Truth About Nico Parker’s Ethnicity Amid ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ Live-action Outrage- Does She Have Scandinavian Roots?
- Nico Parker has traits of both African and Caucasian descent.
- The young actress has been subject to same outrage when she was cast on The Last of Us.
- Dean DeBlois clarifies the studios stance on Nico Parker's Astrid casting.
Directed by Dean DeBlois, How to Train Your Dragon is an upcoming live-action adaptation of 2010’s animated movie of the same name and stars Nico Parker, Mason Thames, Gerard Butler, and more. Cressida Cowell’s 2003 novel of the same name loosely bases the animated movie. The first trailer for the live-action remake of How To Train Your Dragon was recently released.
The story follows a young Viking named Hiccup who sets out to hunt dragons but finds himself befriending one and naming him Toothless. The franchise has earned four Academy Award nominations and has reportedly surpassed $1.6 billion at the global box office. Fans loved the animated version and are excited about the live-action remake as well, but some of them have expressed their issues with the casting of Nico Parker.
Nico Parker’s casting as Astrid on How To Train Your Dragon subjected to ethnicity outrage
English actress Nico Parker, who was seen on HBO’s The Last of Us as Pedro Pascal’s daughter, is going to play Astrid in the highly awaited live-action remake of How To Train Your Dragon opposite Mason Thames. The young actress is the daughter of actress Thandiwe Newton and director Ol Parker.
Newton is of Zimbabwean and British ancestry, whereas Parker is British, which has caused a little bit of a stir in Nico’s casting as Astrid for the movie. The young actress is biracial and shares the traits of both African and Caucasian descent, and her casting as a white character in the movie did not sit well with the audience.
At the time of the announcement, a user had noted that ‘Black culture’ was being forced into the Scandinavian culture and asked the makers if it was really hard to find a White actress with blue eyes. The behind-the-scenes pictures (via ScreenRant) of the actress in which her braided dark hair can be seen also caught a lot of attention as fans believed a naturally blonde actress should have been cast.
At the time of her casting as Sarah Miller on The Last of Us, which was also met with some backlash, she said (via Metro UK)
I can appreciate there’s one side of it where there are people for whom the game is incredibly important to them, and they care very deeply about the adaptation of it. But when it comes from a place where it’s just disdain towards any kind of inclusivity, that’s where I don’t care. I don’t value that opinion, and I don’t agree.
Recently there were rumors about Nico Parker being of Scandinavian descent, but according to AZ Central, her parents have European heritage, but it’s not known if she has Scandinavian heritage. These for now are just considered rumors.
America Ferrera, who is Latin, voiced the character in the original movie.
Filmmaker Dean DeBlois defends Nico Parker’s casting on How To Train Your Dragon
Dean DeBlois took to his social media to respond to the criticism that came the way of Nico Parker for being a woman of color for a white character. He replied to a comment that mentioned the casting of Astrid has nothing to do with the color; it’s about the acting, adding that a Latina person of color voiced the character in the original movie, so are they going to dislike the actress now?
Replying to this comment, DeBlois wrote on his social media,
We auditioned many actors for the roles, including actors who looked like their animated counterparts. But we chose the actors who best embodied the spirit and personality of the characters since the tribe in this version is made up of descendants of the finest dragon fighters from everywhere the Vikings had ever traveled.
He continued by stating they are crafting a fantasy, not a historical fact, and everything will be revealed in time. The filmmaker mentioned that they are not making a shot-for-shot remake, but they struck close to key moments to honor the original, which he remains very proud of.
DeBlois lastly added that instead of a completely new tale, they aimed to embellish and deepen without abandoning the story that fans already love. ScreenRant also noted that Astrid’s being Black does not affect the story’s realism as the Vikings traveled very far from their homeland.
How To Train Your Dragon is scheduled to release on 13th June 2025. The animated movies are available on Prime Video.
