SPELLBINDING performances on a West End stage have seen one North-East actor reach the peak of critical acclaim – despite his own parents being surprised at his career choice.

Jamie Parker, who grew up in Darlington, was named Best Actor at the 2017 Laurence Olivier Awards from a prestigious pool of acting talent, including Sir Ian McKellen.

The 37-year-old portrays wizarding hero Harry Potter, who is grown up with his own children in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – a play based on an original story by JK Rowling.

The production opened to five-star reviews at the Palace Theatre in London last summer and its cast and crew scooped a record-breaking nine awards at the Olivier Awards on Sunday night.

Father-of-one Mr Parker thanked the show’s “resolutely enchantable audience” during his acceptance speech, however his family had expected the Middlesbrough-born actor to pursue music over drama.

Mr Parker’s mother, Ann Parker, who has lived in Darlington with her husband for several decades, said: “We’re obviously very thrilled and very proud parents – I’m very pleased.”

She added: “He did go to school in Hurworth, which was the preparatory school then and then he won a musical scholarship for a school in Edinburgh.

“What a lot of people don’t know about Jamie is that he is actually very musical.

“It was actually Jamie’s wonderful sister, Emma, who performed at the Darlington Operatics Society, which myself and my husband were also part of.

“When Jamie was growing up as a little boy, he didn’t show a huge amount of interest in acting, so when he decided to pursue it, it did come as a little bit of a surprise.”

Following his schooling in Hurworth, near Darlington, and in Scotland, Mr Parker went on to train in acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) before graduating in 2002.

He starred alongside Tom Cruise and Kenneth Branagh in the 2008 historical thriller, Valkyire, before taking to the stage of Shakespeare’s Globe in London to portray Henry V.

Mr Parker recently returned to the North-East to visit his parents with his five-year-old son in February.

The West End star has firm roots in the region as the great-grandson of Alf Common, who was the first football player to be transferred for the then huge sum of £1,000 from Sunderland to Middlesbrough in 1905.

Mr Common was also known as an entertainer and Mrs Parker believes her grandfather would be proud of her son’s acting achievements.

Mr Parker’s Best Actor award contributed to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child becoming the most decorated production in the Oliviers history.

Talking about the play ahead of the ceremony hosted in London’s Royal Albert Hall, Mr Parker said: “It was like turning up and just working on a cracking new piece of writing, except with lots of toys to play with.

“It’s a joy seeing how much it means to people.”

The Olivier Awards will be broadcast on ITV1 tomorrow (Tuesday) night at 8pm.