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From Speakers New Zealand
Speakers New Zealand
Craig Parker - One of New Zealand's most talented actors and entertainers.
Craig Parker was born November 12th, 1970 in Suva on the island of Fiji, but moved to New Zealand with his parents as a child.
"In a decision I can only put down to a hurried, late night flight and too many gins," Craig remembers, "my parents decided to settle in Glenfield. Here, the story might very well have ended. Me, doomed to a life of suburban mediocrity, married with 2.4 children, with only the remains of a fading tan, my fire extinguished forever. However, Destiny, she moves in mysterious ways."
These mysterious ways have led Craig to become one of New Zealand’s most popular actors. At the age of nineteen he started out on a TV show called Hot Shots directed by Steve La Hood. He then gained more experience, working on various TV- and theatre-productions, such as Macbeth (1991), directed by none other than Hercules’ co-star Michael Hurst, and the NZ-series Gloss (1990).
Since 1987 Craig has also been involved in Theatresports, proving his talent for improvisation and stand-up comedy performance. His engagement with Theatresports lasted for ten years.
His big breakthrough came in 1992, when he was cast as "Guy Warner" for the popular New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. Craig, who also speaks French, remained a core-cast member of the show for four years, winning the New Zealand audience’s sympathy.
Afterwards he appeared in several episodes of the internationally renowned TV-shows Xena - Warrior Princess and Young Hercules.
Moreover, Craig worked on radio-plays (Ashleys World I & II and Caffeine Comedy/News in Briefs, both 1996 - 1997), which eventually brought him in touch with Peter Jackson, with whom he worked on recordings for The Lord Of The Rings, lending his voice to the character of Frodo.
In the screen adaption of J.R.R. Tolkien’s popular books, however, Craig - despite his dark hair and complexion - was cast as "Haldir", one of Lothlorien’s blond and fair elves. His role in the first two parts of the Trilogy finally brought him to international attention.
It can be expected that his newly won fame will not change Craig as a private person. He already has experienced the fact that the press sometimes tends to alter stories and quotes as they see fit.
"A quote can be made to mean anything and in their photo sections there's a lot of innuendo. When that first happens you worry about how people who don't know the situation will read it, how your family will be affected by it", he says.
This is why, as Craig puts it, he handles the media with a good deal of "healthy distrust".
"It really pays to keep your private self for the people you like and love. It does me no favours at all to reveal my personal life to people who read magazines."
At heart, Craig always remained a comedian. He kept showing his skills as an entertainer in shows like Scared Scriptless (1999) as well as various comedy debates, and also continuously worked for both stage and screen. He was to be seen in theatre alongside Michael Hurst and Oliver Driver in Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (2001). Fans of soap operas can currently enjoy watching Craig playing the role of "Alistair Kingsley" in Mercy Peak. He most recently was cast as the narrator for the stage production of the cult-musical The Rocky Horror Show.
In February 2003 Craig spent 16 days in Kathmandu on TVNZ's Intrepid Journeys.
He has been the MC at the biggest and smallest of events and continues to be in great demand for his overall ability to make any audience feel at home. | | |