Chris Barrie


Chris Barrie is a British actor and comedian. He worked as a vocal impressionist on the ITV sketch show Spitting Image and as Lara Croft's butler Hillary in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life. 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.

Early life and career

Barrie was born on 28 March 1960 in Hanover, Lower Saxony, West Germany, to a father who was serving in the British Army, 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. He began his television career as a sports personality impersonator on The David Essex Showcase in 1982.
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, as well as various vocalizations for other tracks by FGTH and Art of Noise. He also appeared as an impressionist on the BBC's Carrott's Lib between 1983 and 1984, and he starred in his own sketch show Pushing Up Daisies from 1984 to 1985 alongside Hale and Pace and Carla Mendonça. In 1987, he appeared as a French Revolutionary in Blackadder the Third and did various parts in The Young Ones both as an actor and a voice-over.

''Red Dwarf''

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. 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.
He starred in the 2020 special Red Dwarf: The Promised Land, alongside the main cast of Craig Charles, Danny John-Jules and Robert Llewellyn.
In addition to starring in the TV series, Barrie also narrated the first two Red Dwarf books, Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers and Better Than Life, including using his vocal talents to recreate the voices of the other characters, as they sound in the show.

''The Brittas Empire''

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. 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.
Barrie also appeared as Brittas in the stand alone fitness mini-series Get Fit with Brittas in 1997.
In 2014, Barrie reprised his role as Gordon Brittas in the music video for Little Mix's version of "Word Up!".
In 2017, the cast reunited for the reopening of Ringwood Leisure centre where a lot of the series was recorded.

Roles in television and films

Barrie's TV work includes Britain's Greatest Machines with Chris Barrie, screened on the National Geographic channel from 4 June 2009. 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.
Barrie has also hosted the television series Chris Barrie's Massive Engines and Chris Barrie's Massive Machines on the Discovery Channel, later shown on Channel 5 and released on DVD. The latest in this series Massive Speed with Chris Barrie was shown on Discovery Channel from November 2006. In 2006, he appeared as a regular team captain in the BBC Two quiz show Petrolheads 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 and 2018–2019 Idiot TV.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1982David Essex ShowcaseSports Personality1 Episode
1982Six Fifty-Five SpecialVarious1 Episode
1983Carrott's LibVarious10 Episodes
1983-1984The EntertainersVarious2 Episodes
1982/1984The Young OnesVoice of a Rat, CaptainDemolition 1982, Nasty 1984
1984PajamaramaStand up1 Episode
1984Stomping on the Cat 2Stand Up/ImpersonationsChannel 4
1984-1991Spitting ImageVariousVoices Also a Puppeteer for the First Two Series.
1984Pushing Up DaisiesVarious
1985Coming NextVarious
1985 The Lenny Henry ShowVariousSeries 2, Episode 6.
1985Alas Smith and JonesVariousSeries 2, Episode 2.
1985Happy FamiliesSammyEpisode 2, Cassie
1986Zastrozzi: A RomanceWaiterTV Mini-Series, 2 Episodes
1986Lenny Henry Tonite BossSeries 1, First Episode
1986Spitting Image: Down and Out in the White HouseVarious VoicesTV Special
1987Filthy, Rich & CatflapTrevor The Director1 Episode
1987Blackadder The ThirdAmbassadorSeries 3, Episode 3, Nob and Nobility
1985-1987Saturday LiveMichael Foot
John Cole
Richie Benaud
Robin Day
David Coleman
Ronald Reagan		2 Episodes
1987Spitting Image:The Ron & Nancy ShowRonald Reagan, Prince CharlesTV Special
1988-Red DwarfArnold RimmerAll Episodes apart from 4 in series 7
1988Open AirGuestDiscussing the first series of Red Dwarf
1988The New StatesmanVariousVoice, 1 Episode
1989Ten Glorious Years-A Thatcher 'Tribute'Various Impressions Including Ronald Regan/John ColeBBC TV Special
1989Spitting Image: The Sound of Maggie!Various VoicesTV Special 6/5/89
1991-1997The Brittas EmpireGordon BrittasAll Episodes
1991Happy Birthday SwitzerlandVarious Character VoicesAnimated Short
1992Grace and FavourCommentatorVoice, Series 1, Episode 3
1992WoganGuestSeries 12, Episode 11
1993Comic Relief: The Invasion of the Comic TomatoesArnold RimmerTV Special
1993ABC Weekend SpecialVoice1 Episode, The Legend of Lochnagar.
1993-1994JackanoryStoryteller5 Episodes
1993-1994Noel's House PartyGordon Brittas2 Episodes
1993-1995The Legends of Treasure IslandCaptain Smollett/Ben GunnVoices
1994Ben Elton: The Man from AuntieMastermind Presenter/Lingua-Learn narrator Series 2, Episodes 3 and 6
1994Know Your Europeans: The United KingdomVoice Only
1995Chris Barrie's Motoring Wheel NutsVarious CharactersVideo
1996Kevin Saves the WorldVoice OnlyAnimated Short
1996The Big BreakfastGuest18 April
1997Get Fit with Brittas Mr Brittas
1997Managing the Brittas WayMr BrittasBBC Learning Business Video
1997-1998A Prince Among MenGary PrinceAll Episodes
1998Can't Smeg, Won't SmegRimmerSpecial edition of Can't Cook, Won't Cook,
1998Universe ChallengeJeremy Paxman/Himself as a ContestantSpecial Red Dwarf Edition of University Challenge
1999Hancock's World of SportGuestBBC One 15/9/99 One off Special
2003Top Gear HimselfSeries 2, Episode 2
2004Massive Engines with Chris BarriePresenter1 Series, 10 Episodes
2004-2005Massive Machines with Chris BarriePresenter1 Series, 10 Episodes
2006Massive Speed with Chris BarriePresenter1 Series, 10 Episodes
2006PetrolheadsTeam CaptainAll 6 Episodes
2006When Evil CallsHeadmaster
Samantha's Father		2 Episodes
2007Fifth GearGuestEpisode 2
2007Midsomer MurdersLionel PoulterSeries 10, Episode 8
2009-2010Britain's Greatest Machines with Chris BarriePresenter2 Series, 8 Episodes
2010CarpoolGuest
2010The Wright StuffGuest
2011The Fruit CasesHappy Apple/Peelin/Sour Lolly Animated Short
2015-2018Car Crash TVNarrator4 Series
2018-2019Idiot TVNarrator2 Series, 20 Episodes

YearBookRoleNotes
1992Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers"Narrator
1995Red Dwarf: Better Than LifeNarrator
1999MonstersNarratorYoung Children's Book
2012Opal MoonbabyNarratorChildren's Book
2021Stephen Llewelyn Dinosaur: Book 1Narrator/Performer
2023Stephen Llewelyn Revenge: Book 2Narrator/Performer

YearArtistTitleRole
1984Art of Noise"Close "Robin Day
1985Frankie Goes to Hollywood"The Power of Love"Voice of Mike Read
1985Frankie Goes to Hollywood"Tag"Voice of Prince Charles
1985Frankie Goes to Hollywood"Two Tribes" Voice of Ronald Reagan
1986Genesis"Land of Confusion"Voice of Ronald Reagan
2014Little Mix"Word Up!"Music Video