Before becoming an actor, Napier worked variously as an art student, factory worker and truck driver. In 1988, he moved with his wife and two children, Reuben and Jessica, to Australia, to pursue a career in acting, and has worked in theatre, film, and television productions. In his 40s, he began writing plays.
In 2002, he and his daughter, Jessica Napier, won $64,000 in the Australian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? for the "South Australian Animal Rights Group".
He has also written a play, produced in 2006 in New York's upper west side, entitled Freak Winds, which he also starred in and directed.
