In Netflix’s queer military drama Boots, Max Parker delivers a layered turn as Sgt. Sullivan—a closeted Marine whose armour is equal parts bark and bruises. It’s a performance that fuses volatility with vulnerability, revealing a man who’s learned to survive the system without truly living inside it.
Before Boots, Parker was a familiar face to UK audiences via Emmerdale Farm. Persistent tabloid chatter about his sexuality pushed him to take control of the narrative, leading to his coming out in 2020, when he also confirmed he was dating co-star Kris Mochrie. This year marked another milestone: Parker and Mochrie married in August—and by all accounts, they’re glowing.
Speaking with Out, Parker unpacked his approach to Sullivan, the stop-start anxiety of production delays, and how on-screen queer representation helped him understand himself.
Editor’s note: Mild spoilers for Boots Season 1.
From hyper kid to leading man
Parker traces acting back to childhood Saturdays spent burning energy at singing, dancing and drama classes.
“Later in life, I realised that I have ADHD… Acting is the one thing that I’ve never dropped or moved on from, so I knew that’s what I wanted to do.”
He dabbled widely—Scouts, horse riding, DIY, cooking—before a stint in musical theatre. A Wizard of Oz production led to a Best Supporting Actor nod and his first TV gig.
“In the UK, it’s definitely quite hard to swap from theatre to TV and film.”
Landing Boots (after eight rounds)
Parker jokes he was the “wild card,” auditioning about eight times with new scenes each round. Initially, he doubted he fit the drill-instructor mould.
“Seeing movies about the military… none of them essentially looked like me. A lot of them were older, huge, jacked guys with grey hair.”
Research flipped the switch:
“The more I read… I realised, ‘Oh, this is for me.’ I was desperate to get the role.”
Building Sullivan: mystery, guilt and pressure
“He’s a tortured man,” Parker says. The show slowly reveals a past that fuels Sullivan’s explosions—guilt over endangering a partner, fear of prison, and the crushing reality of life in the closet in 1990.
“That’s why he’s so explosive, and turns to alcohol, and turns to violence… The main things that make him interesting are all the stuff that he can’t show.”
A mirror to messy, human queerness
Parker welcomes queer stories that allow for complication.
“Most queer people go through a phase of hiding… Pulling from my emotions made it easy to tap into those feelings. Then you put it back in the 1990s, and how much more heightened it all was.”
He hopes viewers who stumble onto Boots for its military setting will find surprise—and empathy.
“You laugh, as well as cry… The recruits don’t get to the end of boot camp by doing everything themselves.”
Mentoring Cameron: tough love with a pulse
Opposite Miles Heizer’s Cameron, Parker leans into flinty mentorship.
“I was in his final audition and thought straight away, ‘That’s the guy!’”
What begins as push-him-till-he-quits hardening shifts into stewardship:
“If he’s going to give it a go, I need to mentor him in order for him to get to the end.”
Learning America’s history from the inside
A Brit playing a U.S. Marine meant homework—especially around pre–“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policies.
“That was mind-blowing to me… We filmed a scene where a tattoo implicates Sullivan… People watching the monitors were crying; it brought them back to when it was illegal to be gay. That’s why this story’s important.”
Delays, strikes and returning to set
Production began in 2023—then paused for the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
“We had nine months off… When I came back for episode four, I was a little hesitant… Nervous, I guess.”
On visibility—and why stories matter
Parker didn’t set out to be an activist, but knows the power of seeing yourself on screen.
“Watching Call Me by Your Name really changed the way I felt about life and myself… It’s important to tell all these different stories.”
Singing, again (whether he likes it or not)
Despite “hanging up” the musical-theatre shoes, songs keep finding him.
“In three projects, they’ve written in for me to sing and not even asked if I can sing!” [Laughs]
Why watch Boots?
“It’s an amazing nostalgic coming-of-age story… You get a real sense of Marine boot camps. We have an amazing cast… And Max Parker is absolutely incredible, you’ve just got to watch him.”
Boots is now streaming on Netflix.
