Max Parker (actor)

Maxwell Nathaniel J Brown (born 7 February 1992), known professionally as Max Parker, is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Mikhail Tanner in the Peacock fantasy horror series Vampire Academy (2022), Luke Posner in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale (2019-2021), and Alasdair "Base" Newman in the BBC medical drama Casualty (2018–2019).

Early life and education
Maxwell Nathaniel J Brown was born on 7 February 1992 in Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, to Christine (née Kelleher) and Stephen Brown, and is the youngest out of three children. He studied at Pentleton College of Performing Arts, graduating in 2010 before studying musical theatre at Arts Educational Schools in London, which he graduated from in 2013.

Career
Parker made his stage debut as part of the ensemble cast of Barnum. In 2014, he appeared in the musical I Can't Sing! The X Factor Musical and began appearing in Matilda the Musical until 2015. In 2016, Parker portrayed Paul in Kiss Me, Kate, and starred as the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz, which earned him a nomination for Best Supporting Performance at the UK Theatre Awards. The same year, he made his acting debut as Christopher Morgan in the feature film My B.F.F.

In August 2018, Parker began appearing in the BBC One medical drama Casualty as Alasdair "Base" Newman on a recurring basis. He made his final appearance in January 2019 when his character died of a heroin overdose. He then appeared as Danny in an episode of World on Fire. In August 2019, Parker joined the cast of the ITV soap opera Emmerdale as Luke Posner, the son and brother of established characters Wendy Posner (Susan Cookson) and Lee Posner (Kris Mochrie). He had originally auditioned for the role of Jamie Tate, which ultimately went to Alexander Lincoln. He made his departure from the soap in June 2021.

In 2020, Parker appeared in two episodes of COBRA as John Cripps and played Alex in the film Love Sarah. In 2022, he starred as Mikhail Tanner in the Peacock fantasy horror series Vampire Academy and portrayed Henry Tudor in the Netflix series Blood, Sex & Royalty. In 2024, Parker is set to star alongside Miles Heizer and Vera Farmiga in the Netflix series The Corps.

Personal life
Parker is openly gay after coming out during an interview with Attitude magazine in December 2020, in which he confirmed he was in a relationship with Emmerdale co-star Kris Mochrie. They announced their engagement in January 2022.