Craig Parker

Craig Parker
Parker at the 2012 Chicago Comic Con
Born	(1970-11-12) 12 November 1970 Suva, Fiji
Nationality	New Zealand
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1987–present

Craig Parker (born 12 November 1970) is a New Zealand actor, known for his roles as Guy Warner in the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street (1992–96, 2007–08, 2020, 2023), Haldir in the Lord of the Rings films The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and The Two Towers (2002), Darken Rahl in the syndicated television series Legend of the Seeker (2008–10), Gaius Claudius Glaber in the starz series Spartacus (2010–12), and Stéphane Narcisse in the CW television series Reign (2014–17).

Career

Parker starred in the TVNZ soap opera Shortland Street as Guy Warner, a character that has made several return appearances, most recently involving a story where Guy ran off with his brother's wife, Toni, only to return months later as a drug addled loser who attempted to use his daughter to score drugs for him. It ultimately led to the death storyline of Toni Warner. He is the reigning champion of New Zealand's Celebrity Joker Poker. He made his soap debut in 1992, and last appeared in 2020.

Parker in 2012

Parker appeared as Haldir of Lórien in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy from 2001 to 2003, and as Sabas in Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009). He starred in a number of New Zealand television series, most notable Mercy Peak (2001-2004), and Diplomatic Immunity (2009). He guest-starred on Xena: Warrior Princess, Young Hercules, Sleepy Hollow, and NCIS. He also serves as narrator for New Zealand documentaries.

Parker starred as Darken Rahl in Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert's syndicated television series Legend of the Seeker. He later starred as Gaius Claudius Glaber in the Starz original series Spartacus: Blood and Sand, and Spartacus: Vengeance which premiered on 22 January 2010 and is also produced by Raimi and Tapert.

From 2014 to 2017, Parker played Lord Stéphane Narcisse in the CW period romance drama series Reign. He guest starred in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. portraying the Kree Taryan in 2018, and later had a recurring role during the first season of the 2018 reboot of Charmed playing Alastair Caine.

Personal life

His grandfather moved from Edinburgh, Scotland, to Fiji when he was stationed during his years of service in the British Army. Apart from his Scottish ancestry, Parker is also of Welsh, Danish, and English descent. Parker was educated at Glenfield College, on Auckland's North Shore.

Parker is openly gay. He came out in an interview with The New Zealand Herald in 2008.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1998	A Soldier's Sweetheart	Soldier #1
2001	No One Can Hear You	Henley
	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	Haldir
2002	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
2003	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	Gothmog / Guritz	Extra / Voice
2006	Weekend Lovers	Matt
2009	Underworld: Rise of the Lycans	Sabas

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987	Gloss	Justin Grieg	Unknown episodes
1989	Hotshotz	Nicholas
1992–1996, 2007–2008, 2020, 2023	Shortland Street	Guy Warner	Main role
1993	The Tommyknockers	Student bartender	Miniseries
1996	City Life	Seth	2 episodes
1997	2 People	Host	Unknown episodes
1997	Xena: Warrior Princess	Prince Sarpedon	Episode: "For Him the Bell Tolls"
1998	Young Hercules	Lucius	2 episodes
1999	Xena: Warrior Princess	Cleades	Episode: "The Key to the Kingdom"
1999	A Twist in the Tale	Larry Sharpe	Episode: "A Crack in Time"
2001	Xena: Warrior Princess	Bellerophon	Episode: "To Helicon and Back"
2001–2004	Mercy Peak	Alistair Kingsley	Main role, 32 episodes Nominated — New Zealand Film and TV Award for Best Supporting Actor
2003	Power Rangers Ninja Storm	Blue Face	Voice role; episode: "Prelude to a Storm"
2003	Power Rangers Ninja Storm	Mad Magnet	Voice role; episode: "There's No "I" in Team"
2003	Power Rangers Ninja Storm	Motodrone	Recurring voice role, 8 episodes
2005	Power Rangers S.P.D.	Narrator	Voice role; episode: "Beginnings: Part 1"
2008–2010	Legend of the Seeker	Darken Rahl	Main role, 25 episodes Nominated — New Zealand Film and TV Award for Best Performance by a Supporting Actor
2009	Diplomatic Immunity	Leighton Mills	Main role, 13 episodes
2010	Radiradirah	Prince John	2 episodes
2010, 2012	Spartacus	Gaius Claudius Glaber	Recurring role (season 1) Main role (season 2), 13 episodes
2011	Waitangi: What Really Happened	James Stuart Freeman	Television film
2012	Shackleton's Captain	Frank Worsley	Television film Nominated — New Zealand Film and TV Award for Best Performance by an Actor
2013	NCIS: Los Angeles	Vasile Comescu	Episode: "Reznikov, N."
2013	Sleepy Hollow	Colonel Banastre Tarleton	Episode: "The Sin Eater"
2014	NCIS	JAG Major Richard Huggins	Episode: "Shooter"
2014–2017	Reign	Lord Stéphane Narcisse	Main role (seasons 2–4), 56 episodes
2018	Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.	Taryan	2 episodes
2018–2019	Charmed	Alastair Caine	Recurring role (season 1), 11 episodes
2021	Good Trouble	Yuri Elwin	Recurring role (season 3), 6 episodes. Recurring role (season 4)

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1991	Macbeth	Malcolm
1992	Weed	Hugh
1994	The Seagull	Constantin
1997	Arcadia	Valentine Coverly
1998–99	Wind in the Willows	Mole
1999	Theatre Sports
1999	Amy's View	Dominic Tyghe
2001	Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead	Rosencrantz
2001	The Judas Kiss	Robert Ross
2002–03	The Rocky Horror Show	Narrator
2005	Serial Killers	Matt
2006	Glide Time	John
2007	The Pillowman	Katurian

External links

Media related to Craig Parker at Wikimedia Commons

• Craig Parker at IMDb