Leverage Profile – Parker

Name: Parker (Played by Beth Riesgraf) – whether it’s her real name or if she has any other names is unknown.

Role: Security Circum. Infiltration and Alter. Thief

Physical Attributes:

Caucasian Female / Long blonde hair / Slim lithe frame / Mid20s, same age as Hardison (KFM)

Here’s a Season 1 character video recap of Parker from TNT:

More about Parker below:

Special Abilities:

• Designs her own ziplines and harnesses that she uses to leap off buildings with (1×01)
• Master pickpocket – can lift just about anything from anyone. Finds it very difficult to not be good at her job, even when the situation calls for her to intentionally be so (2×05)
• Expert lock picker, whether with tools, pins, voice activated systems (1×01), thumbprint activated systems (1×12),  using key imprinting devices (2×01), or disarming alarms (2×04). Teaches a little girl to pick a lock in 6 seconds (1×07) and has a lock picking contest with a fellow thief (2×07)
• Loves using plastic explosives when lock picking doesn’t work (1×08)
• Creative and good at improvising – able to infiltrate any place with just the tools around her (aluminium foil, ice, dark eyeshadow and gum in the First David Job, 1×12) and while others do crosswords, she plans raids for leisure (1×12). She’s able to assess a place very quickly, like the Juan bank building takes 42 seconds to break in and break out (1×05)
• Limber and flexible, able to crawl through small spaces (1×03) or navigate laser beam security by flipping gymnastically (1×12, 2×07), or even flip over and dangle out of  sight under a bridge (2×06) – also means she has very strong fingers (2×15)
• Some fighting skills, able to defend herself (1×06). Eliot has been teaching her more on how to fight MMA style, as she’s able to take Hardison down (2×02)
• Very knowledgable about diamonds – knows all the precious ones out there and their qualities, how they are marked and how to fence them (2×08)
• Has a photographic memory of faces, and able to draw a good portrait of them, when she recalls the face of a would-be assassin she only catches a glimpse of (2×04)
• Great head for figures, as she does algebra in her head for Nate and Hardison when assessing the time it would take for the car to reach the next traffic camera on the road (2×10). She also uses complex equations in her break-in planning (3×04)
• A decent photographer as she takes the pictures of Tara for the fake magazine cover (2×10). Funny thing is that Beth Riesgraf is a pretty well known photographer in real life as well.
• Speaks Spanish, as she yells over the phone very fluently in a con, much to Hardison’s surprise (2×14)
• Expert car thief who learnt to jack cars from the age of 12 from a fellow orphan in foster care. Was caught when her partner abandoned her and spent 6 months in juvie. Before that, she was a getaway car driver. Also seems to be enough of a grease monkey that she can tweak Eliot’s car’s engines for more power  (3×08).
• Can tell the length of a pipe just by listening to the echo of her voice (3×16)

 

Quirks:

• The general opinion of Parker is that she is insane, or at least slightly crazy - to quote Eliot, ’20 pounds of crazy in a 5 pound bag’ (1×01). Here’s one of my favourite scenes with Eliot and Sophie which shows that:

• An orphan like Hardison, but had a bad time in the foster care system. Particularly sympathetic towards orphans and can identify one by the way they act (1×06). Used to live in Kansas City (1×01) and Camden, Illinois a year before that (1×03)
• Fearless about jumping off buildings or any high places (1×01), can be considered reckless and tends to go rogue (1×11)
• Speaks her mind, very straightforward and finds it hard to lie, even if it’s about how badly Sophie acts on stage (1×04).
• Doesn’t like stuff, but loves money and keeps it all in a Swiss Bank Account (1×02). Her favourite are non-sequential bills which she sorts out and sniffs (3×14)
• Has an odd habit of sniffing new things, like the antidepressant pills in the 12-Step Job (1×10) and Maggie (1×13)
• Has a certain set way of walking, like she’s determinedly headed in a particular direction
• Not particularly modest, strips off her top without thought when Eliot and Hardison are around (1×01, 1×12)
• Irrational dislike of Horses because she saw a clown kill a horse (a guy dressed as a horse) when she was young. Likens them to Zebras that bite and never let go. Realizes they’re not so scary after encountering Kentucky Thunder in an enclosed space. (1×03)
• Eats fortune cookies for breakfast, just the cookies, not with milk like cereal (1×09). Cereal is her favourite snack (KFM), it seems to be the only food she keeps in her hose (3×04)
• Socially awkward, though well meaning, sometimes she just says the wrong things at the wrong time! (2×04)
• Doesn’t like magic and magic tricks, though she does end up as the magic assistant when Nate plays magician! (2×06)
• Once had friends bury her alive in a wooden box to get over her fear of the dark. (2×06) The team is rather horrified.
• The first scam she learnt was the Mona Lisa Scam, which was invented by Sophie and her then-partner Stark (2×07)
• Doesn’t like people touching her, especially men. She stabs the mark with a fork when he comes too close in The Stork Job (1×06) and breaks a guy’s fingers when he puts his hand on her thigh (2×08). She does hug Sophie when she returns in the Maltest Falcon job (2×15), much to Sophie’s surprise
• Has never been caught by Nate in his previous role as insurance investigator (KFM)
• Thinks Tara Cole is hot, much to everyone’s suspicious stares (2×10)
• Has fond memories of breaking Glen-Reeder Prestige safes from the 20s (2×11)
• Doesn’t like psychics, they freak her out (2×13), especially when one does a cold read on her and rakes up unpleasant childhood memories which make her cry.
• Apparently sleeps better upside down, even if hanging like a bat in an elevator shaft. One has to wonder though if this was just something Sophie made up when describing her escape plan to Nate, or something Parker actually has told her before. (3×01)
• Never went to high school (3×02)
• Has 6 dummy addresses (1 in central square), but actually lives in the middle of a warehouse, secured by a keypad security system where the password now is apparently Sophie’s actual name (XXXX72, but KFM claims it’s not!). Her ‘room’ is a large bed with her favourite childhood toy bunny on it, surrounded by various shelves filled with items for breaking and entering, as well as a whole shelf of cereal. (3×03)
• Claims to have been a cat burglar since she was 10 years old. Maybe 9. (3×06)
• Likes Pinatas (3×07). Is especially horrified when Eliot rips off the head of the one she’s playing with.
• Has crazy ass scary driving skills, hitting 140mph in a sedan! Sophie tells her to never drive again (3×07). All this is probably a result of her learning to drive as a getaway car driver before she even turned 12. (3×08)
• Loves the Christmas season and still believes that Santa exists and lives in the North Pole (3×14)

 

Relationships:

• Kansas City Foster Father - In a flashback in the Nigerian Job (1×01), he is shown slapping her foster mother and taking Parker’s bunny toy, threatening Parker to either be a good girl or a better thief. Parker is shown blowing up that house, whether he is in the house is unknown (KFM).
• Kansas City Foster Mother - In the same flashback (1×01), her foster mother is slapped for allowing her to get her bunny. Whether or not she is in the house when Parker seemingly blows it up is unknown. (KFM)
• Father - Unknown fate, but Parker laughs hysterically when Sophie asks her to think of his death (1×09)
• Deceased Brother – Was knocked down by a car while cycling when they were both children. Probably younger than Parker since she taught him to cycle, unconfirmed if he’s her real or foster sibling. To this date, Parker feels guilty about his accident (2×13)
• Hardison – Seems to be romantically interested in him – opens up to him about her childhood and fears in the Stork Job (1×06). She actually does kiss him (fake make out) in a con in the First David Job (1×12). She drops a broad hint for him to look for her when they split up at the end of the Second David Job (1×13), though it seems like he didn’t manage to find her until the team reunited in Season 2 (2×01). They flirt a lot more in Season 3, making out again for a con (3×01) and even sharing a slow dance (3×02). She tries to confess her feelings for him in The Double Blind Job (3×05), but ends up talking about Pretzels instead, though Hardison seems to understand anyway. She tells Hardison she’s in the mood for pretzels in The Big Bang Job (3×15)
• McSweeten (1×07, 2×04) – a CIA agent she encounters twice when posing as Agent Hagen. He’s quite smitten by her and takes pains to try to flirt with her and get to know her better.
• Apollo (2×07) – a fellow infiltration expert like herself whom she encounters during the Two Live Crew Job. They seem friendly enough, giving each other advice on bird distraction choices, and compete with each other to see whose stealing and lock-picking skills are better.

• Archie Leach (3×03) – The world’s greatest thief before Parker, her mentor, now retired. He took her in when she tried to pick his pocket 12 years ago in NYC, and taught her everything he knew about being a thief. He has his own family, but regards Parker almost like his own daughter, and calls her ‘Kiddo’. Parker is very attached to him, even risking her life to beat an ‘unbeatable’ security system so she could rescue him when his family was put in danger.
• Kelly (3×08) – He was 16 when Parker was 12, and they met in the foster care system. He taught Parker how to jack cars, and were partners, till one day he abandoned her when the cops came. Parker was put in Juvie for 6 months and never saw him again.
• Unknown (3×08) – Partner in crime who Parker was a getaway driver for at the age of 11
• Josie Martin (3×08) – “Shorty”, a young girl who tries to fit in with the car jacking crew but always gets belittled. Parker seems to see herself in the girl and tries to stop her from getting involved with the takedown, though Josie ends up selling the Leverage team out instead. However, she does help them in the end, and Parker and Nate help her find a job with their client’s landscaping business instead.

 

Past Jobs:

• Present Day – Stealing a painting from a Monaco museum when Hardison calls her back to Leverage (1×02)
• Present Day – Stole the Hope Diamond between S1 and S2 and returned it because she was bored (2×01)
• 2005 – Stole the Lion of Gilgamash(?) from Dubai (3×14)
• 2003 – Stole the Carravagio(?) from Paris (1×01)
• Unknown – Wanted in 9 countries including Brazil and Yemen (1×13)
• Unknown – Stole diamonds from the French National Bank, considers it as easy as stealing candy from a baby (1×12)
• Unknown – Stole the Polar Star (2×08)
• Unknown – Stole the Gem of Gibraltar (2×08)
• Unknown – Stole the Domiani Ray (2×08)
• Unknown – Stole the Rosalind Diamond in Perth (2×08)
• Unknown – Stole a suitcase from a guy in a bar by breaking his fingers (2×08)
• Unknown – Stole a Ming dynasty vase from a Hong Kong billionaire’s private collection (3×12)
• Unknown – Stole the 16th Century Enamel Jewelry Box, where she was chased by 16 angry henchmen through the Garden of Versailles (3×12)
• Unknown – Stole the Star Sapphire from Prague (3×14)
• 5 years ago - Stole the dagger of Aqu’abi from the museum of Boston (3×11), the same item that the rest of the Leverage team was after before they got together. She outsmarted Hardison, but dropped the dagger when being chased up an airwell.
• 12 Years Ago – Tried to pick Archie Leach’s pocket in NYC (3×03)
• Unknown - Stole a car with an unknown partner and was the getaway driver. She was younger than 12! (3×08)

 

Known Disguises/Aliases:

• Lame/Injured Pierson Aviation Employee (1×01)
• FBI Agent (1×01)
• Policewoman (1×02)
• Congress Employee (1×02)
• Kentucky Derby Club Waitress (1×03)
• Construction Worker (1×04)
• FBI Special Agent Elmore (1×05)
• Hardison, Cocktail waitress, Exchange Student from America (1×06)
• Linka, Production assistant on movie set (1×06)
• CIA Special Agent Hagen, fresh out of Quantico (1×07, 2×04, 3×13, 3×14)
• Seamstress in charge of bridal outfits and bridesmaid (1×07)
• Flight Attendant (1×08)
• Skier stuck on ski lift (1×09)
• Elisa Baldez, Terminally ill patient with inoperable brain tumour (1×09)
• First Sunshine Bank employee (1×09)
• Rose, Kleptomaniac in Second Act Rehab (1×10)
• Alice White, Juror #6 (1×11)
• Party Guest at Blackpooke gallery event (1×12)
• Receptionist at Private airport (1×12)
• Blackpoole Gallery Visitor (1×13)
• Baggage Counter Assistant at Blackpoole Gallery (1×13)
• Missionary Nun (2×01)
• Detective Costigan, Massechusetts State Police (2×01)
• Golf Caddy (2×02)
• Production Company Assistant (2×02)
• Nurse (2×03)
• Binky, newly wed yuppie (2×04)
• Cindy McAllen, Caspergill Nightly News Reporter (2×05)
• Kara, Audience and Volunteer to Cronos’s magic show (2×06)
• Clea, Magician’s Assistant (2×06)
• Cocktail Waitress (2×07)
• Boston Police Officer (2×07)
• Sheila, the Iceman’s girlfriend (2×08)
• OSHA(?) employee (2×08)
• Lizzy Cantrall/Gilbert, long lost Kimball heir and Meth addict (2×09)
• Pool Cleaning Girl (2×10)
• New England Fashion Week Employee (2×10)
• Andre V Runway Model (2×10)
• McRory’s Bar Waitress (2×11)
• Jimmy Ford’s Niece (2×11)
• Luver(?), Ukranian Internet Girlfriend (2×12)
• American Embassy of Ukraine Party Guest (2×12)
• ‘Making Contact’ Studio Audience (2×13)
• MetroEast Community Media (2×13)
• Peggy Marwood, supposedly pregnant fling of the Boston Mayor (2×14)
• FBI Agent (2×14)
• The Governor Hotel Chambermaid (2×15)
• Wheelchair-bound Girl (2×15)
• Lawyer (3×01)
• Senator Camp’s Extra Marital Affair (3×01)
• Lester Berrington Jones’ slutty secretary Fiona (3×01)
• Kathy, Dubertech cleaning crew (3×02)
• Catering waitress at High School Reunion (3×02)
• Badger, Radford High School Mascot (3×02)
• Wakefield Agricultural Corporation Employee, Cubicle 27 (3×03)
• Kathy, Raines Concert Hall cleaning crew (3×04)
• Laurie Sprang, new Pallagen Pharmaceuticals salesperson, Iowa state graduate, cheerleader and ex-2nd runner up for Miss Iowa pageant (3×05)
• Saddlebag Saloon Patron (3×06)
• Icelandic Pop Star (3×06)
• Fitness Instructor (3×07)
• Alexandra, new employee at Financial Support Associates (3×07)
• FBI Agent (3×07)
• Danielle, Master Car Thief (3×08)
• Rebecca Spang, Campaign Consultant for Debra Pierce (3×10)
• Cocktail Waitress (5 years prior to 3×11)
• Logan International Airport Luggage Handler (3×12)
• Claridges Auction House Employee (3×12)
• Alice, the sexy tomboy who ends up dead (3×13)
• Regency Square Mall Elf Assistant (3×14)
• Congresswoman’s Assistant (3×15)
• Department of Defence Research Lab Tech (3×15)
• San Lorenzo Citizen (3×16)
• San Lorenzo TV Station Crew (3×16)

 

Quotes:

“My money is not in my account. That makes me cry inside. In my special. angry. place.” – 1×01, to Nate when she finds out she hasn’t been paid for the Pierson job

“Is she injured? In the head?” – 1×01, about Sophie’s Macbeth performance

“I already forgot your names” - 1×01, after the Pierson and Bering jobs

“Looks like Parker’s going to have to crawl through the air duct again. God forbid anyone else will have to crawl on their stomach in a freaking tiny space. It’s not rocket science people.” – 1×02, seemingly to herself as she goes to look for Kentucky Thunder, forgetting everyone can hear her on the commes as Eliot reminds her.

“Don’t be silly. Horses are a lot less murderous than I originally thought.” – 1×02,  after meeting Kentucky Thunder

“Last night was awesome. It was like a horror movie. ATTENTION MUST BE PAIIIIID.” – 1×04, to Sophie about her latest play performance

“Hey, illegal downloading is wrong.” – 1×05, to Hardison when he complains about taking an hour to torrent Dr Who

“Sometimes, bad guys are the only good guys you get” – 1×05, to Derrick Clark in the bank deposit chute

“We put these kids in the system and odds are, they’re gonna, they’re gonna turn out like me.” – 1×06, to Hardison about why she doesn’t want to save the orphans

“Why’d you think I had to let out the waist? To make you look less skinny?” – 1×07, to the bridesmaid Cindy when she asks if the dress makes her look fat

“I pretended I was drunk, and we were meeting down there to have sex.” – 1×07, what Parker tells Hardison her excuse was to escape Sergei in the screening room.

“Look, flying isn’t really all that scary when you think about it. I mean, there are a lot more likely ways to die than on a plane: car crash, house fire, electrocution, drowning, auto-erotic asphyxiation. I mean, fact is, death haunts us every day, no matter where we are.” – 1×08, to Marisa who’s afraid of flying.

“In the event of a water landing, your seat cushion can be used as a flotation device. But let’s face it, if this thing goes down in the water, more than likely, the impact will kill you. Please take a moment to locate the nearest mergency exits, because if this plane is on fire, you’re gonna wanna get out quick. Jet fuel burns at over a thousand degrees. That’s hot folks.” – 1×08, Parker’s pre-flight announcement

“Don’t I just make believe I’m dying?” – 1×09, to Sophie who tells her she needs to prep for her role as a terminally ill patient

“I didn’t mean to. It was just instinct. I accidentally stole it from the man in the hall.” – 1×10, sheepishly to Nate after instinctively pickpocketing the Korean mobster in the hallway

“That one’s really cute. What’s wrong with that one? It looks like a dog in a baby suit.” – 1×11, about a fellow juror’s grandchildren

“I put a razor blade in that apple. But you know what doesn’t have a razor blade in it? This orange. Don’t you want it?” - 1×11, to Eliot while Sophie is trying to teach her to use persuasion techniques. BEST. SCENE. EVER. Check out the video above if you haven’t already!

“Oh sweet mercy, cooked flesh. Can we have fastfood everytime we make the bad guys go away?” – 1×11, as she tucks into a burger after being vegetarian for a week.

“Give me 3 days of prep and it’ll be like taking diamonds from the French National Bank. That’s like taking candy from a baby. A very easy thing to do.” -1×12, in emphasis, to Hardison in the security van.

“We should pretend to make out.” – 1×12, to Hardison while breaking into the vault to steal the First David.

“Let’s see how hard you look.” – 1×13, to Hardison as the team splits up after the Second David Job.

“I think people are like locks. Really complicated and frustrating. But you can’t force them. You have to take time and be fiddly. You learn to be patient and just wait until you hear the…” – 2×01, to Hardison in the vault when he confesses that he did look for her in the 6 months apart.

“What are the odds that Eliot’s crotch will actually explode?” - 2×01, to Hardison after he tells Eliot that the gum bombs in his pants are only ‘mostly safe’.

“I’m old Nate and I live here too!” – 2×01, in the voice of old Harlan Leverage when they shift his portrait into Nate’s apartment.

“It’s ok, we all do stupid things sometimes.” – 2×04, awkwardly patting the hand and trying to be comforting to the client

“Eric with a ‘C’, nice and friendly; Erik with a ‘K’, evil. Everybody knows that” - 2×06, very solemnly to Nate when he asks if it matters how the mark’s name is spelt.

“People in that line of work tend to be highly unstable. We can use that. Write that down” – 2×07, to Eliot who is taking notes on the anti-Leverage team about her counterpart Apollo

“Jimmy who? You have a body in Nate’s closet?!” – 2×08, to Sophie when she tells her to look for her emergency Jimmy Choos in Nate’s storage closet

“And in the parking lot, the diagonal lines are painted with poison!” – 2×08, in continuation to Eliot’s line about the woman’s lungs being a parking lot.

“Maggie is the most honest person we know. But other than that she’s ok.” – 2×12, to Tara in response to whether Maggie could be the thief

“It’s your first time being a fugitive so I made you a bag.” – 2×12, to Maggie when she’s released from the Kiev jail

“Cut off his arms. And his head. I want to kill him. Can we make that happen?” – 2×13, in reference to the fake-psychic Rand who makes her cry

“He who looks for stolen money shall find it, if he is also a thief.” – 2×13, in response to Hardison’s fortune cookie proverb

“It’s like a long metal coffin… with wind.” – 2×15, to Tara about abseiling down the building shafts

“Break into a high school? I could do that blindfolded… yeah let’s do it blindfolded.” – 3×02, when Nate proposes breaking into Duberman’s Roman Room.

“What’s Sexting?” – 3×03, something Parker asks Eliot, in reference to her .

“Oh, you know, thief stuff.” - 3×03, her response to Nate when he asks her what she and Archie talked about.

“Dr Neeson, I’m Laurie. I’ve got great drugs, do you want some?” - 3×05, in her cover as a sales trainee, Parker has to come up with a sales pitch. Her second attempt is marginally better “I love Vioplex, it makes you happy and not hungry and you sleep better, do you want some?”

“So. The thing is. I think that. Maybe I might be. Having feelings. Weird, weird feelings f… for.. … pretzels.” – 3×05, in her ‘confession’ of her feelings to Hardison after seeing him with Ashley. Hardison kindly tells her that the ‘pretzels’ are right then when she wants them. Aw!

“I don’t think I’m being weird enough” – 3×06, when Nate asks her how she’s doing in her part as the eccentric Icelandic pop star. Nate chuckles and says he doubts that.

“Let’s go steal a Woo-woo!” – 3×07, to Nate, gleefully, on the prospect of stealing a train.

“Ignore the distractions, work the problem.” – 3×08, that’s how Parker concentrates and tells other people to concentrate.

“(mock falsetto) I got hit by a car! (annoyed) GET OVER IT!” – 3×08, to Eliot who’s bitching her out for upsetting the plan and him getting hit by a car.

“GET OUT OF THE WAY YOU OLD BAT!” - 3×08, Parker’s angry driving cussing that she used when she was 11 and now.

“(mocking Eliot) You don’t throw crowbars at people! (annoyed) I coukld have just tasered him!” – 3×09, to Eliot who’s bitching her out for throwing a crowbar and hitting him in the head.

“What? What do you guys do on your weekends.” – 3×09, to everyone when Parker starts reeling off various bank security features

“What we need… Ghosts.” – 3×10, to Sophie when she tells her that they need to spook the mark.

“Stealing souls is exhausting.” – 3×10, to Hardison who asks her why she’s taking a nap in his van

“Oh Hello, last time I saw you was at the Louvre. Well, you were at the back seat of my car. But before that you were at the Louvre.” - 3×12, to herself when she spots a familiar statue in the storage units of Claridges.

“Bird head. And I think he’s smirking at me.” – 3×12, to Nate when asks her what head the Egyptian statue she is holding has.

“Or maybe she’s his little imaginary Italian friend. Like Pinocchio.” – 3×13, about Nate not letting them meet the Italian.

“Well, remember that time I was the carrot and I stabbed somebody?” - 3×13, to Nate when he asks her to be the Carrot in the Carrot and Stick con. She’s referring to The Stork Job when she stabbed the mark with a fork.

“You know, I’m really starting to like tasing people. Is that a problem?” – 3×13, to Eliot and Hardison, after she tases the mark. Eliot grabs the taser from her in irritation.

“Everything blows up, silly.” – 3×15, to Hardison who tries to tell her that not everything blows up

“You know what I’m in the mood for?… Pretzels!” – 3×15, to Hardison after they blow up the EMP bomb.

“I can climb skyscraper, I can walk up a mountain” – 4×01, to Nate who asks if she can climb a mountain

Bonus!

Here’s a funny video for IF Magazine which features Beth Riesgraf in a spoof, pretending to be a crazy actress with crazy ideas for Parker in S2

And if you want any more indication why Beth Riesgraf is the most apt person to play Crazy Parker, this is the woman who named her son Pilot Inspektor. ’nuff said.