Craig on Good Morning Nz TV Show, Oct. 3, 2002
(Transcribed by Jmsstyxnyes to the best I could understand them.)
The host was Kerri, someone Craig had worked with on the Nz Tv show "Gloss" from 1989.
Video captures from this interview are at the bottom of the page.
Host: Welcome back. Well, my next guest became a household name during his role on 'Shortland Street' as Guy Warner. Although I remember him many years earlier from 'Gloss'. Craig Parker is now one of the stars of the very popular 'Mercy Peak' and he joins me now. Welcome.
Craig: Thank you.
Host: It's great to have you here.
Craig: It's lovely to see you.
Host: 'Gloss'
Craig: It was the best show ever, wasn't it? (laughs)
Host: (laughs)
Craig: Great, sutle acting, great sutle costumes, good hair.
Host: Good hair.
Craig: Good hair.
Host: Great hair. I remember yours, you remember mine? You've moved on since. 'Mercy Peak'.
Craig: (laughs)
Host: You're going through a torrid time at the moment?
Craig: Yes, Alistair, well, Alistair finally getting some. He hasn't for a long time, so, um, it's causing some drama.
(showing clip from 'Mercy Peak' of Alistair telling Wayne of his affair)
Host: Is this the great confessional scene here in the pub?
Craig: Gorgeous, there was one stage, she (actress who plays Amanda in 'Mercy Peak', and is real life wife to actor who plays Ken(Tim Balme) the cop on 'Mercy Peak') and Tim have a recently new baby, she's a couple of years old, and Tim and um, Ellie...Edlie...Edie (he stutters out the name) Edie, God sorry...sorry...
Host: Eddie, the baby's name. Eddie.
Craig: They arrived while we were shooting. At one point I was standing totally naked, with a counter protecting modesty and um, Katie (actress who plays Amanda on Mercy Peak) was in her underwear getting changed and we looked out the window and there was Tim and Eddie going (waving and smiling) 'hello', waving at mummy working.
Host: What a life you actors have.
Craig: Very strange, I don't know what she'll think of her parents as she grows up.
Host: Does it help in scenes like that, I mean, you know Katie so well?
Craig: Yeah, you have to cause it's so ridiculous. You're romping around, rolling on someone with no clothes on with 20 people in the room and cameras. So...
Host: Yeah, 'do this, do that, get a little closer'
Craig: 'Get a bit closer', and you're doing this (moves around a bit) and you have to stand like this, and cover bits here and there's bits of tape stuck on things, so it's not very sexy, not very romantic.
Host: Not very romantic. Not terrible sexy. But, hey, what's going to happen, are you allowed to tell us? Because she's sorta moved out of town now.
Craig: Yes, yes, she went mad and burnt the farm and left. So, um, I'm sure it's not the last we've seen of her. Ahhh.
Host: She's such a good character.
Craig: She's fabulous, yeah.
Host: Are you enjoying the series?
Craig: Love it. It's, um, totally biasly I say this, but I think it is one of the best series we've made. Um, the writing is beautiful, it's shot well, it's a dream to go to work and you're working with actors that can do it every day. I do much, myself, with Jeffrey Thomas and Sara and we've got a new character coming next series, Angela, Helen is the character from Canada. Beautiful.
Host: Great going to work everyday. Did you always want to act?
Craig: Um, I think so. I, um, from school anyway, from college I did. I've never really done anything else.
Host: Did you do a lot of school plays?
Craig: Yeah I did, terrible school plays, I was talking to mum and dad the other day about them having to come and see dreadful productions.
Host: Were you bit of a show off?
Craig: No, I was actually remarkably shy, but the drama was one area where I felt confident and could show off, I was a geek.
Host: Any musicals?
Craig: Uh, no. I'm about to do a musical. I'm about to do Rocky Horror, but I'm the non singing part.
Host: You're the narrator, right?
Craig: I'm the narrator, I don't sing.
Host: At all?
Craig: Naw, I think I was in one school musical, but I didn't really have a lot to sing.
Host: You've done so much in a very short period of time, is there any one role that you prefer over another? You've done a lot of stage work.
Craig: Um, they're so different, I adore doing stage, but you have to leave home at six at night, on a cold winter's night and go in the theatre. Um, but it's wonderful to do, the theatre, television, you turn up in the daytime and you get paid a lot more than you do in theatre and um, that's good for other reasons. So, um...don't know really...
Host: You seem to be always in work.
Craig: Luckily, so far, yeah.
Host: Have there been any lean times for you?
Craig: Um, many years ago, I think just after 'Gloss', I worked with G. Ling (?), she was maitradee'ing a restaurant. I worked as a waiter for the six months. Which I was terrible at. (looks into camera) Sorry if I dropped food on you.
Host: It's all character building.
Craig: All character building.
Host: How hard is it? You've been lucky, you've been in work...
Craig: Yeah
Host: Pretty regular work. But to really make a living out of professional acting in this country.
Craig: If you, I don't know, I've always been lucky, and I know a lot of people who do make a good living out of it, I do voice overs and I do theatre and television, I do everything.
Host: You just do everything, what, to survive?
Craig: To survive, and also cause they're fun to do. I do comedy stuff, it's great fun to do.
Host: 'Theatre Sports'...
Craig: 'Theatre Sports', I haven't done that in a while, but I use to do that a lot. And I think all that stuff, you learn from.
Host: I was gonna say, 'Theatre Sports' has to be a prime example. You must... it must develop your craft.
Craig: Yes, otherwise you die terribly in front of people.
Host: You would.
Craig: And also I think, it's not an industry to have an ego in. If you think you're fabulous cause you're an actor, you're gonna die. No one's gonna...they're gonna be bored with you and say ' get out of here', so...
Host: Having said that, it's very refreshing to hear you say that. I mean, you were very young ...
Craig: But I had good training, I had you, Kerri. And Lanna (?) and Peter and Simon, you guys were... when I started 'Gloss' you guys were superstars and I was 17 or something riduculous and you behaved like human beings, you treated people well and that was my learning I think. So I do sometimes worry that there is not that education, you learn in theatre how to behave. How to behave on set. I wonder if that's still happening, I don't know.
Host: Did you learn in terms, I mean you're profile was huge, you were very very young. How did you cope with that, you were so popular?
Craig: Um, I everyone, you become famous and for a week you think it's fantastic. And then after that, it's this annoying thing, so you get over it.
Host: And now, of course, 'Lord of the Rings'. How fabulous was that?
Craig: It was so wonderful to work on, it was beautiful, I'm in the film for like half a second, but um...
Host: And where did you see the first completed movie? Was it actually at the premier here in New Zealand?
Craig: Yes, it was a cast and crew screening before the premier, but um, the movie's fantastic and I would have made coffee on it.
Host: Yeah, just to be part of it.
Craig: Yeah.
Host: Are you in the second one?
Craig: Yes.
Host: And the third?
Craig: Ah, no, no, I get it in the second. I think I'm allowed to say that.
Host: (laughs) You've given that away.
Craig: Yes.
Host: We look forward to the second one. As indeed we look forward to each and every week of 'Mercy Peak'. Good Luck with it, you are doing great work.
Craig: Thanks Kerri.
Host: Lovely to see you.
