the type of characters I really want to get my hands on."

Season 2 of Berlin Station airs Sunday nights on EPIX.