At 16, Parkes enrolled at Seltec College to study drama. Two years later, he was accepted into RADA. Having acted in both theatre and television support roles, Parkes made his breakthrough in the 1999 film Human Traffic. 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. Television work includes Lock, Stock..., Servants and Russell T Davies' Casanova and Doctor Who.
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.
Parkes continued 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, in the West End and in Kwame Kwei-Armah’s Elmina's Kitchen and at Shakespeare's Globe as Aaron in Titus Andronicus. Parkes also starred as the lead in BBC Two's detective series Moses Jones, with a support cast that included Matt Smith.
