CHRIS BARRIE
Birth Name: Christopher Jonathan Barrie
Date of Birth: March 28, 1960
Born in Hanover, West Germany to a military father, Barrie did not have a
paved route to becoming one of Britain's most famed television personality comics
in the '90s. Barrie received his education in Northern Ireland and boarded
at a Methodist school in Belfast. Although he showed promise early, by the
end of his schooling, his marks fell short and instead of secondary school,
he decided to work at a graveyard.
When opportunity arose, he decided to continue his education by taking a
Business Studies course. Finding the course too much, he soon quit and told
his parents he wanted to become an actor. While working with a drama group
and playing the lead in such plays as Dial M for Murder, he worked at
various jobs to pay the rent. While working at a sports store, he got fired
for his impersonations of his superiors, and turned to his couch and cricket
to pass the time.
After getting a job driving a van and making a number of delivery mistakes,
he decided to start working as a stand up comic and did the comedy circuit
which included The Comedy Store. This work garnered some notice and before
long he was a guest on the Dave Essex Show.
The show was a boost into gigs on such comedy shows as Spitting Image,
using his talented voice for various characters, and Son of Cleche.
In the late '80s, he auditioned for the spoof sci-fi series Red Dwarf
for the character of Lister. However, the casting director had different
ideas and Barrie became the love-to-be-hated hologram, Rimmer.
Red Dwarf became a great success, filming for more than eight seasons and a
feature film early in the new millennium. Barrie took advantage of his new
found fame and landed more starring roles on other television series like
The Brittas Empire and A Prince Among Men. He continued his
successful run into the new millennium with his first feature film, Lara Croft: Tomb
Raider, playing the daring treasure hunter Lara Croft's trusty butler. He returned to the role for the sequel, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003).
Filmography:
Red Dwarf: The Movie (2002)
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life(2003)
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)