He is growing an international audience. Having already toured the new show (Stop Being So Dramatic!) through Australia, he’ll head back to Melbourne, then London and Edinburgh in August.
Like a lot of Kiwi comedians right now, he is finding himself pulled towards Australia.
“Someone asked me earlier today like, why are New Zealand comedians doing so well in Australia now? And I think because there’s a hunger to be where the opportunity is.”
Parker says he’s never really felt the pressure of New Zealand’s “tall poppy syndrome”.
“I think it is real, but I also think it could be a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy.
“The more we talk about it, the more it becomes real. I feel like there’s a generation of people that do believe in local talent and do want us to succeed.
“But oh no, we’re humble people and we have tall poppy syndrome.
“We gas up our friends, and we are supportive of our own industry and we create amazing talent, who we are proud of. I’m gonna end tall poppy syndrome by just saying it doesn’t exist!”
Parker says a lot of New Zealanders don’t realise how big comedy stars – like Urzila Carlson and Guy Montgomery – are in Australia now.
Carlson is performing on the steps of the Sydney Opera House in December.
“It’s unbelievable. That’s like a spot for Kylie Minogue,” he says.
Parker now finds himself part of that wave of successful comedy exports.
But he certainly spent some time on the poverty line when he was first finding his way in the entertainment industry.
“I’ve been on WINZ. So I was pretty broke then too,” he says.
While he knew his parents were always there as a backstop, he wanted to commit to acting and felt he needed to make his own way.
“[I needed] to take accountability for it myself,” he says.
Parker describes his own upbringing on the leafy streets of Christchurch in the 1990s, as quite privileged.
His father worked hard, but had a good job as an accountant with Tait Electronics, he says.
In fact, his dad still manages his finances.
Not having to deal with poverty growing up has given him a very relaxed attitude to money, he says.
“I’m definitely a spender. I’ve noticed that a lot of people, will message me and say: Should I buy this? Because they know I’m going to say yes.”
He always worked. As a child, he remembers his first job was sweeping up leaves outside the CBS Bank on Riccarton Rd.
“Which is like a job you’d give like Oliver Twist,” he says.
“But I was committed to it. I got paid $10 cash a week to sweep the leaves outside the bank while my dad sat in the car and watched me.”
He’s also worked in hospitality – which he says should be compulsory, like military conscription.
“Because you grow respect for people who work in the hospitality industry,” he says.
“You can always clock when someone hasn’t worked hospo, the way they click their fingers at waiters. It should be conscription, an army of trained barristers!”
But ultimately, Parker was always focused on the arts as a career.
If there was a “Plan B” of sorts, it’s the career he has now, he says.
He originally set out to be an actor, training at Wellington Toi Whakaari drama school.
“I think if you work in the arts in this country, plan B becomes plan A. So you find multiple strings to the bow. You cannot just do one thing, you have to have multiple skills.”
Listen to the full episode to hear more from
Money Talks is a podcast run by the NZ Herald. It isn’t about personal finance and isn’t about economics - it’s just well-known New Zealanders talking about money and sharing some stories about the impact it’s had on their lives and how it has shaped them.
The series is hosted by Liam Dann, business editor-at-large for the Herald. He is a senior writer and columnist, and also presents and produces videos and podcasts. He joined the Herald in 2003.
Money Talks is available on iHeartRadio, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
