David Berry is an Australian-Canadian actor known for his role as James Bligh in the television series A Place To Call Home and Lord John Grey in the Starz television series Outlander.

David Berry
David Berry and his A Place To Call Home costar Arianwen Parkes-Lockwood in 2013
Born
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
NationalityAustralian
OccupationActor
Years active2012–present
Notable credits
SpouseKristina Tesic (m. 2012)
Children1

Early life

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Berry was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, but moved to Sydney, Australia, at the age of 7. One of four children, he is talented in both singing and the violin.[1] As a child, he attended school on a scholarship for voice, splitting his time between school and professional performances that included work at Opera Australia and numerous festivals. In 2002, he received a scholarship to study political science at Montreal's McGill University, where he earned a B.A. in Political Sciences and Cultural Studies. Returning to Australia, he began his Masters in Media Practice at the University of Sydney, while also working as a researcher in the newsroom for Channel Seven. Shortly after, he decided to abandon a career in media and return to his true passion, the performing arts. He applied and was accepted to the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), from which he graduated in 2010.[2][3]

Career

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David Berry (L) and Lauren Lyle (R) answer fan questions during their panel at the Sasnak City Outlander convention on 17 November 2018.

Berry's first professional role was a guest appearance in an episode of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries.[2][4] He went on that same year to portray Logan Meyer in a ten episode stint on 7 Network's long running soap opera Home and Away.[5] In 2013, Berry starred in writer/director Robert White's made for TV horror film, Progeny.[6] He also joined the main cast of the Foxtel drama A Place To Call Home as James Bligh, a man tortured by society's treatment of his homosexuality, in 1950s Australia.[4][7][8]

2015 saw Berry star as Brian Cleaver in The Crater: A True Story of Vietnam. The film revolves around the experiences of Cleaver during The Battle of Coral-Balmoral, fought between May 12 and June 6, 1968.[9]

In August 2016, it was announced that Berry would be joining the cast of Starz's time travel period drama Outlander, in the recurring role of Lord John Grey.[10][11][12] He debuted in the 2017 episode "All Debts Paid",[13] appearing in seasons three through six.

2020 saw Berry team up with fellow actor Tim Downie on an unofficial Outlander podcast entitled Outcasts.[14]

Filmography

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Television

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Year Title Character Production Notes
2012 Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries Alastair ABC Episode: "Murder on the Ballarat Train"
2012 Home and Away Logan Meyer 7 Network 10 episodes
2013 Progeny Damien Wagsword Entertainment Television film
2013–2018 A Place to Call Home James Bligh Foxtel Series regular, 56 episodes
2017–present Outlander Lord John Grey Starz Recurring role, 12 episodes
2022 Riptide Dan Burrell 4 episodes

Film

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Year Title Character Notes
2015 The Crater: A True Story of Vietnam Brian Cleaver Based upon the story of Brian Cleaver at the Battle of Coral-Balmoral.[9]

Theater

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Year Title Role Director Theatre
2010 Lost Illusions Lucien Chardon[3] Ian Sinclair NIDA
2010 Medea Material Jason Kat Henry NIDA
2010 Assassins John Wilkes Booth[3] Tony Knight NIDA
2011 Men Without Shadows Jeanie[3] Hendrik Elstein Sly Rat/NIDA
2011 A Little Touch of Chaos Arthur[3] James Millar/Peter Rutherford Grant Street Theatre[15]
2015 Of thee I Sing Wintergreen[16] Jay James-Moody Sydney Opera House

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Nominated work Result
2016 Logie Awards Most Outstanding Supporting Actor A Place to Call Home[17] Nominated

Personal life

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Berry married Kristina Tesic in 2012.[2] They had a son in 2016.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "On the Couch with Caitlin Berry". Australian Arts Review. 23 November 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "A Place To Call Home: David Berry". Yahoo! TV Australia. Archived from the original on 10 June 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e Desk, TV News. "David Berry Cast as 'Lord John Grey' in Hit Starz Series OUTLANDER". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 16 January 2019. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  4. ^ a b c Kinney, Valarie (3 February 2017). "Outlander's David Berry settles into fatherhood after birth of adorable tot". Daily Record. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  5. ^ Steger, Sarah. "International TV star coming to Gladstone". Gladstone Observer. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  6. ^ "Meet Outlander's Lord John Grey". E! Online. 29 August 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  7. ^ Molloy, Shannon (26 September 2015). "Shunned, abused and tortured: David Berry portrays what many gay men endured in 1950s Australia". News.com.au. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  8. ^ "Outlander star David Berry: Why I've returned to A Place to Call Home". 16 August 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2019 – via who.com.au.
  9. ^ a b "Vietnam War doco The Crater tells Brian Cleaver's story at Battle of Coral-Balmoral". Retrieved 17 January 2019 – via news.com.au.
  10. ^ Petski, Denise (29 August 2016). "Outlander Casts David Berry As Lord John Grey". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  11. ^ Rice, Lynette (29 August 2016). "Outlander finds its Lord John Grey". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  12. ^ "Outlander Finds Its Lord John Grey in David Berry". Variety. 29 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  13. ^ Cliffe, Nicole (24 September 2017). "Outlander Recap: Who's Afraid of Virginia Randall?". Vulture. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  14. ^ Debnath, Neela (8 July 2020). "Outlander Sam Heughan audition: How did Sam Heughan land Jamie Fraser role?". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  15. ^ Chuter, Robert (30 July 2014). "A Little Touch of Chaos". ArtsHub Australia. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  16. ^ Yu, Juliana (22 September 2015). "Gershwin musical Of Thee I Sing shines a light on the farce of politics". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  17. ^ "2016 Logie Awards: winners". TV Tonight. 8 May 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
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David Berry at IMDb