Max Parker on playing a drill instructor in Netflix’s Boots and four years since his Attitude coming out interview (EXCLUSIVE)

‘I had eight rounds of auditions – I was clearly the wild card!” says Manchester-based Max Parker, in his warm Northern lilt, of portraying Sergeant Sullivan, an American-as-apple-pie, patriotic-to-the-bone drill instructor in Netflix’s Boots. As Sullivan, Parker terrorises and mentors sensitive bootcamp recruit Cameron (recent Attitude coverboy Miles Heizer), who’s struggling with his sexuality. Parker was “cast early; I was part of Miles’s audition process. I was blown away. A great talent; a nice, sweet guy. Intelligent, quietly witty!”

To interview, Parker is friendly and puppyish. Drill instructors, as per Hollywood, are the opposite, Full Metal Jacket-style. “Older guys with grey hair who are jacked!”, observes the 33-year-old, who rose to fame as Luke Posner in ITV soap Emmerdale from 2019 to 2021. “I thought, ‘Maybe I’d be too young!’”

But on-screen, Parker is a jaw-dropping presence of screaming, smouldering masculinity. “It was hilariously macho,” the Vampire Academy star says of the overwhelmingly male set. “Even the silly games backstage – everyone’s so competitive! As soon as a female comes on-set, you’re like: ‘Oh!’ You don’t realise you’ve missed female energy.”

“It’s taking the essence of what I went through and putting it in a totally different situation”

Parker came out publicly as gay in a 2021 interview with Attitude. What perspective did this offer, we wonder? “It helped in terms of finding different bits of the character. The thing about my story is, the era we’re in, I’m lucky to have everyone around me be comfortable with it. Back then, for Sullivan, he could go to jail, lose his job, honour. The stakes for him are huge. It’s taking the essence of what I went through and putting it in a totally different situation.”

Here, Parker reveals all about the show (spoilers alert!), while reflecting on the US trans military ban, his memorable moment in Doctor Who, and Girls Aloud legend Nadine Coyle singing at his recent wedding to Kris Mochrie.

It’s four years since your last interview with Attitude.

From 2020 – it’s a blur because of Covid. Life is very different. I’m glad I did that interview. It’s nice to take the narrative into your own hands. It was a great release. Right place, right time. I look so young in the video!

You look very different in Boots.

I loved shaving the beard off, fully committing. I’m lucky I didn’t have to shave my head fully. Sullivan uses fitness and training as an outlet to get stuff off his chest. This is his life’s work. He’s committed. I wanted to do it justice in terms of looking the part, putting myself through training to get my mind into it.

Best day on set?

The last day: over 100 of us on set, like the last day of school. There were doughnuts, an ice cream truck. One guy 3D-printed a bullet with our names on. It makes you realise what you’ve all gone through: the actors’ strike, writers’ strike. We basically had nine months off. I filled the time – got a dog. Some of the military advisers were in the military at the start and retired before the end. Some of the supporting artists actually joined the military because they were inspired by doing background in the show. A huge, two-year journey. It was supposed to be a five-month shoot.

Do you think there might be a Boots sequel?

I don’t want to give spoilers, but I think the story leads to… there’s definitely a [plausible] future. It’s based on [memoir The Pink Marine by Greg Cope White], which is set much earlier. The TV series is set strategically for the future of the show. So yeah, keep eyes peeled!

What was it like having Nadine Coyle sing at your wedding?

Very camp. She sang all the classics. It was a surprise. My friend works with her when she goes on tour. I grew up with singing competition shows. Girls Aloud are incredible. Nadine’s got the party vibes! I’ve had more comments about Nadine than the actual wedding. She stole the spotlight. She’s incredible. I’d highly recommend anyone books her for your wedding!

What’s it like having the show come out two months after the wedding? 

We haven’t had a honeymoon yet because I’ve been to LA doing press for the show. People say you get the blues after your wedding, but it’s been nice to have this run before the show comes out. Hopefully not a peak – hopefully it keeps getting better!

To read this interview in full, check out the Attitude Awards issue now or check out the Attitude app. Boots is released on Netflix on 9 October.