Nathaniel Parker


Nathaniel Parker is an English stage and screen actor best known for playing the lead in the BBC crime drama series The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, and Agravaine de Bois in the fourth series of Merlin.

Early life

Nathaniel Parker was born in London, the youngest son of the businessman and one-time British Rail chairman Sir Peter Parker and Jillian, a GP and gardener, who wrote The Purest of Pleasures: Creation of a Romantic Garden. He has two older brothers, Alan, chairman of Brunswick Group, and Oliver, a film director, and a sister, Lucy. Parker joined the National Youth Theatre, and after training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1986.

Career

Stage

Parker portrayed Bassanio in Peter Hall's 1989 production of The Merchant of Venice in London and on Broadway, co-starring with Dustin Hoffman.
In 2000, he played Bob in Rupert Goold's West End revival of David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow.
Parker returned to the stage in 2013 for the production of The Audience, starring Helen Mirren, written by Peter Morgan and directed by Stephen Daldry. The play ran for four months at the Gielgud Theatre in London. It was also transmitted worldwide via National Theatre Live and was seen by more than 110,000 viewers in the UK and USA.
Parker played King Henry VIII in Wolf Hall for the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2014, earning a 2015 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for the London production and appearing in New York City when the show moved on to Broadway, where his performance received a Tony Award nomination.
Parker played Jack Weatherill in James Graham's This House at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester in September 2016 and took the same role to the Garrick Theatre in the West End of London on 19 November 2016.

Film and television

In 1997, Parker portrayed King David in a made-for-TV film.
Parker played a variety of television costume drama roles, such as: Martin Jordan in the 1995 TV production of Joanna Trollope's A Village Affair, Gabriel Oak in the Granada/WGBH-TV co- production of Far From the Madding Crowd, and Martin Tanley in the comedy film Beverly Hills Ninja with Chris Farley and Chris Rock. He also played Rawdon Crawley in a BBC version of Vanity Fair. The New York Times reviewer Caryn James said of his performance: "More than anyone else in the series, Nathaniel Parker brings some complexity to his character." He also played Harold Skimpole in the BAFTA-winning BBC1 dramatisation of Bleak House.
In a 2007 Radio Times interview, Parker said that his first big television break came in 1988 when he played a Battle of France pilot in ITV's six-part drama Piece of Cake.
Another early role was Wilfred Owen in Derek Jarman's War Requiem, a 1989 film adaptation of Benjamin Britten's War Requiem. It co-starred Laurence Olivier, in his last screen role, as an old soldier. Four years later, Parker played Edward Rochester in John Duigan's 1993 film adaptation of Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea. Reviewing this 'prequel' to Jane Eyre, Vincent Canby said in his review that Parker: "is exceptionally good in a difficult, shadowy role".
From 2001 to 2007, Parker played the titular character in the long-running BBC1 crime series The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, perhaps his best-known role. His co-star was Sharon Small as his assistant, Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers. When the series premiered on PBS in 2002, The Wall Street Journal wrote that it was "fully worthy of the Mystery! label." Master Gracey in The Haunted Mansion,, Albert Speer in the BBC production of 2006 and Dunstan Thorn in the fantasy film Stardust. Parker also starred briefly in St Trinian's.
In 2011, Parker joined the cast of Merlin, to play the character of Agravaine de Bois for all 13 episodes of the fourth series. He also appeared in the independent comedy-drama The Perfect Host, alongside David Hyde Pierce.
In 2012, Parker was cast alongside YouTube reviewer Stuart Ashen in the Alienware-sponsored sci-fi thriller series The Proxy. He also appeared as Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec in the film adaptation of Louise Penny's murder mystery novel Still Life, set in rural Quebec. He also starred in the TV series, Me and Mrs Jones broadcast in 2012.
In July 2015, Parker played the domestic bully Dicky Carmichael in the BBC’s two-part television adaptation of Sadie Jones’ debut novel The Outcast. In June 2015 it was announced that Parker would play the role of King Achish in ABC TVs series Of Kings and Prophets.

Audio and voiceover work

Parker is a voiceover artist and has done work on audiobooks, including Eoin Colfer's children's Artemis Fowl series, the five books in Charlie Higson's Young James Bond series, and The Gardens of The Dead by William Brodrick. He read Mark Haddon's novel A Spot of Bother for BBC Radio Four's Book at Bedtime and played Axel in Jules Verne's Journey to the Centre of the Earth, first broadcast on BBC Radio Four Extra on 20 November 2011 and again on 12 November 2012. He has also voiced numerous video games and made many radio appearances as an interviewee and in radio dramas. A complete listing of Parker's extensive audio work can be found online.

Personal life

Parker is married to actress Anna Patrick. The couple live in Gloucestershire with their two daughters.
Parker is also the brother of Sir Alan Parker, who runs public relations firm Brunswick Group.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre work

Unless noted otherwise, details of Parker's theatre work can be found here.
YearTitleRoleCompanyTheatreNotes
1981Richard IIIRichard IIINational Youth Theatre
1982MacbethMacbethNational Youth Theatre
1984Trumpets and Drums Captain BrazenLondon Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
1985ClawLudsbyTheatre Clwyd / MoldTheatre Clwyd / Mold
1985Trumpets and Drums Captain BrazenTheatre Clwyd / MoldTheatre Clwyd / Mold
1986Romeo and JulietTyboltYoung Vic, LondonOld Vic11.02.86
1986The GiftRoyal Shakespeare Company Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
1986The KissOliverRSC
1986-1987The Winter's TaleFlorizelRSCRoyal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, Tyne Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne, Barbican Theatre, London
1986-1987Every Man in His HumourWellbredRSCSwan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, Mermaid Theatre, London, The People's Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne
1986-1987The RoverDon PedroRSCSwan Theatre Stratford-upon-Avon, The People's Theatre Newcastle upon Tyne
1986Richard IIIHarry PercyRSCRoyal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, Tyne Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne, Barbican Theatre, London
1987The StormVanya KudryashRSCPit, London
1987A Midsummer Night's DreamLysanderRSCBarbican Theatre, London
1989The Merchant of VeniceBassanioPeter Hall CompanyPhoenix Theatre, London, 46th Street Theater, New York 01.06.1989, 20.12.1989 to 24.02.1990
1997Cargo CultBarbican Theatre02.09.1987
199950 RevolutionsOxford Stage CompanyWhitehall Theatre, London07.09.1999 to 25.09.1999
2000Speed the PlowDuke of York's Theatre, London29.06.2000 to 19.08.2000
2008Quartermaine's TermsQuartermaineBill Kenwright 2008 Ltd.Theatre Royal, Windsor; New Victoria Theatre, Woking; The Richmond Theatre, Theatre Royal, Bath, Theatre Royal, Brighton13.05.2008 to 21.06.2008
2013The AudienceGordon BrownGielgud Theatre, London15.02.2013 to 15.06.2013
2013/14Wolf HallHenry VIIIRSCSwan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon11.12.2013 to 29.03.2014
2013/14Bring Up the BodiesHenry VIIIRSCSwan Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon19.12.2013 to 29.03.2014
2014Wolf HallHenry VIIIRSCThe Aldwych Theatre, London10.05.2014 to 04.10.2014
2014Bring Up the BodiesHenry VIIIRSCThe Aldwych Theatre, London10.05.2014 to 04.10.2014
2015Wolf Hall 1 & 2Henry VIIIRSCWinter Garden Theater, New York20.03.2015 to 05.07.2015
2016This HouseJack WeatherillHeadlongMinerva Theatre, Chichester25.09.2016 to 29.10.2016
2016This HouseJack WeatherillHeadlongGarrick Theatre, London19.11.2016 to 25.02.2017