Barry Pepper Biography

BARRY PEPPER

Birth Name: Barry Robert Pepper

Date of Birth: April 4, 1970

From early on, Barry Pepper's life has been anything but conventional. Born in Campbell River, British Columbia, his childhood was like an adventure of the Swiss Family Robinson. In 1975, his parents built a 50-foot sailboat and launched it into the coastal waters off of Vancouver Island. For five years they traveled down the coast of Canada to Mexico, across to the Marcase Islands and all through the South Pacific for the next three years after that. Pepper, along with his two older brothers, was educated partially by his parents and partially at schools where they stopped along the way; places like Rarotonga and New Zealand.

Upon return to their Vancouver farm, Pepper's grades from his round-the-world schooling allowed him to attend high school in an advanced grade. Pepper then went on to take first-year studies at two different colleges. Convinced that his future would be that of an artist, his major focus was graphic design and then business college, where he studied marketing management. Pepper wanted to learn how to build a strong business foundation for himself so that he could learn to market his own artwork. Post-secondary education did not work out. Finding it unfulfilling, he answered an ad in the paper and found himself acting within a year. While he had dabbled in drama in high school, he had never really considered it a tangible career, believing it to be for the rich and famous.

Pepper began acting in Vancouver on the award-winning television show Madison in 1992, where he had a recurring role for four years. He also appeared in films and other television shows, such as The Outer Limits. Five years later, with his sights set on breaking into the American market, he and a friend got into his Dodge Dart Swinger and headed off to Hollywood.

In just three months, Pepper was at the cattle call for the part of Roy Jackson in Saving Private Ryan. Ultimately he was called in to meet Steven Spielberg in person while the famed director was taking a break in between shooting Amistad. He got the part and followed it up with another big project, Tony Scott's Enemy of the State with Will Smith and Gene Hackman. Pepper teamed up with Tom Hanks again the following year in The Green Mile (1999).

He appeared in the critically acclaimed remake True Grit (2010), the political thriller Broken City (2013), the western remake The Lone Ranger (2013), the biographical crime drama Kill the Messenger (2014), and the sci-fi sequel Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015). Most recently, he starred as Sheriff Rick in the adventure live-action/animation flick Monster Trucks (2017), Yaroslav in the romantic drama Bitter Harvest (2017) and Vince in the box office hit, Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018). He was last seen in Crawl (2019).

Still a Canadian at heart, Pepper lives in Vancouver with his wife Cindy, when he's not busy auditioning in L.A. They have a daughter together.

Filmography:

Crawl (2019)
Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018)
Bitter Harvest (2017)
Monster Trucks (2017)
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015)
Kill the Messenger (2014)
The Lone Ranger (2013)
Broken City (2013)
True Grit (2010)
Casino Jack (2010)
Like Dandelion Dust (2009)
Princess Ka'iulani (2009)
Seven Pounds (2008)
Unknown (2006)
Flags of Our Fathers (2006)
Ripley Under Ground (2005)
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005)
The Snow Walker (2003)
25th Hour (2002)
We Were Soldiers (2002)
Knockaround Guys (2001)
We All Fall Down (2000)
Battlefield Earth (2000)
Knockaround Guys (2000)
The Green Mile (1999)
Enemy of the State (1998)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Firestorm (1998)
Urban Safari (1996)
Johnny's Girl (1993)