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Why was I axed? It's all a bit of a mystery.

Inspector Lynley star Nathaniel Parker on BBC's shock decision to dump his hit show - and why his sights are now set on Hollywood.

By Jenny Johnston

When you are an actor there are clearly advantages in having a big brother who is a film director. Nathaniel Parker isn't precious about these things. He admits that his latest screen role in the remake of St Trinian's came about because his brother Oliver needed a decent actor quickly - and his number was top of the speed-dial list.

Olly called the night before filming to say that someone had dropped out - would I be interested? Of course I was. My daughters were already signed up to appear and were beside themselves about the prospect of throwing waterbombs. As it happens I had a scene with Colin Firth and it was quite a laugh. I've had to say thank God for my brother quite a few times in my career. He keeps casting me, for which I am eternally grateful. It is hard to get decent film roles. I'm not part of the Brit Pack - that is not really my gig - but Olly has helped smooth the way a little." How refreshing to hear an actor tell it how it really is.

Later this year Nat Parker joins a super soaraway cast in the film Stardust, starring opposite the likes of Robert DeNiro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Everett and Peter O'Toole. He laughs when asked what it's like to work with De Niro. "DeWho? He was lucky to be working with me," he quips, then admits, "It might sound impressive, but actually he did many of his scenes on green screen - which means his parts were added in later by the wonders of technology. It's not as if you just go for a pint with him. Still, it is amazing to be in the same production as people like this. I don't get starry as a rule, but I'm heading off to the States for the premiere next week and it is rather exciting. You always worry that your part in a big produciton like this will end up on the cutting-room floor, but I'm reliably informed that I'm still in there." So this is the big break? If so, it's been a long time coming. Nat Parker, 45, is instantly recognisable as one of those British actors who has 'been in everything' but was never quite tipped for Hollywood stardom.

He jokes about how he is inching his way there. As well as Stardust, he will pop up in four other films this year, including Flawless and Fade To Black. In fact, the leap couldn't be more timely. He has just learned that his 'day job' - the all-important pay-the-mortgage role as TV's dashing Inspector Lynley in The Inspector Lynley Mysteries - is no more. The drama has been axed by the BBC - much to its star's surprise. "They told me just over a week ago and my initial reaction was: ‘but why?’ The ratings were always so good. My father was a former chairman of British Rail, and it struck me as being akin to when they sold off Traveller's Fare - probably one of the profitable parts of the railways. You try to be resigned about these things, but I was a little bewildered."

And disappointed surely?
"Well, yes. But mostly I wish they'd given us the chance to do a sign-off - tie up all the loose ends. Instead, it's just been abandoned. I find that quite sad."
Still, he's a canny enough operator to see that his former bosses have probably done him a huge favour. Even before the axe fell, he was wondering whether Lynley - while a 'lovely gig' career-wise - was actually the sort of work he should be doing. Even before he signed up for the series, Nat was known for his work in period dramas like Vanity Fair, Far From The Madding Crowd and Bleak House. The typecasting started to grate some years ago: looking good in breeches isn't necessarily a fast route to Hollywood, despite the Colin Firth experience.

"Over the past few years, there are a couple of roles that I really made a campaign for - and was very disappointed when I didn't get them," admits Nat. What particularly peeved him were the mutterings about why he had not secured his dream roles. Some felt he was 'too period drama, or too posh'. Nat himself lightheartedly blames his eyebrows and they do give a certain intensity to his classically handsome features. "On my first night at the RSC, a friend said: ‘That was great, but don't put so much make-up on your eyebrows.’ I didn't have any on."

The 'posh' tag can't have been helped by his success in the Lynley role, either. Of all the TV detectives he could have played, Nat ends up with the one who is an Earl. He laughs. "But what do you do? Do you say no to good roles, just to make a point?"

Now, though, he is free - presumably to play as many council estate baddies as he likes. A couple of months ago, he came back from a trip to conflict-ravaged Darfur - one of those slightly odd consciousness-raising trips that celebrities of a certain status are asked to make. In truth, he got involved with the appeal only because a friend who works for the charity asked him to lend a hand.

"Until then, I have to say I didn't even know where Darfur was, much less what had been happening there. But I helped out with the appeal and got quite involved emotionally. They asked me if I wanted to go out and actually see what was happening on the ground. That, I have to say, had just blown me away." You can understand why. Touring the refugee camps in neighbouring Chad, where thousands of those displaced by ethnic cleansing are living in desperate conditions, he was floored.

"Just before we arrived, six women and three children had been killed when they went out to collect firewood. I was talking to the aid agency staff about how terrible that was, and one said to me, ‘Yes it is awful. Usually, they just get raped.’ Pardon? That was just beyond relief."

Nat came home on Father's Day - to presents, cards and warm hugs from his daughters Angelica, 10 and Raffy, 8. "It was such a humbling experience"he says. "I mean, look at my life. I have two wonderful daughters, a great wife and a job I love. I really am a lucky bastard. It's such a cliche, but sometimes you need to be reminded of those things."
Since his return, he has become what he calls a "fund-raising bore". "Oh, I was looking forward to a nice glass of champagne on the flight back, just like the next person,"he admits. “And I slipped back into my terribly comfortable life quite easily. But when I went to Ascot, I went around bending everyone's ear about how little it costs to buy a tent to give these people some shelter.

"I'm afraid I'm doing that a lot now. I don't think I’m quite at Bob Geldof’s level - I haven't been banging on the tables and shouting - but I do admire what he did and I see exactly why he got so involved."

You can see why Nat Parker is suddenly feeling grateful - if a little guilty - about his life. His hobby is gambling, for goodness sake. He has dabbled in racehorse ownership for years and he has quite a close relationship with his bookie. It's terribly serious stuff.

The trouble is that every time he has a flutter now, he does tot up the number of protective tents that the money would buy. Such moral conflicts do traditionally come with the Parker name, however. His father, Sir Peter Parker, was famous for being a demanding businessman. Yet he was also famous for his left-wing views and once stood successfully as a Labour MP. Moral dilemmas went with the territory.
"I remember people criticised him for sending me to a private school, saying that he was betraying his principles. But my father didn't agree with that all: he was a realist and confident to do things his own way."

Before he died, he sent Nat a postcard telling him how delighted he was that he had signed up for a second series of Lynley. Nat misses this regular validation from his father and admits he had a hard time coming to terms with his death. "Even now, something will happen in my life and the instinct is to tell my father about it."

And never more so than at the moment, when there are such exciting career moves to be made. "It would be lovely to share that with him. I know he would be proud."

To donate to the DEC Darfur and Chad Crisis Appeal, call 08706060900 or visit www.dec.org.uk

Updated 18 August 2007, with many thanks to Stella for sending the article