Jack Parr is known for his roles in Peaky Blinders, Emmerdale and The Abomination. Next month we see him star as Noah in The Last Breath alongside the late Julian Sands.

We chat to Parr about his new project, working on 'Masters of the Air' and we ask him what he likes to get up to in his free time.

Congratulations on your latest project ‘The Last Breath’ which comes out later this Spring. How excited are you for people to see this project?

I’m really excited. It’s my first leading role and I’m really proud of the film. We all worked hard on the movie and we spent a LOT of time underwater to make it look as authentic as possible haha. So, yes, it’s one of those films I’ll remember forever. When I’m old I’ll look back and say, “Can you believe we actually filmed under water for six weeks?“

You worked with the talented Julian Sands who sadly passed away this year. What was it like working with him and did you learn anything from him?

I loved working with Julian, he was very sweet to me and took me under his wing. He always complimented me and made me feel at ease which was sweet. He was a wise old man. It’s very sad he’s gone, I would have loved to have watched the film with him. At the beginning I was intimidated, I thought he was going be one of those actors that turns up on set and then goes home and nobody can speak to him. But he wanted to exchange emails and organise rehearsals and meet up to discuss characters and back stories. He’s been in the game for decades and he had so much excitement for the work, it was so nice to see. He had the energy and enthusiasm as though he was starting out. He taught me to never lose that, never lose that flame inside. 

You also star in the AppleTV+ film ‘Masters of the Air’. What was that like to film? And how has the reaction been since the release?

Masters of the Air was a dream. I saw the article about a year before they went into production and I just thought ‘Imagine, being in that’. And then a year down the line and four auditions later I snagged a role. My role is only a small part of the series, but to be a part of something this huge, produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, to play a real fighter pilot and to be a part of such a historical story, is beyond me. The little Jack is screaming right now. 

It was hard work to film. They had all the genuine gear and costumes, when you’re 30,000 feet in the air it’s -40C, so the uniforms were as thick as bank vault doors and the planes metal casing was so thin for purpose of the weight of the aircraft. If you touched your gun with bare hands your hand would stick to the gun. However, we were in a studio, in room temperature, so performing the scenes were EXHAUSTING!. Every time we cut, the actors would pull their masks off and pant for five minutes, we’d slump down sometimes unable to stand. It was so tough they invested in water coolant vests. We would put them on before all the costumes went on, and then a little pipe would come out of the trousers and we’d attach them to these electronic coolant bags which would pump cold water through these vests. Every actor had their own gizmo. It was really really hard work. 

And funny story, I’d just wrapped on The Abomination the night before my last day on Masters. The Abomination was all night shoots, so I got in a  cab at 4:00am from Great Yarmouth to Oxford to start work on Masters at 7:00am. And then a full day of working as a fighter pilot. It was tough. 

When you’re not in front of the camera. What do you get up to in your free time?

During lockdown I got absolutely addicted to Tennis. I’ve always been sporty and I love being part of a team, I enjoy it when there’s a designated training night and everyone has to be there. I play as much as I possibly can. I enjoy the gym too. And apart from that I pretty much write scripts, go to the cinema or watch movies at home and try and direct my own movies. I’ve directed two short films and we are in the development process of making our first feature film which is exciting. 

I’ve stopped drinking this year because it slowed me down so I’m having a pretty boring 2024 haha. Really fun in my eyes, but perhaps boring from the outside perspective. 

You’ve written a short film called ‘The Drop’, which was selected for the Los Angeles Indie X Film Fest. Congratulations! What can you tell us about this project?

Well… that’s the film that led us to try and make the feature. It made practical sense to turn this into a feature length movie for first time filmmakers, as the film was primarily set in three cars. However, the project just kept on growing and it’s become a different beast. 
The short is currently at festivals and it’s doing pretty well, it won Best Crime Thriller at Indie X so we are very proud of the film. People seem to enjoy the film and resonate with it. On the surface it’s a crime thriller about a drug deal that goes wrong, but underneath we dip into these characters lives and discover they all have hopes and dreams. The line blurs between good and evil when we sympathise with the antagonists and judge the protagonists. It’s an interesting view and basically shows humanity at its core. 

Lastly, are there any other dream roles you would like to play?

I have so many dream roles but as I’m getting older and spending more time in the industry it really comes down to the director, the script and the character. If the story is really there and the team all fit, it automatically becomes a dream role. You discover you have a new dream roles every week when the audition comes in and it’s a project you’d kill to do hahah. I really want to work with good directors and I really want to do more festival films. I see Harris Dickinson doing these amazing BFI films and I’d love to follow in his footsteps, that’s the kind of work I’m gravitating towards. I guess in my writing I’m trying to hone my voice from up north. Those are the stories I want to be telling. Shane Meadows is a massive inspiration for me.