Boots breakout star Max Parker is ready to command his own story

The role of Sgt. Sullivan on Netflix's Boots is played by British actor Max Parker, who delivers a complex performance merging the softer and rougher edges of a closeted man who has learned to survive — but not necessarily thrive, or even have a fulfilling life — within the U.S. Marine Corps.

As a cast member in the long-running U.K. soap opera Emmerdale Farm, Parker's sexuality became a hot topic of discussion in the late 2010s. This prompted the actor to take matters into his own hands — which led to his official coming-out story in 2020 (via Attitude). Along with disclosing that he's a gay man, Parker also revealed that had indeed been dating Emmerdale costar Kris Mochrie.

It's truly been a landmark year for Parker. Besides finally getting a release date for the long-awaited Boots series, the actor also got married to Mochrie in August, and the couple looks happier than ever!

In an interview with Out, Parker discusses his approach to playing a man like Sgt. Sullivan in the U.S. Marine Corps, the disquieting waiting period to hear any updates that the series would resume filming, and how LGBTQ+ representation in mainstream films and TV shows helped him understand his own sexuality.

Editor's note: This story contains mild spoilers from season 1 of Boots.

Max Parker on Boots.Netflix

Out: You had a breakout role in Emmerdale, which isn't a show that airs widely in the U.S., even though it's a cultural staple in the U.K. Boots will certainly introduce your work to a lot of new fans. When did you get into acting, and how did it go?

Max Parker: I mean, I was quite a hyperactive kid, so my parents wanted to get some energy out. My sisters used to go to acting, and singing, and dancing, and all of it. I just joined in on the Saturdays.

Later in life, I realized that I have ADHD. Back then, it was seen like I'd have an obsession for a month, and then I'd change it. Acting is the one thing that I've never dropped or moved on from, so I knew that's what I wanted to do.

My parents did the same thing to me. They had me in computer classes, swimming, soccer, theater… It was a lot. They said it was meant to fill out time. Were there things that you tried and immediately just went, "Nope!"?

Oh, yeah. I went through the same. I did Scouts. I tried horse riding for a bit. I was obsessed with DIY. Cooking. I've done loads of it. I still like to cook. I'm quite a foodie. The thing is, if I know I'm not going to be the best, I'm already like, "Next!"

You've worked on a lot of projects across film, television, and theater. You've done a lot of musicals. Something that caught my attention was a production of The Wizard of Oz. The Vivienne, the winner of RuPaul's Drag Race UK season 1, had been doing an Oz show in the West End, too. Were you ever in the same company?

No, I wasn't. Ours was before that one, but I did have some friends.

I did theater my whole life, and because I've followed what my friends did, I ended up in musical theater. I did that for about five years and then made the switch to TV and film. I think, in America, it might be a little easier to do both. In the UK, it's definitely quite hard to swap from theater to TV and film.

I hadn't worked for a little while, so I did Wizard of Oz on a whim, and then I ended up being nominated for Best Supporting Actor. And then, from that, I got my first TV job. It was a weird one to jump off from… But, I mean, obviously now it's having a resurgence with Wicked, and everyone reliving the story of The Wizard of Oz.

I was about to say, you'd be a great Fiyero!

Well, after doing Boots and screaming as a drill instructor 24/7, I don't know if my vocal cords will be up for that, to be honest. [Laughs.]

Max Parker // white heavy knit jumper: givenchy @ Designer Exchange // shorts: arket // socks: london sock co // shoes: gh bassPhotography: David Reiss (@davidreissphotography) / Stylist: Holly (@holly_macnaghten)

When did you first join Boots? We've been waiting for this project for so long. What was your story getting involved in it?

I assume I was the wild card because I had about eight rounds of auditions, and every round it was a new bunch of scenes. So by the time I came to film it, I pretty much knew the whole first few episodes [Laughs]. But yeah, at the start of the audition process — two and a half years ago — I didn't necessarily think it was right for me.

Seeing movies about the military and seeing drill instructors, none of them essentially looked like me. A lot of them were older, huge, jacked guys with gray hair.

RELATED: Boots star Sachin Bhatt on Max Parker love story: Wilkinson is no angel

But the more and more I read the script, the more and more research I did about that era and different drill instructors, it made me realize, "Oh, this is for me."

I was desperate to get the role after that. And when I found out I did get the role, I had get to New Orleans, where we filmed… Which I think is near you, right?

Yeah, kind of. The U.S. is pretty big. But my last time going to New Orleans, I did drive there from Florida. So, you can drive there, it’s just a long drive.

Well, it was a whirlwind trying to get the visa and to fly straight to New Orleans.

We're all glad it worked out! You play Sgt. Sullivan on Boots — a Marine who's gained a lot of respect but is still haunted by things that have happened in the past. The character is still in the closet, too. Viewers don't really understand what's going on with him until the very end. How did you approach playing this character in the first few episodes?

I think it's quite clever in the show how it goes back and shows a bit more, and then you get to understand Sullivan a bit better. But I think, first and foremost, I wanted to make him… He's a tortured man, so his drilling style was being more mysterious, and explosive. Knowing the backstory of Sullivan fed into the way he does everything.

He's under this pressure cooker, running away from basically feeling guilty about maybe implicating his partner. He's running away from going to prison, too. And then, when it all starts to finally catch up with him, it's this ultimate fear. That's why he's so explosive, and turns to alcohol, and turns to violence.

The amazing scripts, as well. It was a gift to go through the whole script and portray all the different facets of Sullivan. He's such an interesting character because the main things that make him more interesting are all the stuff that he can't show.

Max Parker on Boots.Netflix

This is an ensemble show with lots of characters, and it reminds me of another Netflix original: Orange Is the New Black. There's always so much going on, and so many people, but viewers are still somehow able to pinpoint, "Oh, this person's about that thing." It tells the standalone story of each character very well.

I agree. I said that to one of the cast members, Angus [O'Brien], who plays Hicks, that he was like our "Crazy Eyes."

Oh my god, I didn't even think of that, but totally. A bit unhinged and chaotic. [Laughs.] Besides being in the closet, your character is also trying to hide this investigation, as you said, to protect a partner. That's a double whammy. What were your thoughts going into this overall storyline? It's all so complicated.

Well, I assume most queer people go through a phase of hiding, or a phase of exploring and feeling shame, just because of the way the world is. I think pulling from my emotions from stuff that I've gone through made it easy in a way to tap into all of those feelings. But then you put it back in the 1990s, and how much more heightened it all was.

It's also hard for a closeted gay man like Sullivan who's run away from his family. He's essentially surrounded by people who don't know who he is. I mean, Sullivan even sings at his best friend's wedding, and that friend is homophobic. He almost "sells his soul to the devil" in terms of handing in his own partner in order for him to escape himself, and I think that guilt just torments him the whole time.

I think understanding those feelings, and how heightening they were from my own personal experience, helped.

There was a recent period in which mainstream queer shows and movies were all about depicting our community suffering, dying, or living in a distant past. Then came a wave of queer content where all LGBTQ+ characters were portrayed as perfect, fabulous, flawless human beings — unreasonably so. I'm excited to see new projects where a queer person can have layers and dimensions. Sullivan's complicated storyline with his partner is a good example. At a time like this, Boots does a great job at showing us as human beings to people who are being actively convinced that they should hate us.

I'm quite excited for people to watch the show. Many people will watch the show after following the press run-up to it, but there are also people who'll just stumble upon the show, see it's set in the military, and not realize it's got these storylines involved as well.

It's such a fun show, too. You laugh, as well as cry, and have all the emotions. I think it's great to hold up a mirror when you watch the show as well. It makes you realize that life is like a military boot camp — you can't necessarily just go through life in your own lane, and you can't just surround yourself with a bubble of people that think the same as you. The recruits don't get to the end of boot camp by doing everything themselves. In fact, they get penalized for it.

How do you see the current state of LGBTQ+ films and TV shows in mainstream media, and how our community is being represented in them?

I didn't get into acting to become an activist, and it's scary in a way because you want to do great things with your career, but there is this sort of thing that visibility is really important.

I know that watching movies myself when I was younger, watching a movie like Call Me By Your Name, really changed the way I felt about life and myself. I don't know, something just clicked, and I feel like it is important to tell all these different stories. People are quite protective over their own bubble, so people in the military might want to see certain stories, even though there are many other stories.

This TV show is based on a real story, so I think there's not much out there like it, and I think that it's important for a lot of people to watch it. Again, it's not a super political piece, but it's a great eye-opener, I think.

Max Parker // brown cardigan: La Granni // wide leg trousers: COS // loafers: GH bass // socks: london sock company // grandad shirt: fursacPhotography: David Reiss (@davidreissphotography) / Stylist: Holly (@holly_macnaghten)

Sullivan takes on this mentorship role with Cameron [played by Miles Heizer]. It's tough love, but it seems clear to me that Sullivan is indeed trying to help. How do you feel about those dynamics between the two of them?

I mean, first of all, acting against Miles is really, really incredible. I was in his audition process because I was cast a little earlier, so I was there in his final round on Zoom reading with him. And I remember seeing him do Cameron and I remember just thinking straight away, "That's the guy!" He's so great.

The initial relationship with Sullivan and Cameron [Miles Heizer] is that Sullivan really doesn't want to see anyone else go through what he's going through. I think he'd rather make them want to quit. But no matter how hard he pushes Cameron, Cameron is still putting up a fight. Sullivan then sees that something clicks on Cameron, and Sullivan says, "You know what? If he's going to give it a go, I need to mentor him in order for him to get to the end." It's this intricate relationship that they have.

The show is set just a few years before the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy was put into effect. It's a very American show — it's the U.S. Marine Corps, after all. How did you immerse yourself in all of this history, and these institutions, being from the U.K.? Were you familiar, did you do some studying?

First of all, yes! When I got the job, it was scary, because I'm not from a military background myself. I'm not familiar with the culture. And [the show] is a history lesson, in a sense, as well. So there's a lot of homework to be done. And then, obviously, I only learned about the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" bill from doing the show.

That was mind-blowing to me. I remember filming that scene, and I'm asked to take my shirt off, and then obviously the tattoo is revealed, which implicates me being with Wilkinson in some sort of way. I remember filming that scene and it felt very tense and invasive. And then, after filming it, I remember leaving set and seeing some people around the TV screens to watch on the monitors.

Wow, that's powerful.

Yeah, they were crying because it brought them back to the era when it was illegal to be gay. It hit a nerve with them, which makes you realize, "That's why this story's important to tell. It educates people as well as being a fun and harrowing show."

I love the singing moment that Sullivan has in episode 8, and you've done musicals before. Is that something you'd want to pursue again? Tell us the tea, Max.

No, I was quite happy to hang up my dancing shoes and hang up singing when I went to TV and film. But, weirdly, in three projects, they've written in for me to sing, and didn't even ask if I can sing… It was just written in! [Laughs.] So it's followed me without me requesting it.

Max Parker on Boots.Netflix

Boots was delayed quite a few times for various reasons. What was your experience with that waiting around since you were cast so early in the project?

We filmed the show for about three months in 2023. And then before I'd even started — I come in towards the end of episode 1 — all the writers were on strike.

And then the actors.

Yeah, and then the actors went on strike. So we had nine months off, and then we came back. Between me getting the job, filming three episodes, and then those nine months off, I hadn't gotten a chance to do much in front of them. So when I came back for that episode 4, I was a little hesitant… Nervous, I guess.

It's insane how many obstacles got in the way of this show getting released. It is now finally out. For people who are curious about watching the series but don't know much about it, how would you invite them to watch Boots?

It's an amazing, nostalgic, coming-of-age story that follows a lot of different characters and storylines. You get a real sense of what it's like to be in the Marine boot camps. We have an amazing cast of amazing performances… And Max Parker is absolutely incredible, you've just got to watch him.

I cosign on that last statement!

I'm very excited.

Boots is now streaming on Netflix.