Chris Barrie

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For the Australian admiral, see Chris Barrie (admiral). For the director, see Christopher Barry.

Chris Barrie
Barrie in 2009
Born
Christopher Jonathan Brown

(1960-03-28) 28 March 1960 (age 64)
Hanover, West Germany
NationalityBritish
Occupations
  • Actor
  • comedian
  • impressionist
Years active1982–present
Known forRed Dwarf
The Brittas Empire
Spouses
Monica De Meo
​
​
(m. 1987; div. 1990)​
Alecks Barrie
​
(m. 1997)​
Children2

Chris Barrie (born Christopher Jonathan Brown, 28 March 1960) is a British actor and comedian. He worked as a vocal impressionist on the ITV sketch show Spitting Image (1984–1996) and as Lara Croft's butler Hillary in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003). Barrie starred as Arnold Rimmer in 13 series of the sci-fi space comedy Red Dwarf between 1988 and 2020, and as Gordon Brittas in seven series of the BBC leisure centre sitcom The Brittas Empire (1991–1997).

Early life and career[edit]

Barrie was born in Hanover, Lower Saxony, West Germany, to a father who was serving in the British Army,[citation needed] and later attended Methodist College, a boarding school, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. After dropping out of his Combined Studies course at Brighton Polytechnic, he became a grave filler.[1] He began his television career as a sports personality impersonator on The David Essex Showcase in 1982.[2]

He adopted the surname "Barrie" as there was already an actor named Chris Brown on the Equity UK lists. He was a regular on Saturday Live, amongst performers like Fry and Laurie, Rik Mayall and Ben Elton. Barrie provided the voice of Ronald Reagan in the pop song "Two Tribes" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood,[3] as well as various vocalizations for other tracks by FGTH and Art of Noise.[3] He also appeared as an impressionist on the BBC's Carrott's Lib[3] between 1983 and 1984, and he starred in his own sketch show Pushing Up Daisies (re-titled Coming Next for the following series) from 1984 to 1985 alongside Hale and Pace and Carla Mendonça.[4] In 1987, he appeared as a French Revolutionary in Blackadder the Third (episode "Nob and Nobility") and did various parts in The Young Ones both as an actor and a voice-over.[3][5]

Red Dwarf[edit]

Barrie played the character Arnold J. Rimmer in all twelve series of Red Dwarf, appearing in almost every episode of the series, absent only for a period during series 7.[6] When an unsold pilot for an American version of the show was produced, Barrie was invited to reprise his role as Rimmer. He passed up the offer because of the constraint of the five-series contract.[7] He starred in the 2020 special Red Dwarf: The Promised Land, alongside the main cast of Craig Charles, Danny John-Jules and Robert Llewellyn (Series 3–present).[8] In addition to starring in the TV series, Barrie also narrated the first two Red Dwarf books, Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers (1992) and Better Than Life (1995), including using his vocal talents to recreate the voices of the other characters, as they sound in the show.[8]

The Brittas Empire[edit]

Barrie played Gordon Brittas, the title role in The Brittas Empire, a BBC sitcom running from January 1991 to February 1997 for seven series, with 52 episodes, including two Christmas specials.[1] Brittas was the well-meaning but incompetent manager of Whitbury New Town Leisure Centre. Each episode featured a disastrous occurrence, which Brittas was sure he could sort out, oblivious to the fact he was usually its cause.[1]

In 2014, Barrie reprised his role as Gordon Brittas in the music video for Little Mix's version of "Word Up!".[9][10]

In 2017, the cast reunited for the reopening of Ringwood Leisure centre where a lot of the series was recorded.[11]

Roles in television and films[edit]

Chris Barrie in 2004

Barrie's TV work includes Britain's Greatest Machines with Chris Barrie,[12] screened on the National Geographic channel from 4 June 2009.[13] Each of the four episodes features some of the most notable air, sea, and land vehicles and equipment of the 1930s, 1950s, 1960s, and 1980s, respectively. The second series of four episodes was transmitted in February 2010, with the 1910s, 1920s, 1940s, and early steam trains as the subjects of each episode.[14]

Barrie has also hosted the television series Chris Barrie's Massive Engines and Chris Barrie's Massive Machines[13] on the Discovery Channel, later shown on Channel 5 and released on DVD.[13] The latest in this series Massive Speed with Chris Barrie was shown on Discovery Channel from November 2006. In 2006,[13] he appeared as a regular team captain in the BBC Two quiz show Petrolheads[15] and was the star of the British crime/comedy/drama film Back In Business, in which he played Tom Marks. Between 2015 and 2018 he was the voice-over for Channel 5's Car Crash TV[16] and 2018–2019 Idiot TV.

Filmography[edit]

Personal life[edit]

Barrie's interests include vintage motorbikes and collecting fast cars. In 1995, he released a video called Chris Barrie's Motoring Wheel Nuts, a showcase for his personal car collection.[39] His current classic car collection consists of a Triumph TR2, MGB-GT, Wolseley 1500 and a Jaguar XJ6.[39]

He has been married twice: first to Monica De Meo from 1987 to 1990 and then to Alecks (1997–present) with whom he has two sons. He lives in Cookham, Berkshire.[40]

In 2010, Barrie was awarded an honorary DTech (Doctor of Technology) by Loughborough University for his contribution to promoting Engineering and Technology.[41]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Chris Barrie Fans (20 January 2018), Chris Barrie the Terry Wogan Interview, archived from the original on 11 December 2021, retrieved 21 January 2018
  2. ^ "BBC Programme Index 31 July 1982 David Essex Showcase". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 31 July 1982. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Chris Barrie – Voice of Jif Micro Liquid (amongst other things!)". Smashing Blouse Productions. 19 December 2018. Archived from the original on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  4. ^ Viewer, Telly. "Pushing Up Daisies / Coming Next". Curious British Telly. Curious British Telly. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  5. ^ a b "The Young Ones Series 2, Episode 3 - Nasty". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  6. ^ "Red Dwarf Guide: SVIII". www.reddwarf.co.uk. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  7. ^ "Red Dwarf USA". www.reddwarf.co.uk. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  8. ^ a b Nicholson, Rebecca (9 April 2020). "Red Dwarf: The Promised Land review – megalomaniac cats are out for revenge". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  9. ^ "Little Mix - Word Up! (Official Video)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  10. ^ Williams, Andrew (11 October 2017). "Chris Barrie on baffling Little Mix and getting over his fear of flying". Metro. Archived from the original on 10 August 2019.
  11. ^ "The Brittas Empire: Cast reunites at Ringwood Leisure Centre 20 years on". BBC News. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  12. ^ "Chris Barrie on Britain's Greatest Machines". The Telegraph. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  13. ^ a b c d "Chris Barrie's Massive Machines". whitworthmedia.com. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  14. ^ "Britain's Greatest Machines with Chris Barrie". natgeotv.com. Archived from the original on 20 May 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  15. ^ "Petrolheads". comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  16. ^ a b "Watch Car Crash TV | Prime Video". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  17. ^ "BBC Radio 4 Extra - Son of Cliche". BBC. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  18. ^ "Chris Barrie » Biography". Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  19. ^ "BBC Radio 6 Music - Radcliffe and Maconie, Chris Barrie, 'It's for the fans I continue to do Red Dwarf' Chris Barrie on the show's devoted fanbase". BBC. 22 September 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  20. ^ Frankie Goes To Hollywood – The Power Of Love (1985, DMM, Vinyl), 1985, retrieved 5 October 2021
  21. ^ Lloyd, John; Yukich, James, Genesis: Land of Confusion (Short, Music), retrieved 5 October 2021
  22. ^ "Chris Barrie". IMDb. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  23. ^ ""Filthy Rich & Catflap" Episode #1.2 (TV Episode 1987) - IMDb". IMDb. 14 January 1987.
  24. ^ "Filthy Rich & Catflap" Episode #1.2 (TV Episode 1987) - IMDb, retrieved 5 October 2021
  25. ^ "BBC One - Blackadder, Blackadder the Third, Nob and Nobility". BBC. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  26. ^ Fletcher, Mandie (1 October 1987), Nob and Nobility, Blackadder the Third, retrieved 5 October 2021
  27. ^ Paradiso, Cinema. "Chris Barrie films | DVD Rental". CinemaParadiso.co.uk. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  28. ^ Are You Being Served? Again! (TV Series 1992–1993) - IMDb, retrieved 5 October 2021
  29. ^ "The Legends of Treasure Island (TV Series 1993–1995) - IMDb". IMDb. 10 September 1993.
  30. ^ "Simon the Sorcerer for Amiga CD32 (1994)". MobyGames. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  31. ^ "Simon the Sorcerer (Video Game)". TV Tropes. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  32. ^ "Simon the Sorcerer (Video Game 1993)". IMDb. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  33. ^ "BBC - Comedy Guide - A Prince Among Men". Archived from the original on 15 January 2005.
  34. ^ Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) - IMDb, retrieved 5 October 2021
  35. ^ Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003) - IMDb, retrieved 5 October 2021
  36. ^ "Midsomer Murders (TV Series 1997- ): Death in a Chocolate Box - IMDb". IMDb. 17 May 2008.
  37. ^ Jif Micro Liquid Advert, archived from the original on 11 December 2021, retrieved 10 October 2019
  38. ^ "Car Crash TV (TV Series 2015– ) - IMDb". IMDb. 25 July 2016.
  39. ^ a b "Chris Barrie's Motoring Wheel Nuts". videocollector.co.uk. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  40. ^ "Chris Barrie Bio". encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  41. ^ "Honorary Graduates and University Medallists". Loughborough University.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chris Barrie.

Interviews[edit]

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