# Dan Paris

Daniel Paris (born 15 June 1973) is an Australian actor and photographer. He is best known for playing the role of Drew Kirk in the Australian soap opera Neighbours.

## Early life

Paris was born in Perth, Western Australia. In 1980, when he was 7, his family moved from the Perth suburb of Greenwood, to the coastal town of Esperance.
Over the years, Paris competed in various triathlons. From 1990 to 1994, he was a surf lifesaver and won the under-21 state medal in surfboat competition. In 1991 he competed with the WA swim team, and in 1998 Paris was Sports Person of the Year (swimming) in State Country Region WA.
Paris also modelled in commercials, catwalks and stills.
In 1993, Paris received his degree in accounting from Edith Cowan University in Western Australia and briefly worked for a major Australian finance company.

## Career
### Actor & presenter

Paris never aspired to be an actor. After travelling around Australia, he settled in Melbourne and while working in a bar, he attended a general audition at Grundy's without any acting experience. He secured his first role in 1998 (the role he is best known for), as Drew Kirk, who became husband to character Libby Kennedy in Australian soap opera Neighbours. Drew was killed off in a tragic horse-riding accident in 2002.
Paris continued on with guest roles in MDA and McLeod's Daughters until 2005. Paris returned to Neighbours in 2005 for a guest stint as a ghostly vision of Drew in Steph Scully's dreams.
His career successfully crossed over as an advertising host for Aqua Technics and Ashley Martin, and more recently, as a presenter on Postcards, DestinationWA, ZoomTV, Home in WA, The West Real Estate Program and WA Weekender.
Paris has hosted various natural history documentaries, and in 2007 and 2009 was a regular presenter on the travel program Postcards WA.
Paris played Mark Davies in the ABC/Matchbox television series The Heights from 2019 to 2020.

### Photographer & videographer

Paris is also a freelance landscape photographer and cinematographer, operating both Dan Paris Photography and Bauhaus Films video production.
He has produced several photography books: "Images of a Southern Coastline" (2006), "Images of a Northern Peninsula" (2007), "Leaving Footprints in Esperance" (2009) and "Esperance - A Place Less Travelled" (2014).
When work dried up at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, he turned to market gardening, using a concept known as community-supported agriculture (CSA). He operates off two hectares of land in Esperance, named 'Mystwood Harvest'.

## Personal life

Paris and his horticulturalist partner, Tanya Jenkin have two children and live in Esperance, Western Australia.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Type |
| 2020 | I Met a Girl | TV host | Feature film |
| 2022 | How to Please a Woman | Mike | Feature film |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Type |
| 1998-2002 | Neighbours | Drew Kirk | TV series, 353 episodes |
| 1999 | Live and Kicking | Self | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2003 | MDA | Nathan | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2005 | McLeod's Daughters | Renegade | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2005 | Neighbours | Drew Kirk’s ghost | TV series |
| 2007; 2009 | Postcards WA | Presenter | TV series |
| 2011–12 | The West Real Estate Program | Presenter | TV series |
| 2012 | ZoomTV | Presenter | TV series |
| 2014 | DestinationWA | Presenter | TV series, episode 2: "Albany", episode 9: "Galati Brothers" |
| 2014 | Home in WA | Presenter | TV series |
| 2014 | WA Weekender | Presenter | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2014 | Neighbours vs Zombies | Drew Kirk | TV miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 2019–20 | The Heights | Mark Davies | TV series, 60 episodes |
| 2021 | Isolation Interviews | Self | TV series |
| 2022 | Studio 10 | Self | TV series |
| 2022 | Mystery Road: Origin | Psychologist | TV series, 2 episodes |

## Theatre

| Year | Title | Role | Type |
| 2001–05 | Jack and the Beanstalk | Jack Trott | Hawth Theatre, Grand Opera House, Belfast |
| 2002–03 | Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs | The Prince | Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton |
| 2003–04 | Cinderella | The Prince | Swansea Grand Theatre |