Jacket by Kate Hundley
Faux Fur Coat by Ba&sh
Neck by Dorothee Schumacher
Earrings by Nicole Amato

“Is she a master manipulator or a guardian angel?” Peacock teases of The Copenhagen Test’s Parker in a recent Instagram post. An American science fiction spy thriller, The Copenhagen Test is a television series following Alexander—played by Simu Liu—who discovers that his brain has been hacked. Sinclair Daniel portrays Parker, a key Orphanage analyst who is crucial in deciphering what’s really happening with Alexander’s compromised reality.

Yet, Daniel describes her role as Parker to be no small feat: “I spent a lot of time in my script highlighting key moments for Simu’s storyline as well as my own,” Daniel shares with PhotoBook. “It was fun because I felt a little bit like I was working out a riddle on the page.”

Daniel is recognized for her other astonishing roles in Insidious: The Red Door (2023), The Other Black Girl and The Last Day.

Dress by Benjamin Cho, Showroom Seven Vintage
Earrings by Nicole Amato
Boots by Alexander Wang

The Copenhagen Test plays with the idea of reality being quietly engineered. Sinclair, when you first read the script, what unsettled or intrigued you most about your role as Parker?

I think if reality is being engineered, you're better off being the person in the driver’s seat—which Parker is. So that’s exciting. She’s also ethically conflicted about this newfound authority, as she should be. I was drawn to the idea of playing someone who is finally being recognized for their quiet brilliance, but is struggling to navigate the weight of the responsibilities that come with that recognition.

Working alongside actors like Simu Liu and Melissa Barrera, how did that collaboration shape your performance—especially in a story where so much tension lives beneath the surface?

They’re great people so that helps a lot. We spent a lot of time together outside of work just hanging out which allowed us all to feel comfortable discussing ideas on set. I remember one time Melissa and I were shooting a scene that wasn't really working so we took a minute to ourselves to talk through it. After about five minutes we had completely re-blocked the scene in a way that we both felt good about. Luckily our director was receptive and we were able to stay on time. If you don’t have a good personal relationship like that on set, that type of mind-meld efficiency can’t happen.

Jacket by Kate Hundley
Faux Fur Coat by Ba&sh
Turtleneck by Dorothee Schumacher
Skirt by Richard Radcliffe
Earrings by Nicole Amato
Shoes by UNITED NUDE
Tights by Wolford

Parker is described as the “mission control” to Alexander’s astronaut—deeply intimate, yet completely invisible to him. How did you approach building emotional stakes in a relationship that only exists on one side?

I’m not going to lie, it was challenging at first. Luckily, Parker struggles with a way “in” at the start too. She’s tasked with summing up Alexander in, “seven words or less”…I tried to get inside two characters' heads at the same time—two characters who are undeniably connected but never “connect”. Easy!

If audiences walk away from The Copenhagen Test questioning their own sense of autonomy—or how much of their lives are “scripted”—what conversations do you hope the show sparks?

I guess I would hope that we speak about maintaining a moral conscience as we venture further down the road of surveillance. We already unconsciously offer up so much of ourselves—our interests, our values, our anxieties—just by being online, and we see how that's going...I hope that by noticing it as it’s happening, and calling it out where we can, we might be able to preserve a semblance of autonomy.

**Left:**
Dress by Chuks Collins
Necklace by Nicole Amato
Heels by Steve Madden
**Right:**
Suit by Manière De Voir
Turtleneck by Dorothee Schumacher

What do you hope audiences take away from The Copenhagen Test beyond the thrills?

I hope people get used to seeing leading men and women of all variations. Not that I hope anyone watching goes, “oh wow that asian guy plays a really good asian spy!” but more in the direction of, “oh wow the people leading this show are great and I didn't realize how homogenous this genre has been.”

Your performance as Nella in The Other Black Girl required a slow-burn psychological intensity, while Insidious demanded something far more visceral. How do you shift your emotional toolkit between those extremes?

I think I'm always looking for something relatively contrasting to what I've just done. This keeps things fresh and super fun. I started shooting TOBG six weeks after wrapping up Insidious: The Red Door. It felt like such a treat to be Chris and Nella back to back. Besides that, I think you just have to look in your own emotional tool kit, see what you have, and always make room for more tools—keeping with the metaphor haha.

**Left:**
Blouse by The Frankie Shop
Accessries by Stylist Own
**Right:**
Suit by Manière De Voir
Turtleneck by Dorothee Schumacher

Being dubbed a new “scream queen” comes with a certain legacy. How do you personally define what that label means today, and do you embrace it?

Scream queens are one of my favorite pillars of Hollywood. It's also a reputation acknowledged in retrospect. So often you will look at some actresses' illustrious career and see that they got their start in a slasher film or ghost flick back in the day. I think the reality is, scream queens don’t always know that they will make it to scream queen stardom when they make their first movie, and yet they give it their all anyway. I like that mindset. I believe it to be a high honor, though I’m not entirely sure I'm deserving of the title myself. But maybe one day!

How do you protect yourself emotionally when stepping in and out of darker material, especially when projects ask for sustained tension or fear?

A cup of tea, a long walk, and calling my mom.

Dress by Benjamin Cho, Showroom Seven Vintage
Earrings by Nicole Amato

What excites you most about this moment in your career, as your roles become more layered and genre-defying?

I'm excited by the same thing I've always been excited by—the endless possibilities. When I was four I wanted to be a surgeon who was also a princess, when I was eight I wanted to design hotels, and when I was eleven I wanted to be an astro physicist. Acting means I can be anything and everything. That is very exciting.

Looking ahead, what’s a genre—or type of character—you’re excited to tackle that audiences might not expect from you next?

I would love to do a period piece. I adore costumes and most of the great ones come from a different time. Elegant gowns, corsets, cloche hats, poodle skirts, bustles, I love it!

CREW CREDITS:
Talent: Sinclair Daniel
PhotoBook Editor-In-Chief: Alison Hernon
PhotoBook Creative Director: Mike Ruiz
Photographer: Michael Creagh
Fashion Stylist: Alison Hernon at Exclusive Artists
Hair: Cheryl Bergamy-Rosa at Exclusive Artists using Contents Haircare
Makeup: Brittany Whitfield at The Only Agency
Retoucher: Luka Ukropina
Fashion Stylist Intern: Cassie Murphy
Tearsheets by Daniel López, Art Director, PhotoBook Magazine
Interview by Brya Sheridan, Assistant to Editor-in-Chief, PhotoBook Magazine

Sinclair Daniel Takes the Driver’s Seat in Peacock’s Spy Thriller 'The Copenhagen Test'