‘The Last of Us’ Star Nico Parker on the Advice Her Famous Parents Gave Her About Hollywood
February 20, 2023
Nico Parker is sharing the advice her famous parents gave her about working with others in Hollywood — though results may vary!
“The Last of Us” star’s parents are super successful artists in their own right — her mother is Emmy-winning actress Thandiwe Newton, and her father, Ol Parker, is a screenwriter and director.
“I was very fortunate enough, because both my parents are in the industry, I could visit sets,” she told Jennifer Hudson on the February 20 episode of “The Jennifer Hudson Show.” “I would go a lot with my mom, and it was so boring… They would just wait around all day. To me, acting was 90% of the time waiting around drinking coffee. I was like, ‘You guys don’t work.’”
At age 11, Nico got cast in the live-action adaptation of “Dumbo.” “It was a snowstorm after that,” she recalled. “I was obsessed and loved it and realized this is exactly what I want to do.”
She said her filmmaker dad gave her a few tips about respectfully working with people in all different departments on a film set.
“It’s very important to remember people’s names, so he taught me a trick,” she said. “You say the name three times in your head, and then you trace the name on your leg three times, and that’s supposed to help you remember it.
“And it doesn’t,” she laughed.
“Dumbo” was Nico’s first film, and, because she was so young, she wasn’t anxious about working alongside huge Hollywood stars like Colin Farrell, Danny DeVito, Michael Keaton, and Eva Green.
“I’m very grateful that I was so young, because I think I couldn’t be nervous,” she said. There was one co-star that made her just a little bit nervous: “I had a huge crush on Colin… I mean, who doesn’t have a crush on Colin Farrell?
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View Story“It was weird because he was playing my dad, so it was a little creepy that I was obsessed with him,” she said.
“The Jennifer Hudson Show” airs weekdays. Here’s when to watch in your area.