Today I have the immense pleasure of welcoming a very special guest, actor Guerin Barry, to CINEMATIC REVELATIONS for an interview. Guerin has appeared in films such as RACQUET, A DIFFERENT STORY [my review of the film can be found here] A MILLION TO JUAN, A MATTER OF TIME, and STAR 80, and lending his voice talents to THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY, and THE HEROIC TRIO. In this interview Guerin will be discussing his role in A DIFFERENT STORY, acting, television, rock music, whistling, and voice over work.
Welcome to CINEMATIC REVELATIONS Guerin!
Athan: When did you first realize that you wanted to be an actor?
Guerin: Thanks for having me, Athan. I was always interested in performing, musically at an early age. Growing up in New York, I was exposed to lots of different entertainment. As a teen, I discovered a wonderful place in Times Square, Hubert’s Museum and Flea Circus. It impressed me that these sideshow folks, freaks, found gainful employment in using what they had to entertain the public and earn a living. I think I have always considered myself a bit of a Carney. After studying Architecture in college for a few uninspiring years, I enrolled in an acting school in Boston and realized that this was something I could enjoy.
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Athan: Where did you study acting?
Guerin: The school was Leland Powers School of Radio, Television and Theater. We studied acting, fencing, diction and radio broadcasting. I had a few detours after that and found myself back in New York, producing commercials for an ad agency. At night, I studied acting with a well-known director/teacher, Milton Katselas, director, Burt Brinckerhoff and actor/teacher, Darryl Hickman. I acted in off-off Broadway plays and small films preparing myself for the move to Los Angeles.
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Athan: Your performance as Ned in A DIFFERENT STORY, as the owner-manager of the fashion house where Albert Walreavens works as a fashion designer, was utterly authentic. What it is that drew you to the part of Ned in A DIFFERENT STORY?
Guerin: I met director Paul Aaron quite by accident through family friends as he was preparing to shoot A Different Story and he offered me the part of Ned Roth. This was to be my first film in LA and I was very excited to work.
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Athan: As Ned Roth in the fashion house, you seemed fully at home in this milieu, as if the viewer was watching real events in the life of a design company taking place, and the actions of its owner. Did you undertake research, or hands-on experience in a fashion design company for the movie?
Guerin: We have to back up a bit here. In the late ‘70s, writers were populating more scripts with gay characters. This film was one of the groundbreakers in that regard. Many gay actors were not anxious to play gay characters, lest they “out” themselves and not be able to get other work. Many straight actors played “gay” in an offensive, stereotypical way. I had lived with a fashion model in New York and our social circle included many photographers, stylists, hairdressers and other gay friends. Observing them, as actors do, I realized that gay men came in all shapes and sizes, temperaments and expressions. I knew that, given the costume, the situation and the script, that I could embody Ned without falling into the trap of offending anyone. I had no fashion experience but, shooting in the sewing room of a fashion house as we did, I had access to the sewing machine operator who worked with us in the scene, I believe his name was Armando. I asked him some questions about the technical aspects of the work and I used that information to inform my character.
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Athan: A DIFFERENT STORY had an excellent cast with yourself, Perry King, Meg Foster, and Doug Higgins, Peter Donat, and Valerie Curtin in supporting roles. What was it like working with these performers?
Guerin: My scenes were with Perry King, who was very easy to work with. He was focused and trying to do his best, as were we all. I do remember walking into the dressing room trailer and seeing Meg Foster’s reflection in the mirror. I was amazed and said, “WOW, I’ve never seen eyes as beautifully blue as yours!” She looked up and told me that they were contact lenses, that her natural eye color was so pale blue that it didn’t photograph well.
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Athan: What did you find most exciting about making A DIFFERENT STORY?
Guerin: There is no experience as exciting as acting in your first feature film. My parents attended the premier in New York. After seeing the film, my mother actually questioned my brother to see if, perhaps, I was gay. When you can fool your own mother…now that’s exciting!
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Athan: For you, what was the most demanding, but emotionally satisfying segment of filming A DIFFERENT STORY?
Guerin: As a young actor, I was too naïve to recognize any demands, I was just having fun. There was a scene where I tell Perry’s character that an important designer is waiting for him in the other room. I ad-libbed the name, Lorenzo, my father’s name. That was very emotionally satisfying.
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Athan: Have you kept in contact with any cast members and crew from A DIFFERENT STORY?
Guerin: I have only seen Paul Aaron. One day, decades later, having lunch at the Magic Castle in LA, he was at an adjacent table and I went over to say hello.
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Athan: A DIFFERENT STORY was directed by Paul Aaron, who also directed the motion pictures A FORCE OF ONE, DEADLY FORCE, MAXIE, and MORGAN STEWART’S COMING HOME. What was the experience of being directed by Mr Aaron in A DIFFERENT STORY?
Guerin: Paul was well-prepared, relaxed and confident to let the actors act. It was a really gentle first experience in a feature film.
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Athan: You have acted in countless television series, both daytime and nighttime. In comparing both mediums, for you, what are the main differences between film, and television?
Guerin: Television production goes much faster than film. There’s more rehearsal in film. I’ve done more TV and enjoy the pace. I have enjoyed doing theater as well, but lose interest after the first few performances.
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Athan: As a voice artist you have been featured in not only films but also many television series, as a narrator of eBooks, and television commercials. What is it that you most love about being a voice actor in these mediums?
Guerin: Voice acting is the ultimate acting for me. As an audiobook narrator, I voice all the characters in their own different voices. My voice is responsible for everything, the set, the costumes, the characters. Voice acting also requires no memorization, no makeup and no costumes. I like that. I once voiced the role of a killer in a daytime soap and got religious tracts from fans who believed that I really was a killer and who wanted to help me “find the way”. In Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, I created the voice of the Computer Council, Dr. Theopolous. Conversations with Buck very much put me in the scenes. I also voiced the Alex 7000 computer in the two-part Bionic Woman, Doomsday Is Tomorrow. My voice was given Guest Star credit in that one. In animation and video games, the characters tend to be very expressive and over the top, which is also fun.
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Athan: You are a professional whistler, your talent displayed in many television shows, commercials, and on stage in musical performances. When did you first start whistling, and what is it about it that relaxes you?
Guerin: I’ve been a whistler all my life. It was so interesting when composers found me. I’ve whistled in the scores of several documentaries, pop records, commercials, feature films and TV. I once got wind (no pun intended) that they were looking for an actor who whistled for an episode of LA LAW. I had been cast by the casting director, Simon Ayer, in other projects so I called him and asked if it was so. He then said, “Why, can you whistle?” I responded, “Is the Titanic moist?” I worked that episode, titled, Whistle Stop. Seriously, I think whistling has kept me healthy, too. I had smoked, heavily for decades during which doctors always complimented my lung capacity and strength. I suspect it was whistling, the deep inhalation of breath and the slow, measured exhalation that kept me healthy. We need food, water, sleep and oxygen for healthy life. I get more oxygen than most. However, I do whistle all day, which can be annoying to others. During my time as a member of the rock and roll group, Sha Na Na, they made rules…No whistling in the airport, the limo, the hotel front desk or backstage. The rule was exempted when we performed Rockin’ Robin or The Stroll, both of which have whistling passages in the song.
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Athan: As a member of rock and roll group Sha Na Na, you were a bass singer in the band for several years. From your perspective, what was the best part of being a member of the group?
Guerin: The wife of a friend saw the notice in Variety…Wanted, bass-player, bass-singer for Internationally-touring, ‘50s rock band. That sounded to me like Sha Na Na, a band that I liked because they played the music of my own teen years. I do play the bass and my voice had matured to a deep bass but…I was 42 years old. I knew that nobody was going to hire my old ass to rock around the world but I wanted to play with the band just once. It was a blast. I enjoyed meeting the guys and “getting down” with them for a few tunes. Imagine my surprise when, days later, band member, Chico called and said, “Your number’s up, bub.” I reminded him that I was the old dude and asked if he had the right number. It seems that the other auditioners who were better singers, better dancers and better bass players than me were in their ‘20s. The members of the band, who had been on tour for 14 years, were in their late ‘30s and I was a fresh-looking 42. If they had hired a young player, they would have looked older so…they hired me because I looked more age appropriate. They gave me the name, Tito. Occupying another life was so much fun, revisiting my teen years at that age, touring the world, seeing Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and every State Fair and casino in the States. Not everyone gets a chance to drop into another life at that age. After four, long years in the air and on the road, 250 days a year, I missed acting and “real life”, so I gave notice and became Guerin again.
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Athan: Do you have any upcoming projects of which you would like to tell readers?
Guerin: I am, at 81, in glorious, semi-retirement, although still active in voice acting. I am working on a new project. As I Face Time with my three, great granddaughters, I play the uke and sing children’s songs to them. One of their mothers, my granddaughter, Sasha, suggested that I create a YouTube channel of children’s songs so that they might access them at any time, so I’m in the process of creating the YouTube channel, MISTER JIYAN, (the name that the babies call me). Look for me on YouTube. If you’ve got small children, feel free to sing along with me. All of my audiobooks are also available at audible.com.
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Thank you so much today for your time Guerin, and for the insight you have provided into the art of acting, A DIFFERENT STORY, cinema, television, voice over work, whistling, and being part of a rock and rock band. It has been wonderful having you on CINEMATIC REVELATIONS. You are welcome to return whenever you wish.
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Guerin Barry links
+A DIFFERENT STORY movie IMDb page
