Chris Barrie

For Australian Admiral Chris Barrie, see Chris Barrie (Admiral).

Chris Barrie in Red Dwarf

Chris Barrie (born March 28, 1960) is a British actor, best known as a vocal impressionist (notably in the ITV sketch show Spitting Image) and for his role as Arnold Rimmer in the cult BBC2 comedy Red Dwarf.

He was born Christopher Jonathan Brown in Hannover, Lower Saxony, West Germany, and boarded at Methodist College Belfast, in Northern Ireland. After dropping out of Brighton Polytechnic, he began his TV career as a sports personality impersonator on The David Essex Showcase. In addition to playing Arnold Rimmer, he is also famous for his role as leisure centre manager Gordon Brittas in the BBC1 sitcom The Brittas Empire, which was broadcast from 1991-97 and ran for seven series, totalling 52 episodes.

Barrie also hosted the television series Chris Barrie's Massive Engines on the Discovery Channel and Mean Machines on Channel 5. In 2006, he appeared as a regular team captain in the BBC2 quiz show Petrolheads, and is the star of the upcoming film Back In Business, in which he plays Tom Marks.

Chris Barrie is the only member of the Red Dwarf cast who was thought to be 'legit' (or a real actor) by original Kryten actor, David Ross.

Other roles include:
* numerous voice impersonations for Spitting Image;
* Gary Prince in A Prince Among Men (1997-98).
* Ambassador/Revolutionary in Blackadder The Third (episode, "Nob And Nobility");
* Hilary the Butler in the movies Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003);
* Doubting Thomas in a small series of television advertisments for Anglian Windows;
* the voice of Captain Smollett in The Legends Of Treasure Island;
* on various recordings by Frankie Goes To Hollywood - voice impersonations of Ronald Reagan (on the 12-inch release of "Two Tribes"), as Mike Read banning the single "[[Relax (single)|Relax]]" (on the 12-inch release of "The Power Of Love"), and as HRH Prince Charles (on "Tag", from the album Welcome To The Pleasuredome);
* the title character of the game Simon The Sorcerer.

Barrie's interests include dogs, vintage motorcycles and collecting fast cars. In 1995, he released a video called Chris Barrie's Motoring Wheel Nuts, a showcase for his personal car collection.

External links

Fan sites

*The Official Chris Barrie website
*Chris Barrie message board
*Mauve Alert Chris Barrie fansite with biography, trivia interview archive and rare picture galleries.
*The Brittas Empire Fan Forum

Interviews

Audio

* 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

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