Out actor Max Parker began his audition process for the new Netflix series “Boots” over Zoom – and didn’t meet anyone in person until the eighth round. At first, the scripts he received were light on detail. But the more scripts came his way, the more he was convinced that Sergeant Robert “Bobby” Sullivan was a character he really needed to play.
“I thought it would be an amazing opportunity to dive into that as well as play a queer character, something I have wanted to do,” he said in a recent interview with Georgia Voice.
Based on the memoir “The Pink Marine” by Greg Cope White, “Boots” is the story of teenager Cameron Cope (Miles Heizer,) who leaves home and his single mother Barbara (Vera Farmiga) behind and decides to join the American military with his straight best friend Ray (Liam Oh) in the ‘90s. He quickly realizes it’s not the best place to be, especially as a gay man in the pre-“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” era of the armed forces. Sullivan is a drill sergeant Cameron encounters who proves to be a man with secrets of his own.
Andy Parker adapted the book and is showrunner of the series as well as executive producer alongside a team including the late Norman Lear. Filming of the first season began in the summer of 2023 in New Orleans – after over two weeks of boot camp and rehearsals – but stopped one week later because of the 2023 writers strike (and later actors strike) before resuming in the spring of 2024 and wrapping late last summer.
The bond between the actors was so strong, Max Parker said, that the actors picked up almost immediately from where they had stopped once filming resumed.
Physically and emotionally, Parker knew he had to be prepared to fill Sullivan’s shoes. He stepped up his fitness to keep pace and credits an “amazing trainer back home” in England for getting him ready for the physicality role and the hot, humid New Orleans weather. The cast also had a team available on-hand to make sure they were telling the story correctly.
“One of our military drill instructors was gay when it was illegal to be [in the military] and did get kicked out of the military,” the actor said. “To listen to his story and see how similar it was to Sullivan was an amazing tool as well.”
As someone who is gay and went through his own period of hiding, Parker – best known for his work on Peacock’s “Vampire Academy” – could relate to Sullivan. The major difference is that Sullivan lives in a time period where being gay in the services is illegal.
“The thing that means the most to him is serving in the military and he has a lot stripped away from him,” Parker said. “He has no one to turn to; his best friend is homophobic. He is being chased by the law. You see the spiral he goes through, the pressure cooker it is [for him] and the damaging stuff it can do.”
While the series manages to combine comedy and drama, themes of toxic masculinity and proving oneself are prominent throughout the series, especially as Cameron tries to fit in. The relationship between him and Sullivan is quite complicated and ultimately changes direction.
“Sullivan ultimately doesn’t want Cameron to go through what he has had to,” Parker said. “He thinks the best thing he can do is to get [Cameron] to quit, but there’s a moment when he sees his resilience. They both help each other in a way. [Cameron] starts to look at [Sullivan] as a role model.”
Being part of a crew with a large amount of LGBTQ+ talent behind and in front of the camera – including Heizer and actor Angus O’Brien as Hicks – is an element of the production Parker is most proud of. The significance of what they were all doing never left the set. After he and Heizer finished a pivotal scene, many of the creatives got emotional.
“You realize [in times such as these] how important it is to tell queer stories for all of us, but especially for people [who grew up] in this era of the ‘90s,” Parker said.
