Nico Parker, daughter of Thandiwe Newton and writer-director Ol Parker, grew up twiddling her thumbs on film sets: “There’s a lot of sitting around, so I just thought it looked genuinely dull.” But at the age of 11, an audition for Tim Burton’s Dumbo changed everything. Now the 19-year-old is winning accolades for her Sundance breakout Suncoast, preparing to suit up for a live-action How to Train Your Dragon, and “chasing that feeling that I can’t find anywhere other than when I’m surrounded by like-minded people working on set.”
BORN IN LONDON, she was skeptical about Hollywood even when Newton invited her and her sister to the set of the film Retreat to watch a scene in which Newton got shot. “She did a wonderful job, but with the CGI and the fake wound, we were laughing so hard, we actually had to be escorted off.”
SHE’S STILL CLOSE with her costars from HBO’s smash hit The Last of Us. Pedro Pascal is “very important to me as a human being. Bella [Ramsey]’s so wonderful. We speak, always celebrating their wins—and there’s a lot of them.”
SHE’S STRUCK by how good her costar Laura Linney is in Suncoast—“It’s maddening”—as well as her own youthful confidence. “I’ve been beaten down in the past two years,” she jokes. “But I really like watching a 17-year-old me just going for it and showing all the colors of being a teenager.”
HER FATHER and younger brother told her over FaceTime that she’d won Sundance’s breakthrough performance prize. “I just started crying. I didn’t even know it was a category, so it felt like the perfect way to find out.”
SHE’S ADJUSTING to blockbuster life on the Dragon set, thanks to a greenroom filled with chocolate. “Going from a small indie to this is slightly daunting, but I love it.”
THE ULTIMATE Beyoncé fan would be too nervous to break bread with her idol, but does hope to meet Greta Gerwig—again. After seeing Barbie six times, “I joked with her that I was the reason she made a billion dollars. Then I was like, ‘I didn’t mean it like that. Of course you made a billion dollars…but maybe I did help you by going?’ ”
Hair, Stefan Bertin; makeup, Laura Dominique; manicure, Chisato Yamamoto; town crier, Tony Appleton. Produced on location by Shiny Projects. Special thanks to Corinthia London. For details, go to VF.com/credits.
More Great Stories From Vanity Fair
Peter Thiel, J.D. Vance, and the Dangerous Dance of the New Right
Ivanka Trump, Sensing Power, Slinks Back to the National Stage
An Epic First Look at Gladiator II
Looking for Love in the Hamptons? Buy a Ticket for the Luxury Bus.
The Dark Origins of the True-Crime Frenzy at CrimeCon
Palace Insiders on the Monarchy’s Difficult Year
The Best TV Shows of 2024, So Far
Listen Now: VF’s Still Watching Podcast Dissects House of the Dragon
