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Parminder Nagra hit our screens seven years ago in Brit flick Bend It Like Beckham alongside a very young and then-unknown Keira Knightley.
Thankfully, Parminder didn’t disappear after her film debut – quite the opposite. She turned herself into one of America’s hottest TV actresses. She traded in Keira for Clooney and for the last six years has starred in C4’s hit show ER, while living a luxurious life in her fancy pad in Beverly Hills.
And that’s not all – she’s managed that difficult work/life balance and met the man of her dreams, married him and is now expecting their baby. As she chats to us on the phone from LA, she’s super-excited: ‘Everything in my life has led to this moment.’
But that’s not to say we’ve lost her to LA forever. In fact, just before she fell pregnant she returned to the UK to film her latest British offering, Compulsion, a dark ITV1 drama about the overwhelming power of sexual obsession. It sees her appear alongside acting legend Ray Winstone.
It’s easy to forget she is now a huge star as she chats to me on the phone from LA – her Midlands accent seeps into conversation in between sips of tea.
‘I looked at the script and the thing that really did it for me was working with Ray,’ says Parminder of her return to the British screen. ‘That was a huge part of it. I mean, what an opportunity. We had
dinner together, which was nice, and we were just laughing our heads off within the first five minutes. It broke the ice for the steamy scenes ahead!’
Parminder plays a rich student whose traditional Indian father is mapping out an arranged marriage for his beloved daughter, much to her horror. The family chauffeur, Don Flowers, played by Ray, offers her a way out if she will agree to sleep with him and the scene is set for a powerful, sexually charged affair which ultimately ends in tragedy.
The role called for sex scenes and nudity, which Parminder approached with a cool head. Thankfully, it was filmed before she got pregnant – so no embarrassing bumps and wobbly bits. But still, stripping off in front of a room full of cameramen wasn’t a moment she exactly cherished.
‘I was worried about the nudity, it’s a huge thing for me, but those scenes have to be in there because the story is about obsession and lust so you can’t do it without them. So we just got on with the sex scenes. It’s funny,’ she says, giggling, ‘you talk about what position you’re going for and then you just go for it. Most of the time, Ray and I talked about
food, I don’t know why, but we always ended up telling each other what we’d had for dinner! It took our minds off it. You do get nervous, but when you’ve been doing them for a while, the only way is just to tackle it. Or as Ray says, “Bosh!”, and then you’re done!’
It seems Parminder is prone to her leading men sending her into fits of giggles. While filming the last episode of ER (the show finishes this June after 15 years), she struggled to contain herself on set with a certain very-handsome, very-famous someone.
‘George Clooney is just a lovely guy,’ says Parminder. ‘On set, my co-star Linda Cardellini (who plays nurse Samantha) and I are supposed to be really sombre when he walks in, but we could never hide our grins... The director told us to take down our joy at seeing George by a few notches. It was an absolute pleasure. Finally, I can say I’ve done a scene with George Clooney.’
She chats about her final days as Dr Neela Rasgotra on ER, admitting the wrap was a bit of a tear-jerker...
‘Everyone turned up for the last day, there were many speeches, and then the next day it was over. It still doesn’t feel quite real. My purpose for coming to LA was to be in ER, so it will be interesting to see what it’s like to be here and not have that any more.’
Although Parminder hit her big-time in Hollywood, she admits she’s not one to hang out with the glitterati. Despite rising to stardom alongside Keira Knightley all those years ago, the pair’s relationship didn’t grow into anything more. ‘I bumped into her once in LA and we talked about meeting up but it never happened,’ says Parminder. ‘She is so busy and so am I.’
After years working her way up in LA-LA land, Parminder is now happy to put home life first. She has wonderful memories of her wedding to her British photographer husband James Stenson in January at their home in Beverly Hills. ‘We had an absolute ball,’ she says. ‘It was a nice little family affair. Everyone had a really good time. We had tons of Bhangra and I wasn’t sure if everyone would want to dance to it, being that it was mainly English and American guests, as well as my family. But that was the music that no one could stop dancing to. Everybody went crazy. They were taking Bhangra lessons from my brothers and they all wanted a mix of the CD. Hopefully I bought a whole lot of Indian flavour to their lives.’
Then of course, came the baby news. The couple know what sex it is but she and James are keeping mum. She’s determined to enjoy the last month of her pregnancy [the baby is due in June] – seeing as her first few months weren’t so easy. ‘I had nausea which lasted all day long,’ she recalls. ‘The only way to combat it was to
eat toast and lemon drops. The tiredness was hard at first because you can’t tell anyone. I was working so I would disappear and have a nap at lunchtime. ER was tiring to work on and people assumed I just needed a break.’
When news of the baby hit the family home in Leicester, there were lots of smiles, but she adds, ‘I don’t think it came as much of a surprise. Everybody said, “Finally!” It worked out perfectly with the show ending, the wedding and the pregnancy.’ As for what’s going to happen once the baby arrives, Parminder says, ‘We are both going to see how it goes. I said to James, this is the first time I actually understand the meaning of going with the flow! I’ve tentatively talked to my agent about going back to work in September or October, after four months at home, but I could look at that baby and say, “I want to stay at home!”’
Body-conscious LA has not dented Parminder’s passion for food
‘I love Indian food, I’m always making curries at home and could never go on a diet and give them up,’ she says. ‘There are a couple of good Indian restaurants in LA we go to. I see people get obsessed by food, watching every morsel they eat. You can get like that, but in my job, I need energy and stamina. I’m no good to anybody if I eat a burger every day, even though I’d love a burger a day, so I might have one every two weeks instead. There is an attitude in this business of wanting people to look a certain way, and if it’s for a role, you have to hear what’s being said. But even if I wanted to, I couldn’t go rake thin, it’s not my way. I love sushi, which is healthy but I also love sweet stuff too and that’s my downfall. I don’t beat myself up – everything in moderation is a good way to live. I’m just trying to be as fit and healthy as I can.’
Compulsion is on ITV1, tomorrow, 9pm