Chris Barrie
Chris Barrie | |
|---|---|
_2009.jpg) Barrie in 2009 | |
| Born | Christopher Jonathan Brown 28 March 1960 Hanover, West Germany |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1982–present |
| Known for | Red Dwarf The Brittas Empire |
| Spouses | Monica De Meo
(m. 1987; div. 1990)Alecks Barrie (m. 1997) |
| Children | 2 |
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 on 28 March 1960 in Hanover, Lower Saxony, West Germany, to a father who was serving in the British Army,[1] 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.[2] He began his television career as a sports personality impersonator on The David Essex Showcase in 1982.[3]
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,[4] as well as various vocalizations for other tracks by FGTH and Art of Noise.[4] He also appeared as an impressionist on the BBC's Carrott's Lib[4] 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.[5] 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.[4][6]
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.[7] 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.[8] He starred in the 2020 special Red Dwarf: The Promised Land, alongside the main cast of Craig Charles, Danny John-Jules and Robert Llewellyn.[9] 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.[9]
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.[2] 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.[2]
Barrie also appeared as Brittas in the stand alone fitness mini-series Get Fit with Brittas in 1997.[10]
In 2014, Barrie reprised his role as Gordon Brittas in the music video for Little Mix's version of "Word Up!".[11][12]
In 2017, the cast reunited for the reopening of Ringwood Leisure centre where a lot of the series was recorded.[13]
Roles in television and films
[edit]
Barrie's TV work includes Britain's Greatest Machines with Chris Barrie,[14] screened on the National Geographic channel from 4 June 2009.[15] 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.[16]
Barrie has also hosted the television series Chris Barrie's Massive Engines and Chris Barrie's Massive Machines[15] on the Discovery Channel, later shown on Channel 5 and released on DVD.[15] The latest in this series Massive Speed with Chris Barrie was shown on Discovery Channel from November 2006. In 2006,[15] he appeared as a regular team captain in the BBC Two quiz show Petrolheads[17] 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[18] and 2018–2019 Idiot TV.
Filmography
[edit]- Film
| Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Honour, Profit & Pleasure | Pope | TV Movie |
| 1986 | Spitting Image: Down and Out in the White House | Various | TV special, voice |
| 1987 | Spitting Image: The Ron & Nancy Show | Ronald Reagan, Prince Charles | |
| Testimony | Carnival Thin Man | Appearance in film at 15.25 with Frank Carson | |
| 1994 | White Goods | Mickie Scott | TV Movie |
| 2001 | Lara Croft: Tomb Raider | Hillary The Butler | |
| 2003 | Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life | Hillary The Butler | |
| 2007 | Back in Business | Tom Marks | |
| The Scum Also Rises | Mr Broom | TV Movie | |
| 2008 | The Optician | John | Short Film |
| 2013 | Saving Santa | Voice of Blitzen | Animated Film |
- TV
| Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | David Essex Showcase | Sports Personality | 1 Episode |
| 1982 | Six Fifty-Five Special | Various | 1 Episode |
| 1983 | Carrott's Lib | 10 Episodes | |
| 1983-1984 | The Entertainers | 2 Episodes | |
| 1982/1984 | The Young Ones | Voice of a Rat, Captain | Demolition 1982, Nasty 1984 |
| 1984 | Pajamarama | Stand up | 1 Episode |
| 1984-1991 | Spitting Image | Various | Voices Also a Puppeteer for the First Two Series. |
| 1984 | Pushing Up Daisies | ||
| 1985 | Coming Next | ||
| 1985 | The Lenny Henry Show | Series 2, Episode 6. | |
| 1985 | Alas Smith and Jones | Series 2, Episode 2. | |
| 1985 | Happy Families | Sammy | Episode 2, Cassie |
| 1986 | Zastrozzi: A Romance | Waiter | TV Mini-Series, 2 Episodes |
| 1986 | Lenny Henry Tonite (Pratt Outta Hell) | Boss | Series 1, First Episode |
| 1987 | Filthy, Rich & Catflap[19] | Trevor The Director | 1 Episode |
| Blackadder The Third | Ambassador | Series 3, Episode 3, Nob and Nobility | |
| 1985-1987 | Saturday Live | Michael Foot John Cole Richie Benaud Robin Day David Coleman Ronald Reagan |
2 Episodes |
| 1988- | Red Dwarf | Arnold Rimmer | All Episodes apart from 4 in series 7 |
| 1988 | The New Statesman | Various | Voice, 1 Episode |
| 1991-1997 | The Brittas Empire | Gordon Brittas | All Episodes |
| 1992 | Grace and Favour(Are You Being Served? Again!) | Commentator | Voice, Series 1, Episode 3 |
| 1993 | Comic Relief: The Invasion of the Comic Tomatoes | Arnold Rimmer | TV Special |
| ABC Weekend Special | Voice | 1 Episode, The Legend of Lochnagar. | |
| 1993-1994 | Jackanory | Storyteller | 5 Episodes |
| Noel's House Party | Gordon Brittas | 2 Episodes | |
| 1993-1995 | The Legends of Treasure Island | Captain Smollett Ben Gunn |
Voices |
| 1994 | Ben Elton: The Man from Auntie | Mastermind Presenter/Lingua-Learn narrator (voices only) | Series 2, Episodes 3 and 6 |
| 1995 | Chris Barrie's Motoring Wheel Nuts | Various Characters | Video |
| 1997-1998 | A Prince Among Men | Gary Prince | All Episodes |
| 1998 | Can't Smeg, Won't Smeg | Rimmer | Special edition of Can't Cook, Won't Cook, (Red Dwarf 10th anniversary) |
| 1998 | Universe Challenge | Jeremy Paxman/Himself as a Contestant | Special Red Dwarf (10th anniversary) Edition of University Challenge |
| 2003 | Top Gear | Himself | Series 2, Episode 2 |
| 2006 | Petrolheads | Team Captain | All 6 Episodes |
| 2006 | When Evil Calls | Headmaster Samantha's Father |
2 Episodes |
| 2007 | Midsomer Murders | Lionel Poulter | Series 10, Episode 8 |
| 2010 | The Wright Stuff | Guest | |
| 2018-2019 | Idiot TV | Narrator | 2 Series, 20 Episodes |
- Audiobooks
| Year | Book | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers" | Narrator (Impersonates the Whole Cast) | |
| 1995 | Red Dwarf: Better Than Life | Narrator (Impersonates the Whole Cast) | |
| 1999 | Monsters | Narrator | Young Children's Book |
| 2012 | Opal Moonbaby | Narrator | Children's Book |
| 2021 | Stephen Llewelyn Dinosaur: Book 1 | Narrator/Performer | |
| 2023 | Stephen Llewelyn Revenge: Book 2 | Narrator/Performer |
- Music Videos
| Year | Artist | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Art of Noise | "Close (to the Edit)" | Robin Day |
| 1985 | Frankie Goes to Hollywood[20][4][21] | "The Power of Love" | Voice of Mike Read |
| "Tag" | Voice of Prince Charles | ||
| "Two Tribes" (12" Mix) | Voice of Ronald Reagan | ||
| 1986 | Genesis | "Land of Confusion"[22][23] | |
| 2014 | Little Mix | "Word Up!" | Music Video (Mr Brittas) |
Personal life
[edit]Barrie's interests include collecting vintage metal signs, vintage motorbikes and collecting old British cars. In 1995, he released a video called Chris Barrie's Motoring Wheel Nuts, a showcase for his personal car collection.[24] As of 2022[update] his classic car collection consists of a Triumph TR2, MGB-GT, Wolseley 1500 and a Jaguar XJ6.[24]
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.[25]
In 2010, Barrie was awarded an honorary DTech (Doctor of Technology) by Loughborough University for his contribution to promoting Engineering and Technology.[26]
References
[edit]- ^ "Chris Barrie - Biography". IMDb. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
- ^ 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
- ^ "BBC Programme Index 31 July 1982 David Essex Showcase". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 31 July 1982. Archived from the original on 21 August 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ a b c d e "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.
- ^ Viewer, Telly. "Pushing Up Daisies / Coming Next". Curious British Telly. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
- ^ "The Young Ones Series 2, Episode 3 - Nasty". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
- ^ "Red Dwarf Guide: SVIII". www.reddwarf.co.uk. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
- ^ "Red Dwarf USA". www.reddwarf.co.uk. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Get Fit with Brittas (TV Series 1997) - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
- ^ "Little Mix - Word Up! (Official Video)". YouTube. 2 March 2014. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "The Brittas Empire: Cast reunites at Ringwood Leisure Centre 20 years on". BBC News. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
- ^ "Chris Barrie on Britain's Greatest Machines". The Telegraph. 29 January 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
- ^ a b c d "Chris Barrie's Massive Machines". whitworthmedia.com. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
- ^ "Britain's Greatest Machines with Chris Barrie". natgeotv.com. Archived from the original on 20 May 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
- ^ "Petrolheads". comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- ^ "Watch Car Crash TV | Prime Video". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
- ^ ""Filthy Rich & Catflap" Episode #1.2 (TV Episode 1987) - IMDb". IMDb. 14 January 1987.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Frankie Goes To Hollywood – The Power Of Love (1985, DMM, Vinyl), 1985, retrieved 5 October 2021
- ^ Lloyd, John; Yukich, James, Genesis: Land of Confusion (Short, Music), retrieved 5 October 2021
- ^ "Chris Barrie". IMDb. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
- ^ a b "Chris Barrie's Motoring Wheel Nuts". videocollector.co.uk. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
- ^ "Chris Barrie Bio". encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
- ^ "Honorary Graduates and University Medallists". Loughborough University.
External links
[edit]
- Official website
- Chris Barrie at IMDb
- Chris Barrie at British Comedy Guide
- Chris Barrie on National Geographic Channel
Interviews
[edit]- AYME Interview – Association of Young People with ME
- 26 September 2005: BBC – Wiltshire – Films – Interview with Chris Barrie Play audio
- 11 August 2005: BBC – Wiltshire – Mark Seaman Interview with Chris Barrie Play audio Archived 14 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- Video Interview with Chris Barrie
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