Nathan Parsons

Nathan Parsons (born 16 June 1988) is an Australian-born American actor, best known for his work in daytime television on the ABC daytime soap opera General Hospital as the character of Ethan Lovett. He also had roles on primetime television shows as vampire James Kent on the seventh and final season of the HBO drama series True Blood, and recently the role of exiled werewolf Jackson Kenner on The CW drama series The Originals.

He is currently playing the Max Evans character on The CW sci-fi drama  Roswell, New Mexico.

Nathan Parsons was born as Nathan Dean Parsons on June 16, 1988, in Adelaide, Australia. His family emigrated to the United States when he was young, and he was raised in Colorado and Texas. He did his high schooling at St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Austin, Texas, graduating in 2006. He was in the same class as actress Ellen Wroe (of Final Destination 5fame).

Later, he moved to Los Angeles to attend the University of Southern California after being accepted into their Bachelor of Fine Arts Acting program. 

He is also a member of Boom Kat Dance Theatre, a non-profit dance company based in Santa Monica, California. Currently, in their third year, Boom Kat has been made a resident company of the Miles Memorial Playhouse in Santa Monica following the success of their third production NeverWonderland. In his spare time, Nathan enjoys dance, rock climbing, hiking, lacrosse, football, soccer, yoga, and scuba diving.

Early works

As a child actor, he did voice-over work dubbing Japanese anime for ADV Films including Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (1990-91,) in which he played the lead character of Jean Roque-Raltique alongside Noriko Hidaka and Carl Domaski. He also had parts in Soul Hunter, Devilman Lady (1998), and King of Bandit Jing (2002, original title: Ô dorobô Jing).

In 2007, he played Soda Spritzer in Mitchell Lichtenstein's horror-comedy Teeth, starring Jess Weixler and John Hensley. Two years later, he was seen in the role of Holden Williams in David DeCoteau-directed horror film The Brotherhood V: Alumni (2009).

In 2009, Parsons landed the recurring role of Ethan Lovett in the acclaimed TV crime drama General Hospital. He had originally auditioned for a different role and was not cast, but the series subsequently created a new character specifically for him. He made his first appearance as con artist Ethan Lovett on 30 January 2009. Parsons was initially hired on a recurring basis but was soon put on contract with the series, working closely with multi-Daytime Emmy Award-winner Anthony Geary. Parsons's debut storyline hinted at the secret parentage of his character Ethan, who was later established as the son of Luke Spencer (played by Geary) and Holly Sutton (played by Emma Samms), characters made household names during General Hospital's 1980s peak. In March 2009, Soaps In Depth magazine credited Parsons with "taking the show by storm" and dubbed Ethan "one of daytime's most riveting young characters."

In December 2011, Parsons announced that he had decided not to renew his contract with General Hospital (which was expiring in early 2012). His last airdate was 7 March 2012, in a final scene that was shared with his on-screen parents, Anthony Geary and Emma Samms. The storyline was left open-ended for his possible return.

In May 2012, Parsons was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Younger Actor category for his portrayal of Ethan Lovett on General Hospital. The 2012 Daytime Emmy Awards were televised live on 23 June 2012, from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. Though Parsons did not win in this category, he was prominently featured in the telecast as a presenter for the coveted Outstanding Lead Actor category, in which his former co-stars, Anthony Geary and Maurice Benard, were both nominated. Parsons presented the award to his former on-screen father, Anthony Geary (for an unprecedented 7th win), and was acknowledged in Geary's acceptance speech. General Hospital also won the Outstanding Drama Series award.

In April 2013, Parsons returned to General Hospital as Ethan Lovett as part of the show's 50th Anniversary Celebration. His return aired over two days, 2 and 3 April, in which he appeared with Luke Spencer (played by Anthony Geary), Laura Spencer (played by Genie Francis), and Helena Cassadine (played by Constance Towers). He also reprised his character again in July 2015 for two episodes.

In 2012-13, Parsons played Godot for 7 episodes in the TV comedy Bunheads (created by Amy Sherman-Palladino and Lamar Damon). The Godot character was introduced in the episode "Money for Nothing" (aired on 16 July 2012). While Godot was well known and idolized by the "bunheads"/girls, the lead character of Michelle Simms Flowers (played by Sutton Foster) had never met him, as he had only just returned from a year-long surfing trip. There was a brief, but instant rapport/flirtation between Michelle and Godot; a relationship that was played out through season 1. He went on to appear in a further six episodes through the season. The show was canceled after the first season by ABC Family.

In 2014, Parsons replaced Luke Grimes as James in the final season (seventh) of Alan Ball's television series True Blood, starring Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, and Sam Trammell. The same year, he was also cast in the recurring role of Jackson Kenner in Julie Plec's television series The Originals, starring Joseph Morgan, Daniel Gillies, and Charles Michael Davis. He was seen in 27 episodes of the series through July 2018.

Currently, Parsons is playing the Max Evans character in Carina Adly MacKenzie's sci-fi drama on The CW titled Roswell, New Mexico, opposite Jeanine Mason and Michael Vlamis. The series is the second television adaptation of the Roswell High book series by Melinda Metz. In January 2020, The CW renewed the series for a third season.

Film

Television