Parkinson's early roles were small parts in long-running British television series such as Dalziel and Pascoe, The Bill, and Holby City. He made his film debut in 2007 in Control, a biopic of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis in which he played the role of Tony Wilson. In 2008 he starred in the British independent film The Taxidermist, playing The Taxidermist. The film won several awards, including Palm Springs International Short Film Festival 'Best Live Action Film over 15 minutes' and Rhode Island International Horror Film Festival 'Best Short Film'.