Christopher Parker (born September 25, 1990) is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

actor, comedian, writer, TV personality, and podcaster. Parker has written for and appeared in many local comedy shows such as ''

Jono and Ben ''Jono and Ben'', previously titled ''Jono and Ben at Ten'', was a satirical news and entertainment show hosted by Jono Pryor and Ben Boyce in New Zealand. The show aired on Three on Thursday nights at 7:30pm, and was filmed the night before ...

'', ''

7 Days Seven Days or 7 Days may refer to: * Week, an amount of time Film * ''7 Days'' (2010 film) (''Les 7 jours du talion''), Canadian thriller film * ''7 Days'' (2021 film), American romantic comedy film * ''Seven Days'' (1925 film), American silent ...

'', ''Taskmaster NZ'', and ''

Have You Been Paying Attention ''Have You Been Paying Attention?'' (abbreviated on social media as HYBPA? and stylised on-screen as Have you been paying attention? in sentence case) is an Australian panel game television game show, quiz show on Network 10. The series, which ...

''. He has also acted in films like ''

Baby Done ''Baby Done'' is a 2020 New Zealand comedy film. Directed by Curtis Vowell and executively produced by Taika Waititi, written by Sophie Henderson, and starring Rose Matafeo. Plot Zoe is a young woman who discovers she's pregnant. But, acting in ...

'', ''The Breaker Uppers'', and ''

Nude Tuesday ''Nude Tuesday'' (stylised as ''Nûde Tuęsdäy'') is a New Zealand comedy film that was written by Armağan Ballantyne and Jackie van Beek, and directed by Ballatyne. Set on a fictional island in the Pacific Ocean, the film follows Laura and ...

''.

Early life and education

Parker grew up in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

wanting to be a dancer while he was growing up. He spent ten years at the Christchurch-based Original Scripts Theatre School with teachers Wendy Steeds and Sonia Chappell. He studied at the New Zealand national drama school, Toi Whakaari in Wellington, graduating in 2011 with a Bachelor of Performing Arts in Acting.

Career

After moving to Auckland, he joined improv group Snort, which led to being cast as David Halls in the hit stage play '' Hudson and Halls Live''. In 2016, he won Actor of the Year at the Wellington Theatre Awards for this role. Other stage acting credits include ''Shortland Street: The Musical'', ''Gays in Space'', and ''Another Dead Fag'' by Sam Brooks. Parker has also written and performed extensively with

Tom Sainsbury Thomas Sainsbury (born 1982) is a New Zealand actor, writer, filmmaker, comedian, TV presenter and podcaster. Sainsbury began his acting and writing career in theatre. He became well known in New Zealand from 2017 for his short form comedy vide ...

on live shows such as ''The Opening Night Before Christmas'', ''Camping'', ''D.O.C.ing'', ''Giggly Gerties,'' and ''Hauraki Horror''. He also created and performed several sketch comedy shows with

Hayley Sproull Hayley Jayne Sproull (born 1989) is a New Zealand comedian, actor, scriptwriter, television show host and radio show co-host. She is the host of ''The Great Kiwi Bake Off'' and the New Zealand edition of ''Have You Been Paying Attention?''. Bio ...

, including ''Tighty Whiteys'', ''The Outsiders' Guide'', and ''Milky Bits''. In 2016, Parker began hosting ''The Male Gayz Podcast'' with fellow comic Eli Matthewson. Parker won the Fred Award, an honour awarded to the best show written and performed by a NZ comedian at the

New Zealand International Comedy Festival {{Short description, Annual comedy festival in New Zealand The New Zealand International Comedy Festival is held simultaneously over three weeks during April/May in Auckland and Wellington. From its beginnings as a 2-day event, the Festival has n ...

, in 2018 for his solo comedy show ''Camp Binch''. He had previously won the Best Newcomer Award in Auckland in 2015 for his first solo show, ''No More Dancing in the Good Room.'' In October 2018, Parker released his debut novel ''Here for a Good Time: Organised Thoughts From a Disorganized Mind''. In 2020 and 2021, Parker performed his show ''How I Felt,'' based on his experiences during the COVID-19 lockdown, where he gained prominence for his attempts to

felt Felt is a textile material that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic or acrylonitrile or wood ...

on Instagram Live. The felting videos were so popular that, in 2020, a hat that Parker created was added to the collection at Auckland Museum, and a photo of him wearing the hat was bought by the

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...

. Parker appeared as a contestant in the 2021 season of ''

Celebrity Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' is a reality competition television franchise. The programme originated in New Zealand in 1997, where it was originally produced by Touchdown Television and broadcast by TVNZ, with later editions produced for broadcasters i ...

'', a reality-competition television show in the style of ''Survivor''. He won the series on behalf of Rainbow Youth, a charity that provides education, information, support and advocacy for

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...

gender diverse Gender variance or gender nonconformity is behavior or gender expression by an individual that does not match masculine or feminine gender norms. A gender-nonconforming person may be variant in their gender identity, being transgender or non-bina ...

takatāpui ''Takatāpui'' (also spelled ''takataapui'') is a Te Reo Māori (Māori language) term, which is used in a similar way to LGBTQI+. ''Takatāpui'' can also refer to an individual who is SOGIE diverse. When speaking te reo Māori, LGBTQI+ people o ...

and

intersex Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical bina ...

youth in New Zealand. In May 2022, Parker released a comedy documentary special, ''Back To School'', about all-boys schools in New Zealand. Later that year, ''Chris and Eli's Porn Revolution'' was released, featuring Parker and his ''Male Gayz'' podcast co-host Eli Matthewson. The show is a Spinoff series aiming to start a nationwide conversation about

pornography Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,

. Also in 2022, Parker was a contestant on Series 3 of '' Taskmaster NZ'', placing second in the series overall. In 2023, Parker competed in an episode of ''

Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee ''Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee'' is a New Zealand television comedy panel show on Three created and presented by Guy Montgomery and co-hosted by Sanjay Patel. The show is loosely based on a spelling bee: each episode, four comedians parti ...

''. In June 2023, ''Double Parked,'' a new

Three 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * '' Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 ...

series which Parker co-created with

Alice Snedden Alice Snedden is a New Zealand stand-up comedian, television writer and actress. First working as a writer on New Zealand comedy shows such as ''Funny Girls'', ''Jono and Ben'' and ''7 Days'', Snedden created the serie''Alice Snedden's Bad News ...

, premiered.

Personal life

As a friend of Paul Williams, Parker appeared in the fellow comedian's "Surf Music"

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

as a background dancer alongside

Brynley Stent Brynley Alexandra Stent (born 1989) is a New Zealand actor, comedian and scriptwriter. She appeared on the first season of the New Zealand adaptation of '' Taskmaster'' and played the character Kelly-Anne Johnson on long running New Zealand soap ...

and

Rose Matafeo Rose Catherine Lettitia Matafeo (; born 25 February 1992) is a New Zealand comedian, actress, and TV presenter. She was a writer and performer on the New Zealand late-night comedy sketch show ''Funny Girls''. In 2018, she won the Edinburgh Comed ...

. In October 2022, Parker married Micheal McCabe, an Auckland-based designer.

Stand-up comedy

* ''No More Dancing in the Good Room'' (2015) * ''Camp Binch'' (2018) * ''Iconique'' (2019) * ''The Best of Chris Parker'' (2022) * ''Lots of Love'' (2023)

Awards

* NZICF Best Newcomer Award (2015) * NZICF

Fred Award The Fred Award is the highest honour at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival, awarded to the best show written and performed by a New Zealand Comedian. The Award is named in honour of Fred Dagg Fred Dagg is a fictional character from N ...

, ''Camp Binch'' (2018) * Voted one of The Herald's Top 5 Entertainment Heroes (2020) and nominated for Television Personality of the Year (2021) * Topp Prize (2022)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Chris 1990 births Living people New Zealand comedians New Zealand actors Toi Whakaari alumni