Tony Barry: Adopted Kiwi joker...

Despite starring in Kiwi classic Goodbye Pork Pie, playing 'a good true blue basic Kiwi joker' in Home by Christmas, and captaining the All Blacks, Tony Barry marked a rare Australian entry in our ScreenTalks. The Queensland-born actor cemented his relationship with New Zealand as early as 1971, when he appeared in landmark series Pukemanu. Barry went on to tour Aotearoa (and Australia) in Bruno Lawrence’s touring ensemble Blerta, then drove a mini to Invercargill in Goodbye Pork Pie.

In this ScreenTalk, recorded 12 years before his December 2022 passing, Barry talked about:

• Starring as Ed Preston, a man with a healthy disrespect for authority in 2010 movie Home by Christmas, Gaylene Preston’s tale of love and war
• Pushing the boundaries in iconic touring group Blerta — short for the Bruno Lawrence Electric Revelation and Travelling Apparition
• The time Kiwi screen legend Bruno Lawrence first popped by to say "hi"
• Trying not to get electrocuted during Blerta movie Wild Man
• Unforgettable times on the road while making Goodbye Pork Pie — and his belief that people’s sense of freedom and rebellion is often overtaken by "doing the right thing"
• Playing a former All Black who gets to relive former glories — and captain the team — in Old Scores
• Old acting mates who are no longer around, including Blerta/Old Scores mate Martyn Sanderson

This video was first uploaded on 18 May 2010, and is available under this Creative Commons licence. This licence is limited to use of ScreenTalk interview footage only and does not apply to any video content and photographs from films, television, music videos, web series and commercials used in the interview.

Interview – Ian Pryor. Camera and Editing – Alex Backhouse