While Jack Parr may not be a familiar household name on our lips yet, he will soon be. The English actor has starred alongside Cillian Murphy, Anya Taylor Joy, and the late Helen McCrory in Stephen Knight’s widely acclaimed hit series Peaky Blinders. Since then, it’s been a whirlwind of opportunities for Parr, who played Jason in Emmerdale and took on the titular role of the film The Abomination, a modern-day adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

 His most recent project, ‘The Last Breath’ alongside veteran actor Julian Sands ( in what would be his last project before his untimely passing), is another step towards propelling Parr’s star power forward. 

Jack Parr on his first foray into acting

But this wasn’t the case a few years ago; Jack’s inclination towards picking acting as a full-time career began ten years ago. ‘I started around 2014, and I was enjoying the summer break between college and university in my hometown when a big-budget film came and planted their production base on Welbeck Estate (this beautiful estate near where I live). There was a buzz about the villages surrounding the estate, and a few of our parents and my friends said we should go and be extras.’

This big-budget film was a World War I period piece starring Alicia Vikander, Kit Harington, and a relatively unknown Taron Egerton called Testament of Youth, a movie based on the true story of feminist Vera Brittain. While a few of his friends didn’t cut, Parr and another mate spent the summer as extras on the transformed Welbeck Estate. The costumes, vehicles, and sets brought 1914 back to life, which was a fantastic sight for Parr. “I didn’t know what an extra was at that time, but I loved movies, and I was in awe because this is where I used to play as a kid, in these carrot fields. I was BLOWN AWAY. The cameras, the actors, it just completely knocked my socks off. We had an absolute blast. It was at that moment that I caught the acting bug.”

After that fateful summer, Jack headed to Leeds for university to study Sports Science. Still, in the back of his mind, he could only think about being an actor. It was a lot to weigh in. After two years of university, spending most of his lectures typing into Google ‘How to become an Actor,”  he eventually quit to pursue his dreams. He said,  “I had zero connections; my family were all welders and did anything mechanical. So, I just asked everyone; I googled it and begged. And it took me about three years to get an agent, and then about six years to get a line on TV; my first ever TV appearance was on Silent Witness.” 

Throughout his career, Parr learned to be resilient and flexible with whatever project came his way. He also learned how to become more self-aware. Acting helped Parr go beyond the extra mile by relishing each role.

“Once you do a difficult role or a difficult accent and do a good job, your mindset suddenly switches to thinking, oh, maybe this isn’t impossible. Those actors on TV aren’t wizards. Apart from Harry Potter, he is a wizard.”   – Jack W. Parr.

If you ask him about the most challenging role he has taken so far, it has to be playing the titular role of Adam the Abomination. While the opportunities to play with this character were endless, Parr admittedly said he needed to learn to play the character initially. But, eventually, he was able to hit the nail on the head, playing the role too convincingly.

Jack and Julian’s relationship on the Last Breath

His latest work on screen with the late Julian Sands for The Last Breath spoke of his depth and talent as an actor. During this time, Parr’s close collaboration with Julian helped him take on the reins of being a leading character. “I loved working with Julian. He was a funny character. He took me under his wing from day one. In the first rehearsal, I was nervous to meet him because I didn’t know whether he’d be a diva. But he started calling me “His boy” from the off. 

The Last Breath’s storyline revolves around a group of college friends reuniting on a Caribbean scuba diving trip to explore the wreckage of a WWII battleship and find themselves trapped inside the underwater labyrinth of rusted metal surrounded by great white sharks. One of the most challenging parts he had to deal with was Noah’s role as a scuba diver. “There’s no such thing as messing around; there’s no quickly looking at your sides on an A5 piece of paper in your back pocket before a take, no quick chat with the director about your emotional arc in this scene before you do a take. That’s it. You’re down there. It’s dark and scary. You can’t communicate with the director; you use sign language. Thumbs up is I want to come up, circle on the fingers is “OK,” shake the hand for “I’m not sure/something isn’t right.” That’s about it.“

The relationship between Sands’ and Noah’s characters permeated into real life; Julian and Jack developed a father-son dynamic that served as one of the heart-breaking parts of the film since this would be the last project Sands would ever be involved with before his untimely passing. 

He says, “we’ve formed a very tight bond, and he was very kind to me and always reassuring me. He’s convinced I am the character. It was very sweet of him to do that; I think he knew it was my first lead and he guided me, making me feel comfortable.  Sadly, he’s not here with us, and it’s sad it’s his last film. When I watched the film, I felt emotional. He’s left his legacy now and we can enjoy his work on the screen.”

One of the most exciting film productions he was recently on was the war drama  Masters of the Air, acting alongside Rafferty Law, Callum Turner, and Barry Keoghan. he proudly recalls his memories on the set of his first acting role, “I play a waist gunner on a B-17 in Rosie’s crew played by Nate Mann. Unfortunately, I only had a small role, but I loved that job. It was an amazing experience. Nate Mann was a gentleman; I worked with Raff Law, and he was such a nice dude.” 

He recalls a time when he used to look at the real actors’ travel. “Then, I used to look at the actors traveling to set from the base, from their trailers in their awesome costumes and always rocking a dry robe. I used to think, man, maybe one day that’ll be me. Sometimes, I catch myself and go, Wow,  I think this is what I’ve been dreaming of. I’m a ‘proper actor’ now—from a small mining village. “

Nowadays, Parr is embarking on another leg of his journey. This time, as a writer and director of films such as Take Cover and The Drop, both films are making waves in the Indie movie sector.  

For Take Cover, “I just decided to act in it myself. I found this American producer (Luke Branin) fresh in London who was keen to work on things; we met for coffee for three hours, I pitched him all of my ideas, and now, we’ve just been selected at Kingston International, Richmond Film Festival Nov 16th and Mansfield Town Film Festival 26th – 28th July. If anyone wants to see it on the big screen, please come along!

Credits: Cover story image by Lefteris Primos | Editor-in-chief: Natalie Steger | Editorial Images by: Bjorn Franklin | Managing Editor: Cyan Leigh Dacasin | Creative Director: Claire Grisolano