Chris Parker will tour around the country early next year with his show Gentle Man. Photo / Supplied
There's a lot comedian Chris Parker can do while multitasking.
Having won the top-rating TVNZ 2 show Celebrity Treasure Island, he kept it a secret for nine months until the show aired. He makes comedy that doubles as political news and grocery shops while on a phone interview.
There's a lot the New Zealand public still doesn't know about him, he says, speaking to essence magazine while navigating the aisles of Countdown.
The 31-year-old Aucklander will tour 13 centres around the country early next year with his show Gentle Man, performing at Tauranga's Baycourt on February 20 with his "greatest hits" of jokes.
"It's like a big introduction to me as a comedian," he says.
"So many New Zealanders have been introduced to me on Treasure Island, but haven't necessarily seen a lot of my comedy."
Referring to himself as a "giant" because he's 190cm with size 14 shoes, he's also an actor, writer, dancer, cook, radio host and fiance to his partner of nearly seven years, architect Michael McCabe.
He's also a social media favourite.
His comedy videos on Instagram are popular with his 86,500 followers, where he's tackled issues Kiwis face in lockdown by using humour to put daily struggles into perspective.
His skits have included making a joke out of bubbles tackling housework together, or frantically trying to book a hair appointment when Auckland salons reopened.
One of his videos attracted international press last month from the Daily Mail and New York Times Post, which "mortified" him, he says.
In a satirical Instagram clip, he posed as a journalist at the 1pm press conference and asked Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to answer when casual sex with strangers could resume.
Ardern responded in the comments with a shocked face emoji, with her weigh-in leaving fans bemused.
"I'm just trying to make people laugh, not make news," he says.
"No one is talking about these taboo issues but comedy can kind of go there, graciously."
His lockdown content is a "landing point" for audiences to instantly recognise him, but he doesn't want to become "co-dependent".
"I don't want my audience to just get free videos from me on Instagram. I want them to get out of their houses and support live comedy. We've got an entire industry that's been built on that, and an industry that's really hurting.
"I'm dying to get back up on stage," he says. "I think it'll be cathartic. I'm also so much better live. My videos pale in comparison."
He's performed at Baycourt once before in the show Hudson and Halls Live!; and his brother, Alex, a teacher, lives in Tauranga.
The title of his show Gentle Man describes him as someone who's "softer around the edges" and his show is a "safe space" to laugh where no one will feel attacked.
"I'm not one of those rough-and-tumble blokes. I'm not afraid of hiding my feelings, so that's all part of this show.
"The material that my work is based around is being an emotional person.
"I really think about my jokes. I don't want to be hurtful with my sense of humour. I only want to build people up and make people feel good [and] laugh. I would never outwardly try and bring people down."
He handles criticism as well as anyone does.
"Nothing is as hard as performing comedy in front of a bunch of boys at an all boys' school when I was 14 or 15. That's kind of my training ground."
He describes his humour as "very camp, obviously".
"I can't sort of strip my sexuality from that, so a lot of jokes [are] at my own expense - my own childhood, it's all out there. It's like an autobiography, live.
"I like delving into my adolescence. I think it's a very funny era of my life."
Entertaining was always in his destiny, putting on shows as a kid in his hometown of Christchurch for his parents, and dressing up in his mum's shirts.
If he could give his younger self one piece of advice, it would be to worry less about what others think.
He came out as gay in his early-20s, saying he didn't feel he had a sense of ownership over it until then.
"What my dad made me appreciate was: 'you took the time that you needed, and that was the right thing to do', so I actually think there's no proper age. You're never too late, too soon to come out. It's just whatever you feel like."
He has a close relationship with his parents, saying dad Nic taught him the art of professional perseverance and to always be a pleasure to work with.
"You could be the most talented person in the world but if you're an a***hole no one is going to work with you."
His mum Gay taught him the ability to host, "which I think has been a great transferable skill in my profession".
At 14 he knew he wanted to pursue live arts seriously and at 18 went to study at Toi Whakaari in Wellington, although at one point in his life, he wanted to be a milkman, which would've been "exhilarating".
"I love the idea of holding on to the side of the truck."
Instead, he starred in Kiwi films and TV's 7 Days, Jono and Ben, Agent Anna, Funny Girls and Have You Been Paying Attention.
He's on The Edge Breakfast show, won comedy awards and made a name for himself with his Instagram presence and on Celebrity Treasure Island, where he beat 20 other famous faces on a remote Northland beach to take the top prize of $100,000 for his chosen charity Rainbow Youth.
Next, he plans to create a stage show fully dedicated to Celebrity Treasure Island - an experience he loved but which also pushed him to his limits mentally, and was "the most challenging of my life".
And he'd love to make a gay rom-com.
"That's the dream."
Asked who would play him in a film, he didn't hesitate: "The tallest, hottest actor we've got. Maybe Jake Gyllenhaal. Like, absolutely miscast, but it's just for my own personal vanity."
An imaginative leap maybe, but then he's also sitting on top as a modern comic.
"The main success that I've had in my career so far is when I've followed my instincts and gone with my gut," he says.
"A comedian's work finds itself when they've landed themselves as a performer.
"It feels like it's really coming from them, rather than them putting it on. That takes time and experience.
"All you can really endeavour to be is yourself."
Gentle Man: Chris Parker will perform two shows at Baycourt on Sunday, February 20, 5pm and 7pm. For tickets, visit ticketek.co.nz
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