2014 has been a very busy year for actor Nathan Parsons.
The 26-year-old appeared in two of the most popular shows on television this year, the CW’s The Originals and HBO’s True Blood. We were lucky enough to talk to Parsons about his experience on both shows, and he told us what’s up next for his character on The Originals. Plus, Parsons also talked to us about his new pilot, Point of Honor. Get all of the details below!
In 2009, Parsons scored his first major role in Hollywood on the ABC soap opera, General Hospital. After working on the soap opera for about three years, Parsons then landed a role on the ABC Family show, Bunheads. Then in 2014, he booked a role on one of the biggest shows on television, True Blood.
Parsons landed the role of James on the final season of True Blood, a dream come true for any actor. We asked Parsons about working on the show, and it sounds like he had an awesome experience. He told us, “I remember when that show first came out, it was different than anything that had been on TV. And being able to walk in, seven years later, same cast, the same core, it was amazing. The first day when we had the whole cast, it was like a big family reunion, everyone’s talking about how their kids were, or how so-and-so’s wife was, and how their holiday was, it was amazing.”
Another huge show that Parsons was cast in this year? The Originals! Parsons plays a werewolf named Jackson on The Originals, and it sounds like he’s having a great time working on the CW show. He revealed to us, “It’s been a lot fun. I finally this year had, a couple of months I guess, to just kind of relax into it and get to know the cast better, get to know the crew a lot better. This whole year I’d been bouncing back and forth. So it’s been nice to kind of settle in and just focus on that for once.”
Parsons’ character has a lot of scenes with Hayley, played by Phoebe Tonkin. So, we wanted to know, what’s it like working with Tonkin? He told us, “She’s fantastic, she’s so sweet and incredibly talented as well. Even acting with her you just can’t take your eyes off of her, she’s amazing.”
What can we expect from his character in the upcoming episodes? Parsons revealed to us, “I think we’re just going to continue to see his relationship with Hayley grow and evolve. We’re also going to see, you know he spent so much time with Ansel, when Jackson was off the show, that I think he learned what it really meant to be an alpha, to be a leader, and the traditions in history of that. And I think going forward we’re going to start to see him kind of take on more and more of a role as a leader, as an alpha, as a stronger character. Ideally, we’ll see him get stronger and we’ll start to see some werewolves kick some butt!”
So, what’s up next for Parsons? Well, he’s waiting to see if his awesome new Amazon pilot Point of Honor gets picked up! What’s the pilot about? Parsons revealed to us, “It’s a Civil War drama, it’s historical fiction. Basically we start out following these two guys, these two best friends. My character John Roads from Virigina and Chris O’Shea‘s character Robert, he’s from somewhere up north, we don’t know yet. But they’re best friends at West Point, they’re cadets, and they’re top of their class. Robert is married to one of John’s sisters, so they’re not only best friends, but they’re brothers-in-law. We start out seeing a rider come up and say, ‘Fort Sumpter’s been fired on in South Carolina.’ And the Civil War kicks out basically. And John says he comes in and they’re at West Point and he gives this whole speech saying, ‘I’m going to free my slaves because slavery’s awful. But I’m going to go back to Virgina, and I’m going to defend my home against anyone who’s going to threaten it and invade.’ So he goes and joins the Confederacy and Robert goes and joins the Union. So we have literal brother on brother battle.”
While we wait to find out about Parsons’ new pilot, you can watch Parsons on The Originals. The show just had its mid-season finale and will return on Monday, Jan. 19 at 8 p.m. on the CW! Check out a preview of the upcoming episode below!
Are you a fan of The Originals? What do you think about Parsons’ character? Sound off in the comments!
