Nico Parker talks rising fame, breakthrough performance in ‘Suncoast’

The 19-year-old actress stars as a loving sibling dealing with family illness in her latest film. 

Nico Parker is ably stepping into the spotlight. 

When the 19-year-old actress sits down for this virtual interview, from her hotel in London, she’s just learned that she won the 2024 Sundance Film Festival’s U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for breakthrough performance for her role in her new film, “Suncoast.” In the coming-of-age story, Parker stars as Doris, a biracial Florida teen who is grappling with her brother’s terminal illness while also navigating a strained relationship with her unyielding mother (Laura Linney). Along the way, she befriends a free-spirited activist (Woody Harrelson) at a protest outside her brother’s specialized living facility. 

“Suncoast,” which premiered last month at Sundance, is a beautiful tragedy that mixes grief, love and laughter, and its star plays the lead to perfection. Parker, who is the second daughter of actress Thandiwe Newton and screenwriter Ol Parker, may be what some would call a “nepo baby,” but her talent has nothing to do with nepotism. Her portrayal in “Suncoast” is truly heart-wrenching, eliciting both humor and overwhelming sadness, depending on the scene. Parker says she didn’t want to “spiral” too deep into the tough topics the film deals with, like mortality and mourning, until a scene called for it. 

“I don’t think that Doris is a person who would let herself delve too deeply into how dark things can be and how dark the situation is, and how depressing it is,” Parker explains to theGrio. “I think once you kind of let yourself spiral in that way, it can be never-ending. I think with each scene and in each take, I never wanted it to feel like the floodgates had opened. I always wanted to feel just on the edge, but I never wanted it to feel like a full embrace of how horrible everything was, until it kind of all comes to a head.”

Parker admits that she is someone who often takes her emotions home with her. In that way, “Suncoast” presented some challenges for the young actress. She had to find a way to use the stress and sadness to enhance her performance and not carry that heavy load with her when she returned to her trailer on set. 

“I think I feel, as a person, so much of how other people are feeling and thinking,” Parker says. “If someone else is having a bad day on set, I just would immediately be feeling that, too. While I’m working, I desperately try to feel everything so that I can take it and use it. I kind of enjoy being nervous when filming. I enjoyed the stress because I think that heightened sense of emotion forces me to do better.” 

She continues: “I felt like I was taking any chance I could get to [mirror emotions]. I did it because I wanted to feel everything. I’ve noticed that habit in myself since then, and I try and regulate it so that I don’t end up in bad moods.”

Parker worked with writer-director Laura Chinn and Academy Award nominees Linney and Harrelson on “Suncoast,” an experience she describes as “a dream.” As her Sundance award suggests, Parker will soon be joining her cast members on the A-list — the young actress is destined for stardom. Receiving the prize and stepping into her spotlight is “surreal,” Parker shares, but she’s honored to be recognized by her peers.  

“I was not anticipating it all,” Parker says of winning. “I found out slightly before the ceremony because I had to film a video accepting it. I was so excited. But even after I’d filmed the video, and we’d sent it in, and it was like, ‘OK, it’s gonna happen tomorrow,’ it felt like it was a prank. I could not wrap my head around it. … I still can’t really fathom it. I find it so, so surreal.”

“If my 17-year-old self, while we’d been filming, had known that — I can’t even begin to explain how much that would have meant,” she gushed, “and how much it means now.” 

“Suncoast” will be available to watch in theaters nationwide on Friday, Feb. 9. Check out its official trailer below.

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