Raymond J. Barry was born in New York, and attended Brown University, where he was a star athlete in football, basketball, and track. While there, he earned his degree in Philosophy, and as a senior was cast in the stage production of "Picnic", where he played a football player. He then entered the Yale Drama School, and after completing acted in the Broadway play "The Leaf People". He has appeared in over 100 plays, and has starred in such films as Dead Man Walking, Sudden Death, and The Chamber.


Trained in acting by William Hickey. Worked with Julian Beck in The Living Theater, one of the leaders in avant-garde theater during the 1960s in New York. Received a Dramalogue Award and L.A. Drama Critics Award for writing and starring in "Once In Doubt" at the Los Angeles Theatre Centre. Barry earned a degree in philosophy at Brown University before being accepted by the Yale University School of Drama.