His films won nineteen BAFTA awards, ten Golden Globes and six Academy Awards. His film "Birdy" was chosen by the National Board of Review as one of the of 1984, and won the Grand Prix Spécial du Jury prize at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival. Parker was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his services to the British film industry and knighted in 2002. He was active in both British cinema and American cinema, along with being a founding member of the Directors Guild of Great Britain and lecturing at various film schools.