September 5, 2025 |
Nico Parker is riding high. The 20-year-old British actress is fresh from a blockbuster summer with a Hollywood hit on her hands, after DreamWorks’ live-action version of How to Train Your Dragon, a remake of the 2010 animation, won over critics and audiences alike.
Her spirited turn as Astrid Hofferson, the smart, strong-willed Viking warrior-dragon rider has brought her to the brink of leading-lady status. “I think there’s something wonderful about seeing a movie that can lift you up,”she says of the feel-good factor that has propelled the movie at the box office.
Nico wears Coco quilted motif earring in 18k beige gold and diamonds, and Coco Crush quilted motif ring in 18k yellow gold and diamonds by CHANEL Fine Jewellery
She’s still adjusting to her newfound success, having spent the last few months flying around the world promoting the film on her first blockbuster publicity tour. She calls the 10 office from Orlando, Florida, where she’s been doing yet more press. The next stop on her whirlwind tour is Brazil. “It feels like the movie didn’t really finish when we stopped filming, because we all knew the promotion part would be a huge element,” she says of her packed global schedule of red carpets and interviews. “But I adore the cast. I love everyone who worked on it, so it’s actually a real privilege that we get to spend more time together,” she says. If there is a downside to her career going global, it’s that she misses friends back home in London. “All of them are at university. It’s hard to relate and reach out, in a way, because you’re just doing something completely different.”
from left: CHANEL Les Infinis de N°5 necklace in 18k beige gold and diamonds by CHANEL Fine Jewellery; CHANEL clockwise, from top: Coco quilted motif earring in 18k beige gold and diamonds and Coco Crush quilted motif bracelets in 18k beige gold (right arm) and 18k yellow gold and diamonds by CHANEL Fine Jewellery
When it comes to acting, Parker was born ready. Her mother, to whom she bears a striking resemblance, is the celebrated actress Thandiwe Newton and her father, Ol Parker, is a director. She and her sister, Ripley, 24, the writer-creator of Netflix series Everything Now (they also have an 11-year-old brother, Booker), would often visit their parents on set, although the nuances of filming remained a mystery until she did it herself. “I was like, mum goes and stands in front of the camera and says the same lines 100 times and then comes back and sits with us? It’s confusing for a child. I don’t think I knew what was going on in a coherent, cohesive way.”
Parker first wanted to be a singer, then a ballerina. “I don’t think it would have ever been an achievable dream for me, but I loved it,” she says of her dancing days. She started to audition and landed her first job aged just 12 in Tim Burton’s Dumbo remake. “I remember thinking, ‘This is very exciting. There is something about this that feels very cool,’ just being on that set. I told my dad, you shouldn’t be able to have this much fun and call it work,” she says. “I still feel the same. I’m so happy that I can do something that I love so much.”
CHANEL Coco quilted motif earring in 18k beige gold and diamonds and Eternal N°5 ring in 18k beige gold and diamonds by CHANEL Fine Jewellery
Parker’s star has been rising steadily, with notable supporting roles including playing the nanny in Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy and a memorable cameo as Pedro Pascal’s daughter in the first series of The Last of Us (she dies in his arms after being shot by a soldier in the initial cordyceps-infection outbreak). Next up is a part in Maude Apatow’s directorial debut, Poetic License, which is out later this year.
But How to Train Your Dragon has changed everything. Most of its impact has been positive, although she’s had to learn how to deal with the negative attention that her high-profile job can bring. Some in the Dragon fandom reacted negatively to her casting because the original animated character was blonde (in other words, white; Parker has Zimbabwean heritage through her mother). “I think, because I had dealt with it before, it wasn’t as rattling as it could have been,” she reflects. Sadly, Parker experienced similar comments, aged only 16, when her casting in The Last of Us was announced because the video-game character, again, was blonde and blue-eyed.
“It comes from two different viewpoints,” she says of the backlash over her casting. “One of them is that you love the animated movies and you want to see a play-by-play remake with people who look and sound exactly the same as the animated characters. I hope those people can watch our movie, look past that, see the film for what it is and celebrate the differences that come with that,” she says graciously. “But, you know, there’s also another viewpoint that comes from a real place of hatred and it’s just not an opinion that I value at all.”
CHANEL Eternal N°5 ring in 18k beige gold and diamonds by CHANEL Fine Jewellery
Thankfully, she was able to block out the trolls and focus on delivering a memorable performance. When it comes to inhabiting a role, Parker uses music to help and played the original How to Train Your Dragon score by English composer John Powell to get into character. “I think the one thing that feels universal for me is that I will always make a playlist and listen to it a lot when I’m working on the character. Music feels like a nice through-line into the next person or next thing. My Spotify Wrapped is always very strange, depending on whatever I’m working on because it doesn’t necessarily align with what I actually listen to in life,” she says.
She also hit the gym to prepare for the many action sequences. “We did a lot of axe training and fighting, but nothing really prepares you for what it’s actually like,” she says, admitting, “I’m just not naturally a particularly ‘stunty’ person. I’m not like Tom Cruise when it comes to that and it was a far cry from anything I’ve ever done before.” She credits her stunt double, Yasmin Tate, and Roy Taylor, the movie’s stunt co-ordinator, for giving her the confidence to do as many of her own action sequences as possible. “I ended up doing way more than I thought I would, just because they were so motivational.”
CHANEL Coco quilted motif earring in 18k beige gold and diamonds and Eternal N°5 ring in 18k beige gold and diamonds by CHANEL Fine Jewellery, Première Édition Originale watch in steel, yellow gold, black leather and black lacquer by CHANEL Watches
With a day job that involves inhabiting new characters, starring in 10’s Transformation issue felt natural to her. “I think the brilliant and daunting thing about acting is that you’re constantly transforming into things that aren’t necessarily natural or comfortable to you. But I feel like transformation, in life, is essential. Just because it is another way to describe ageing and growing and evolving.”
Fashion has a part to play in that evolution. Off-duty, she’s a jeans-and-T-shirt kind of girl who loves shopping for vintage finds: “I’m all about upcycling.” On duty, she approaches dressing up for work with a mixture of enjoyment and intent. “Some people find it quite obstructive,” she says of the image-prepping that goes with promoting a movie. “They think that it takes away from the point of what you’re doing and the work. That’s fair, but if you’re someone who genuinely enjoys it, I think leaning into that feeling is fun.”
CHANEL
She didn’t take the method-dressing approach to the How to Train Your Dragon red-carpet outfits, à la Zendaya. Rather than reflect her character, she worked closely with her stylist on promo looks that projected something of herself. “I was totally involved in it. I really like clothes and I like fashion. I find it all super-interesting. More eyes are on me than I’ve experienced before. You want to put your best foot forward and put a version of yourself forward that feels accurate, comfortable and right,” she says.
The red carpet, she asserts, is “less stressful if you feel good about yourself”, citing the gorgeous Chanel couture dress she wore to the Baftas in February as a particular feel-good moment. “Putting on Chanel couture feels very sacred. I’ve worked with them since I was a bit younger. I’ve known all of the Chanel girls for a while now and they’re all so lovely. It’s such a wonderful team behind everything Chanel.” She feels an affinity with the brand. “It encapsulates femininity in a way that feels quite strong. I like the fact that you can make it your own, and how you choose to wear it and style around it is what makes it specific to you.” And with that, Parker signs off. Brazil is calling and she has a plane to catch. This girl will fly.
CHANEL Coco quilted motif earring in 18k beige gold and diamonds, Coco Crush quilted motif bracelet in 18k beige gold and diamonds and Eternal N°5 ring in 18k beige gold and diamonds by CHANEL Fine Jewellery
10 Magazine’s 25 anniversary issue is out on newsstands September 15. Pre-order your copy here.
CHANEL: RISING SUN
Photographer VANINA SORRENTI
Fashion Editor SOPHIA NEOPHITOU
Talent NICO PARKER
Text CLAUDIA CROFT
Sittings editor GARTH ALLDAY SPENCER
Hair RIO SREEDHARAN
Make-up VALERIA FERREIRA at The Wall Group
Manicurist SABRINA GAYLE at Arch the Agency
Digital operator SAM HEARN
Photographer’s assistants TOM HILL and JEMIMA LE SUEUR
Fashion assistants GEORGIA EDWARDS and TALIA PANAYI
Hair assistant MARY WEAH
Production ZAC APOSTOLOU and SONYA MAZURYK
Special thanks to JODI GOTTLIEB and ALEXIA JUVIN
Clothing throughout by CHANEL AW25 Ready-to-Wear collection
On the cover NICO wears CHANEL
