Chris Barrie

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

Chris Barrie in Red Dwarf

Chris Barrie (born March 28, 1960) is an English 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 and Chris Barrie's Massive Machines on the Discovery Channel which was later shown on Channel 5 where both series received record viewing figures and are now on DVD. The latest in this series Massive Speed with Chris Barrie will be shown on Discovery Channel from November 2006. 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, according to Barrie during a DVD commentary for Red Dwarf. Whether or not it was in jest is unclear, but Ross considered Barrie legit due to his previous work in TV, whereas Craig Charles was a poet, Danny John-Jules a dancer and Norman Lovett a stand up comic.

Robert Llewellyn was the only British cast member originaly invited to participate in the American version of Red Dwarf, though Chris Barrie was also approached to reprise his role of Rimmer as "no american actor could hate themselves" quite so well as the character needed. Barrie declined.

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 advertisements for Anglian Windows;
the voice of Captain Smollett in The Legends Of Treasure Island;
appearing on BBC Radio 4 sketch show Son of Cliché;
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" (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. His current classic car collection comprises of a Triumph TR2, MGB GT, Wolseley 1500 and a Jaguar XJ6 (his daily driver) He is a contributor for Practical Classics magazine.