From Shakespearean stages to sci-fi mind-benders, Hugh Parker’s career proves that craft, curiosity, and a sense of play can carry an actor anywhere—from the BBC to the far edges of space and time.
Born in Leicester, England, Hugh Parker somehow turned that beginning into a life spent on stage and screen. In 1993, he moved to London to train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, diving headfirst into three demanding years of classical and contemporary performance. Upon graduating in 1996, he secured a contract with the Royal Shakespeare Company, launching a professional career rooted in some of the finest theatrical training in the world.
After completing his time with the RSC, Hugh shifted his focus toward television, working predominantly with the BBC before eventually relocating to Australia’s Gold Coast in 2006. Since then, he has enjoyed a dynamic mix of theatre, television, film, and voice work, building nearly three decades of experience in the industry. Alongside his performing career, Hugh is also a sought-after acting coach, helping actors prepare for auditions, particularly the now-essential self-tape, whether recorded at home or in professional studios, where confidence, clarity, and craft are key.
You can see him in the movie Space/Time, reviewed here.
INFLUX: Thanks for taking some time for the interview, Hugh. Can you tell us what you are currently working on?
Parker: It’s interesting when actors are asked, what are you working on? Often it’s a project that’s just finished or one that’s around the corner. To that end, I’ve recently appeared in a stage production of Aaron Sorkin’s, A Few Good Men for Queensland Theatre Company and I spent some time on Subversion with Chris Hemsworth.
Early next year I go back into the theatre for a touring show and then … who knows? I’m more than happy to discuss projects within the US!
My most recent film is Space/Time. I hope that US audiences appreciate Space/Time as much as they have here, in Australia. It’s a high concept story told with great heart and unfolds at pace. The fractured narrative timeline teases with ideas and then draws them together at conclusion.
INFLUX: What are your hopes and goals for Space/Time?
Parker: I’d love for Space/Time to move from being a hidden gem to something more widely seen and embraced. The creative team behind the film deserves great recognition, in my opinion, for their desire and determination to, not only get this film made, but released and in the way that matches their vision. It’s a stunning achievement to realize a film, with limited means, in such a way. It punches very much above its weight.
INFLUX: What have been your greatest challenges as an actor?
Parker: The challenge for the majority of actors is keeping going. Maintaining belief and your position in an industry that can shift and change in a moment, is often something that you have no control over. There can be fallow periods where it’s easy to believe it’s all over. Retaining discipline and positivity can be key for when that next opportunity comes. In terms of the work itself, I enjoy finding my version of solving the puzzle and finding details and behaviors that add to the definition of whoever I’m portraying.
INFLUX: As you continue you your journey, what has been your most significant accomplishment?
Parker: I think even saying you want to be an actor, and then seeing that through, is an accomplishment. It’s easy to view acting as self indulgent or not a real job, but I reflect that almost everyone else, when they get home from work, watch television or movies to unwind and go back to work the next day and ask … Have you seen … ?
On a personal level I’m particularly proud of my work on stage in Harold Pinter’s, Betrayal and as Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing. On screen, I’m delighted to have worked with so many comedy greats at the BBC. Here, in Australia, I was fortunate to be a part of the series, Gallipoli, an historically significant story from WWI. I am very happy to have co-received the Ensemble Award for my role as Mallory Mallory in The Family Law.
INFLUX: Tell us about some of your past projects and where we can watch them if they’re available?
Parker: You can see me in Baz Luhrmann’s, Elvis. You can check out services like BritBox and iPlayer and find me in Black Books, The Office, 15 Storeys High and many more. And, soon, in Subversion and then Runner, with Alan Ritchson.
INFLUX: What goals to you have for yourself moving forward?
Parker: I’m always keen to learn and I delight in finding new ways to refine my work. I’d love to work on stage in the US. One opportunity to do that would be a bucket list tick.
INFLUX: What advice would you give to your younger self just starting out?
Parker: I’d say to a younger self, don’t confuse your identity and worth with your work. I’d suggest being kinder to oneself and allow much more room for failing. I’d encourage my younger self to be ok with admitting that I was good at what I do, not in some terrible, arrogant sense, but accepting the evidence of the standard of the work and what other, respected peers might say in recognition of it.
INFLUX: What would you like to tell us about your time making Space/Time that we might not know?
Parker: Oh, man! It was HOT. It was hot ALL the time. We were filming in November and December and that’s early summer in Queensland. It was a fierce season and we were, primarily, in a warehouse that the brilliant production design team made to look like multiple different spaces. But it just trapped the heat.
The director and I are huge fans of Jaws. We would find any opportunity, off camera, to use lines from the film when we were discussing the next shot or what the approach would be. The more obscure, the better. It became a good natured game of one upmanship. Before one take of a Holt (my character) monologue, I indicated my apprehension in wanting to do a good job. I said … I got not spit. Points if readers can name who says that in Jaws.
INFLUX: What was your most memorable moment on set making Space/Time?
Parker: The writers and chief creatives of Space/Time are Michael O’Halloran and Adam Harmer. They both love the kind of film they’ve made and allowed little nods to its inspiration. I was encouraged to raise my arms in a moment of scientific triumph in homage to Doc in Back to the Future. And I was indulgently allowed a James Bond cuff adjustment moment. Both appear in the film.
INFLUX: Anything else you would like to tell us about yourself?
Parker: Hopefully all of the above fills in the blanks that you need. I hope that US audiences take Space/Time to their hearts and enjoy the old school storytelling.
Want to learn more about Hugh Parker? Check out the links below!
Where to watch Space/Time: https://epic-pictures.com/film/spacetime
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0662300/
Photo Courtesy: Epic Pictures
