Biography for
Chris Barrie More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

28 March 1960, Hannover, Lower Saxony, Germany

Birth Name

Christopher Jonathan Brown

Height

5' 11" (1.80 m)

Mini Biography

Chris Barrie was born Christopher Jonathan Brown on March 28, 1960, in Hannover, Germany. He was brought up in Northern Ireland, and was a boarder at a Methodist College in Belfast. He was Head Boy in his final year, and played the lead in a "Dial M for Murder" production. He eventually started a business course at Brighton Polytechnic, but dropped out after a time. After working at various jobs and developing his impressionist skills, he decided to shift careers to television and film.

He originally met Rob Grant and Doug Naylor on Jasper Carrott's "Carrott's Lib" (1982), and eventually went on to perform on the radio, for a show called "Son of Cliche", which both Rob Grant and Doug Naylor were working on. Around this time, he was working on the television show, "Spitting Image" (1984).

This association with Rob Grant and Doug Naylor later caused the two of them to have him audition for "Red Dwarf" (1988). A few years after the beginning of "Red Dwarf" (1988), he brought life to another character in the sitcom "The Brittas Empire" (1991).

He currently lives in Berkshire, England, with his wife Alecks.

IMDb Mini Biography By: BetterThanLife

Spouse

Alecks	(3 December 1997 - present) 2 children
Monica	(1987 - 1990) (divorced)

Trivia

Born in Germany and brought up in Northern Ireland.

He met his current wife, Alecks, during a bomb scare.

Is an antique car collector.

Is a master at impersonation and mimicry. Many out-takes on the DVDs for the "Red Dwarf" (1988) series feature clips of Chris perfectly imitating the voices and mannerisms of the other cast members (especially Craig Charles and Norman Lovett). Also shown is his amazingly perfect impression, both voice and face, of comedian Kenneth Williams.

Originally auditioned for the part of Lister in "Red Dwarf" (1988), but was cast as Rimmer instead.

The heavy schedule of playing the main character in two situation comedies ("Red Dwarf" (1988) and "The Brittas Empire" (1991)) forced him to turn down the role of Zazu in The Lion King (1994) as he couldn't find the time.

Chose the stage name Chris Barrie because there was already another Chris Brown registered with Equity.

Personal Quotes

I never attended a drama school so I'm not a "proper" actor. Acting is good because it's open to everyone, with any type of career, this way they can bring their lifestyle to work with them.