In an interview with Woman’s Day last year, Chris Parker swore that he and his husband Micheal McCabe would never become fathers, but after a lot of “social pressure”, there’s now a new member of their family – a gorgeous, goofy rescue named Margot.
The new “dog dads” started looking at Trade Me and the SPCA website two months ago for an appropriately sized pet to live in their small central Auckland apartment. Eventually coming across their adorable new canine charge, whom the comedian describes as “half Papillon and half cat”.
Chris, 34, recalls, “She was perfect. Her profile picture was gorge. She was smiling with her eyes wide open and her tongue out! She was the cutest thing I’d ever seen.”
As Margot sits next to Chris, docile and quiet on the couch, occasionally jumping up to investigate something or other. The stand-up superstar continues, “She’s three years old, which means she’s in her mid-thirties in dog years. She’s grown up, so we don’t have to do the puppy thing.”
However, Chris admits he and Micheal are still working with Margot on “her little journey”.
Learning the ropes of dog dad life
He confesses, “She’s quiet in here with us, which is amazing, but if we both leave, she starts barking. And she doesn’t like other dogs at all – she just had a run-in with one of the dogs in the building and really had a go.”
The 2021 Celebrity Treasure Island winner insists Margot isn’t a “problem dog”, but he acknowledges every canine has its quirks and they’ll start training her soon.
“So much of dog ownership is realising that it’s a me-problem, not a her-problem, so I need to know what to do!”
he explains. “We need to be the dominant force in the house, so, oh, my God, I have to out-masculine this dog? Before you know it, we’ll be in full boot camp with her!”
Chris says he and Micheal had no responsibility in their lives before Margot, so they’re still getting used to being “fur fathers”.
He jokes, “Everyone has something in their lives that they love but that isn’t necessarily convenient.”
They’re learning to juggle the commitment alongside Micheal’s job as a lecturer at AUT and Chris’ haphazard comedy schedule.
He says, “It’s so irregular that I might actually be home a lot, but he’s got a full-time gig and there are moments where we realise we can’t go out because she can’t be left alone yet. It’s been a journey. We’re in the early days of it all.”
From puppy training to tour prep
This new chapter in Chris’ life coincidentally lines up with his new nationwide tour, Stop Being So Dramatic, which kicked off in Tauranga early this month and will end in Auckland on 26 July. Although he’s only performing on weekends “because that’s when people wanna go out”.
“Micheal is taking care of Margot alone for those weekends,” he says. “Otherwise, we do everything else together. We’ve got a good period of time to settle in and figure it out.”
Stop Being So Dramatic is the comedian’s greatest, cleverest work ever, he tells. He’s put everything into this show and is finally “the artist I hoped I’d be” – he even painted a backdrop for the promotional photoshoot himself!
“Usually you just book in a photographer and pick a colour, but I really wanted it to feel creative and inspired,” he shares. “On the day, I pulled this whole canvas out on my tiny deck and hand-painted it for this shoot. I felt like I was 22 again, trying to give comedy a go. To be creative takes effort and as you get older, you might not be bothered, but I want to keep impressing myself.”
Oh, and his loyal audiences too. “I don’t want them to give up on me either,” says Chris.
“I want to keep making shows that they want to see and go, ‘That’s the best one yet!’”
So Dramatic is “the show I wish I did when people first met me. I’m actually embarrassed by last year’s show because this one is so much better.”
While Chris admits that, as an openly gay man in the spotlight, he’s felt some pressure to “blend in and be a bit more palatable”, So Dramatic is about being as “loud” and “cringe” as possible.
He grins, “I hate the phrase ‘unapologetically me’, but this show is incredibly performative, vibrant, fun and joyful. It’s about embracing the cringe.”
Stop Being So Dramatic is coming to Christchurch, Kerikeri, Whangārei, Nelson, Dunedin, Wellington, Hamilton and Auckland.
Visit livenation.co.nz for tickets.
