Raymond J. Barry was born in New York, and attended Brown University, where he was a star athlete in football, basketball, and track. While there, he earned his degree in Philosophy and as a senior, was cast in the stage production of “Picnic,”” where he played a football player. He then entered the Yale Drama School and after completing, acted in the Broadway play “”The Leaf People.”” He has appeared in over 100 plays and has starred in such films as Dead Man Walking (1995), Sudden Death (1995), and The Chamber (1996).”
Raymond J. Barry
Movies
Just Married
Charming, relatively poor, somewhat goofy Tom falls in love with haughty snob tycoon McNerney’s spoiled daughter Sarah, who was destined for a more socialite match, such as slick Peter Prentiss. They still get married and fly to Europe for a romantic honeymoon Tom can’t afford. Their love gets tested dangerously…
Fun Facts
Trained in acting by William Hickey. Worked with Julian Beck in The Living Theater, one of the leaders in avant-garde theater during the 1960s in New York.
Once taught English at a private school in New York called Oakland Academy.
Received a Dramalogue Award and L.A. Drama Critics Award for writing and starring in "Once In Doubt"" at the Los Angeles Theatre Centre.
Received the 1997 Dramalogue Award for his performance in the play ""Buried Child"".
Barry earned a degree in philosophy at Brown University before being accepted by the Yale University School of Drama.
Worked first as an artist in New York City before becoming a professional actor. He still paints and sculpts
Quotes
I did things because of the things themselves. And I still do that with my writing, my painting, sometimes with acting still, and I don't care. You're at the mercy of money. You become nothing more than a hunter, in terms of tribal ethic, because we all are members of a tribe, let's face it. You go through your war period in high school when you're a little jock, then you become a provider for your family. Some people are better hunters than other, and bring in more deer. In our culture it's not about deer, it's about money, which is tragic. I think if you lose touch with that stuff, with what you really care about, you're dead in the water.
Being an artist, particularly being an actor, is a very worthwhile life, but can also be a very hard one, because you can't hide. Specifically, what you can't hide from are your tensions, which are derived from fear. It reads on a screen or on stage if you're tense, and the tension has got to come from some hang-up you have about being there to begin with.
I respect painting and writing, in many ways, more than I respect acting now that I know how to do it. In the beginning, when I couldn't act my way out of a paper bag, maybe I respected acting more than anything else because I couldn't do it.
Actors are very macho-oriented. In my own case, I don't give a shit. I'd love to play a gay character. I'd love to play a [transgender man]. Nothing would please me more. My heart is like in the yin-yang space, as opposed to walking around set flexing my muscles or whatever.
[on working on the series Justified (2010) ] The writing, the producing, the acting - they knew what the heck they were doin'. I've been in situations where I didn't feel that, from the top down. I've done about five of these TV series, man, and some of them are kinda dumb. I hate to say it. I'm not gonna mention any names. But you can be in a situation where you feel the actors are dumb, and then the producers you feel are dumber than the actors.