Shaun Parkes
English actor (born 1973)
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Shaun Parkes (born 9 February 1973) is an English television, theatre and film actor, who is best known for his film roles as Koop in Human Traffic, Izzy Buttons in The Mummy Returns (2001), and Frank Crichlow in Small Axe. For his role in Small Axe, he was nominated for a lead actor award at the 2021 British Academy Television Awards. He also played Doctor Charles Burleigh Purvis in the miniseries Death by Lightning.[1]
Biography
At the age of 16, Parkes enrolled at Seltec College to study drama. Two years later, he was accepted into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).
Having acted in both theatre and television support roles, Parkes made his breakthrough in the 1999 film Human Traffic.[2] His work since then includes films such as Clubbed, The Mummy Returns, Things to Do Before You're 30 and the acclaimed Notes on a Scandal.
He is also well-known for his turn as Frank Crichlow, the owner of the Mangrove restaurant at the centre of Steve McQueen's film series Small Axe.[2][3] For his role in the series, he was nominated for a lead actor award at the 2021 British Academy Television Awards.[4][5]
Parkes's television work includes Lock, Stock..., Servants and Russell T Davies' Casanova and Doctor Who. Parkes also starred as the lead in BBC Two's detective series Moses Jones, with a supporting cast that included Matt Smith.[6] His most recent turns were as Detective Inspector Vince Ruiz in ITV's The Suspect, and Doctor Charles Burleigh Purvis in the Netflix historical drama miniseries, Death by Lightning.[7][8][9]
Parkes also continues to forge a career as a theatre actor. He has starred alongside David Threlfall and Neil Stuke in Joe Penhall's award-winning play Blue/Orange[10] in the West End and in Kwame Kwei-Armah's Elmina's Kitchen[11] and at Shakespeare's Globe as Aaron in Titus Andronicus.
Music
Since 2001, Shaun has been collaborating with the DJ production team AudioFly (Anthony Middleton and Luca Saporito). Together they have been working regularly on dance tracks featuring Parkes' vocals, and are planning to produce a new album.[12]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Human Traffic | Koop[13][14] | |
| 1999 | Rage | Godwin "G" | |
| 2000 | Offending Angels[15] | Zeke | |
| 2001 | The Mummy Returns | Izzy | Sequel to The Mummy |
| 2005 | Things to Do Before You're 30 | Adam | |
| 2005 | Colour Me Kubrick | Mental Patient 2 | |
| 2006 | Penelope | Reporter Outside Hospital 2 | |
| 2006 | Notes on a Scandal | Bill Rumer | |
| 2008 | Kill Kill Faster Faster | Clinique | |
| 2008 | Daylight Robbery | Yardie | |
| 2008 | Clubbed | Rob | |
| 2015 | Urban Hymn | Charlie | |
| 2018 | The Fight | Mick Bell | |
| 2019 | Trick or Treat | Clarence | |
| 2020 | The Black Emperor of Broadway | Charles Sidney Gilpin | |
| 2024 | The Radleys | Jared Copeleigh |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Casualty | Patrick Senior | Episode: "A Breed Apart" |
| 1994 | Soldier Soldier | Clive Nelson | Episode: "Poles Apart" |
| 1995 | Crown Prosecutor | Eric Jackson | Main cast, all 10 episodes |
| 1995 | Degrees of Error[16] | Mental hospital nurse | Episode 3 |
| 1995 | The Bill | Derek Leno | Episode: "Bad Pictures" |
| 1996 | Heartbeat | Errol Jones | Episode: "Giving the Game Away" |
| 1997 | Turning World | Julian Roberts | |
| 1999 | Casualty | Grant Flock | Episode: "White Lies, White Wedding" |
| 1999 | Plastic Man | Adam Okoye | ITV |
| 2000 | Lock, Stock... | Bacon | Spin-off of the film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels |
| 2001 | Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) | Charley Marshall | Episode: "Marshall and Snellgrove" |
| 2004 | Silent Witness | DI Freeman | Episode: "Body 21" |
| 2005 | Blue/Orange | Christopher | BBC 4 |
| 2005 | Casanova | Rocco | BBC |
| 2006 | Doctor Who | Zachary Cross Flane | Episodes: "The Impossible Planet" & "The Satan Pit" |
| 2006–2008 | The Inspector Lynley Mysteries | DC Winston Nkata | Main cast, series 5 and 6 |
| 2007 | Miss Marie Lloyd – Queen of The Music Hall | The Showman | BBC4 |
| 2008 | Kiss of Death | Dr Clive Morrell | |
| 2008 | Harley Street | Dr. Ekkow Obiang | |
| 2009 | Moses Jones | Moses Jones | BBC2 |
| 2009 | Small Island | Winston | BBC |
| 2010 | Chris Ryan's Strike Back | Felix Masuku | Sky 1 HD, Episode 3&4 |
| 2010 | Identity | DS Anthony Wareing | ITV1 |
| 2011 | No Ordinary Family | Frank Matthews | Episode: "No Ordinary Brother" |
| 2012 | Treasure Island | George Merry | |
| 2012 | The River | A.J. Poulain | ABC |
| 2013 | Death in Paradise | Paul Vincent | Episode: "Death in the Clinic" |
| 2014 | The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies | Paul Okebu | ITV 2-part series |
| 2016 | Silent Witness | Bennet Walker | Episode: "Life Licence" |
| 2016 | The Aliens | Truss | Mini-series, 5 episodes |
| 2016 | Line of Duty | Reynolds | Episodes: "Monsters", "The Process" & "Snake Pit" |
| 2016 | Hooten & the Lady | Clive Stephenson | Sky 1 Series |
| 2018–2019 | Lost in Space | Captain Radic | Netflix Series |
| 2019 | The Accident | Martin Harris | Mini-series, all 4 episodes |
| 2020 | Small Axe | Frank Crichlow[2][17] | Episode: "Mangrove" |
| 2022 | The Suspect | DI Ruiz | Mini-series, 5 episodes |
| 2025 | Death by Lightning | Dr. Charles Burleigh Purvis | Mini-series, 1 episode |
| TBA | Saviour | Detective Inspector Jon Creasy | Main cast[18] |
Theatre appearances
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Blue Orange | Christopher | Duchess Theatre, London[10] |
| 2005 | Elmina's Kitchen | Digger,[19] the Yardie | |
| 2006 | Titus Andronicus | Aaron, the Moor | The Globe performance of Shakespeare's classic |
| 2014 | Tiger Country[20] | Nina Raine’s play at Hampstead theatre |