Like many rising stars, Nadia Parkes began her career playing supporting characters – I mean, she literally played Catherine of Aragon’s lady-in-waiting Rosa de Vargas in The Spanish Princess. Yet it seems 2022 is the year the “waiting” ends, as she takes on two prominent parts across film and television.
The film role comes later this year; we’ll see Nadia starring alongside How to Get Away with Murder actor Alfred Enoch & ‘Effie from Skins’ actress Kaya Scodelario in This Christmas, a festive rom-com from Sky. But the one we’re here to discuss today is her leading role in The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself [The Bastard Son] – a Netflix fantasy drama based on the young adult novel Half Bad by Sally Green.
Nadia plays Annalise, a witch with dark, violent magical powers. She begins as a new arrival at the school of Nathan (Jay Lycurgo), the illegitimate son of the world’s most feared witch. The pair bond over the fact Annalise is one of the few people unafraid of Nathan – later becoming lovers.
She arrives for the interview in immaculate make-up, flowing wavy hair and a black top with gigantic, 80s-style puff-sleeves, yet quickly apologising: “Excuse the top button of my jeans being undone, I just finished lunch!” In conversation with GLAMOUR, Nadia shares the highs and lows of filming The Bastard Son:
GLAMOUR: What was the high point of doing this role?
Nadia Parkes: All of it was pure joy! I guess the high point would be turning up to set every day and seeing everyone’s wonderful faces; I’m walking away with friends for life.
There is a lot of blood in this series. How did you cope with all the gore?
The blood was alright. Extremely sticky, and it smelt like maple syrup [fake blood is typically made from sugar syrup] but bearable as I’m not squeamish. By the end of filming, I was getting tired of showering fake blood off myself every day. However, I have a bone-deep rat phobia, and my character had a pet rat. When I was filming the long scene where I’m holding the rat, Beef, whose actual name is Snowflake, I have no recollection of filming it or what words were even coming out my mouth because all I could think about was: “There’s a rat in my hand! there’s a rat in my hand!’
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Did you enjoy working with your Co-star Jay Lycurgo? I’d love to hear of some fun moments you had on set
I love Jay! He’s incredible in the show, and I couldn’t ask for a better Nathan. It was a dream; we danced to the Lil Nas X song ‘“MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)’ and the director, Colm McCarthy, gave us the show soundtrack, so we played that too, plus lots of soul music. We were like two giddy teenagers together and constantly playing out stupid versions of the scenes and having little boogies.
Did you do your own stunts?
All one of them, I did, yes! It’s the scene where I jump out of the window at the end of episode three. I was so nervous, but I did it. On the rehearsal, I whacked my feet on the bar, and the boys weren’t that confident in me being able to do it. I don’t know how they jumped together. My heart was racing so much, and when they shouted “Cut” the first time we did it, we got a round of applause.
Based on the bestselling 2015 novel of the same name.
The young adult genre is exploding, with shows like Sex Education, and Stranger Things – what do you think is behind this interest in portraying the high school, “coming-of-age” years on screen?
Everyone grows up, so I think everyone can connect with coming-of-age stories. I think we like watching things that connect us to our inner child, and there’s a lot of fun to be had with the storytelling of younger years because it’s awkward and funny and scary. I think we take comfort in people acknowledging all of those things that we ourselves felt.
Was the author Sally Green present on set? How was that?
Yes! She visited the set a couple of times and seemed very excited about the direction in which Joe [Barton, one of the series writers] had taken the show. So it was nice to have the support from the person who originally created this world and these characters for us to play with.
You grew up in Stratford upon Avon, around RSC – do you have aspirations of Shakespearean parts, or do your ambitions lie elsewhere?
Yeah, I would love to “tread the boards” [an industry term which means appearing on stage]. My training at LAMDA was mainly for the stage, and I miss it, but I’m in no rush. I’ll take to the stage at the right time and for a project that feels right.
It's an unsettling reality that most male serial killers have some sort of fanbase, mostly consisting of young, white women.
This is a big time for your career, with two major projects this year. How do you stay grounded?
Authentic relationships with friends and family are incredibly grounding. I think as an actor, it’s easy to fall into the trap of “I will be happy when…” but all great songs and poems aren’t written about the time you booked that job; they’re usually about the people and the world around you.
Over the past year or so, I’ve had such a newfound appreciation of nature. I went on a walk with my friend the other day and hugged many trees. I can highly recommend it if you haven’t tried it; it’s extremely calming.
You had a supporting character role in Starstruck, where you played the girlfriend of the fictional actor Tom Kapoor, and obviously, in real life, you dated actor Tom Holland in the past. Do you think it’s a good idea for actors to date fellow actors?
I think there’s no right or wrong answer for this. For instance, my parents aren’t in the industry at all, they’re both opticians, and they don’t have any issues connecting or relating to me, but I understand some people find a shared world comforting. I think it’s whatever works for the individual.
What’s next for you?
An overdue deep clean of my bedroom, and I fancy learning a new recipe.
The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself is available to watch now on Netflix.
