A lot of students take a little while to find a job when they first leave university – and you’d imagine actors even more so – but not so Parry Glasspool, who walked almost straight into one of the nation’s biggest shows.
A week after he finished his acting degree at Kingston College in 2013, Parry was filming for Hollyoaks Later. He joined the cast of the main show last year and has now been nominated for a National Television Award.
Parry's character Harry is in a relationship with Ste (Kieron Richardson) on the show.
The 23-year-old, from Birmingham, told us: “I was more surprised than excited, really. It is always glad to hear that someone upstairs is in your corner. It is great to even make it to the shortlist because I get to go.
“It’s going to be great. I’m going to be starstruck every five seconds.”
The ceremony is at Greenwich’s The O2 on Wednesday and Parry’s Best Newcomer category is completed by three names that may be new to their respective soaps but have more established careers behind them: Richard Blackwood, Shayne Ward and former Hollyoaks actress Gemma Atkinson, who now stars in Emmerdale.
Parry said: “I’m a bit intimidated. They’re a lot more famous than me. I knew of Shayne when I was at school – when he was on the X Factor and had his number one – and I think I quite liked his music. It’s quite a cool thing to be in the same category as him.”
“We’re all new to soaps and soaps are so different to anything else, even in the acting world. It’s a different beast.”
Though the show films up in Liverpool, Parry was in his final year studying in Kingston when he got spotted by an agent - and he still has a lot of love for the town.
He said: “Kingston was great. Everything was there that you needed. It’s got Bentalls, the cinema, all the pubs – The Mill was my favourite. It was some of the best years of my life there.”
He added: “It was lucky I got an agent in the third year, half way through. There’s a site called Casting Call Pro and they randomly found me, which doesn’t happen very often at all.”
His agent sent him for auditions and, after several call-backs, he landed the role of Harry on Hollyoaks’ spin-off show Hollyoaks Later.
Fast forward two years and he’s on the main show involved in one of the biggest storylines, a relationship with long-time show favourite Ste (Kieron Richardson).
Parry is relishing his position. He said: “When you find yourself moaning, you have got to slap yourself and say ‘no, I’m doing what I love and I’m getting paid for it, which is what 98 per cent of other actors aren’t doing right now or would love to be in my position’.
“The cast are great. It took me a little while to settle in because they are like a close little family but once you’re in, you’re in.”
The National Television Awards are at The O2 – and on ITV – from 7.30pm on Wednesday. Vote for Parry in the Best Newcomer category at nationaltvawards.com/vote
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