Biography
Terry Dale Parks is a film and television actor originally from Southern Oklahoma where now owns the family ranch he grew up on which is dear to his heart since his family settled on the land in the early 1930s. His son, Coy, is named after his Grandfather who originally purchased the property where the family has farmed and raised cattle and horses for the past 80 years.
His past film and television include, Thor, Olympus Has Fallen, When The Game Stands Tall, GiJoe2, Man of the House, Friday Night Lights, Homeland, Nashville, Justified, Bonnie & Clyde, Revolution and many more
Since Terry grew up on a horse and cattle ranch, he learned to love animals and care for them so naturally nature and conservation are extremely important for him and his family. For several years he trained horses on the ranch.
His love for acting extends back to his childhood. , with few resources that were artistic in nature in his rural area, Terry relied on his imagination and love of the Carol Burnett Show and Andy Griffith for entertainment. During his 6th grade year at Pernell, the new English teacher started the Pernell Speech and Oral Interpretation Team. While most kids thought the new teacher and his team were strange, Terry was fascinated. When his older brother joined, even though he was too young to compete, Terry traveled to watch the team in action and imagined himself competing as an actor. As soon as he was eligible to join the team as a freshman, he did. By his junior year of high school, he was competing on the national level. In 1989, he placed 3rd in Humorous Interpretation at the National Forensic League's National Tournament. His love of speech continued into college at the University of Oklahoma, where he and his brother started OU's speech and debate team. Within two years, the team was ranked as one of the top five teams in the nation, with Terry winning numerous national championships in several interpretation events. Terry even taught competitive drama for a few years in Texas and several of the kids he mentored went on to become national finalists and even national champions.
After college, Terry continued to chase what fascinated him. He set his sights on film and tv work, moving all he owned out to Los Angeles in his '83 Chevy pickup. As he pursued a career in film work, he inherited the ranch where he grew up. The years in LA pursuing acting had left him a bit weary and homesick for the lifestyle on the ranch he loved so much, so he moved back to the ranch in Oklahoma started working with animals again and started an oil and gas business.
Within a few months he met a casting director while tagging along to a workshop. A few weeks later she cast him in his first feature film. He continued to build a film and television resume as well as his oil and gas business in Oklahoma for many years until the entertainment business pulled him back to the Los Angeles area.
Nowadays, Terry splits his time between the film business in LA and New Orleans, and the ranch in Oklahoma where he lives with his beloved wife, Amber, 16 month old son, Coy, two dogs, Leo and Lilly, and cat, Pearl.
