Barry Otto

• Name — Barry Otto • Born — 1941 • Birthplace — Brisbane, Queensland, Australia • Education — Brisbane Central Technical College • Occupation — Actor • Years Active — 1975–present • Spouse — * Susan Hill • Children — 3, including Miranda and Gracie Otto Barry Otto (born 1941) is an Australian actor.

Barry Otto was born in 1941 in Brisbane, the son of Alice Long and Bob Stephens, a car dealer from the suburb of Chermside. His mother later married Ronald Otto, a butcher of German ancestry. Barry is actually of Scottish and Irish descent. He has a sister named Denise, who was a model. Otto's artistic talents were discovered at the age of 17, by the family landlord, May Stephens. She had found him painting a watercolour replica of one of the Norman Lindsay paintings she owned, after which she paid for him to attend Brisbane Central Technical College. Stephens also took him to the theatre and the opera, which inspired him to follow his passion for the arts. In the 1960s, Otto worked as a commercial artist and fashion illustrator, for the likes of Myer and McWhirters, while he took classes in cutting and designing, with dreams of becoming a fashion designer. Otto started his acting career in amateur theatre, but never formally trained as an actor.

Otto began acting in amateur theatre and drawing room comedies in the 1970s. He has starred in numerous films, including playing Harry Joy in Bliss (1985), for which he received a Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Actor. His performance as Doug Hastings (father of Paul Mercurio's Scott) in Baz Luhrmann's first feature film Strictly Ballroom (1992) earned him two awards for Best Supporting Actor from the Australian Film Institute and Film Critics Circle of Australia. He then appeared in Dad and Dave: On Our Selection (1995), opposite Geoffrey Rush and Noah Taylor and Lilian's Story (1996) alongside Toni Collette. In 1996, he starred as mental health patient Roy in Cosi for which he received a Green Room Award for Best Actor. In 1997 he starred in The Nice Guy with Jackie Chan, and played Jimmy D’Abbs in Oscar and Lucinda, opposite Cate Blanchett. The same year he had a role in Kiss or Kill (1997), before appearing in Dead Letter Office, opposite daughter Miranda in 1998. He went on to star in 2002 short film The Visitor, romantic drama Love's Brother (2004) and horror feature Rogue (2007). Otto portrayed Administrator Allsop in Baz Luhrmann epic adventure drama Australia with Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman in 2008, and the same year also starred in Three Blind Mice and drama film Newcastle. Further film credits include Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby (2013) with Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire, and comedy drama film The Dressmaker (2015) starring Kate Winslet and Liam Hemsworth. Otto has also performed voicework, including narrating the 2001 animated short Dad’s Clock He voiced a character in 2010 animated film Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole and in 2015, he voiced the role of Mayor Wilberforce Cranklepot, a goanna, in animated feature Blinky Bill the Movie. Otto has worked extensively in television, beginning with an ongoing role as Trevor McKenzie in Grundy's soap opera Until Tomorrow in 1975. He later starred as Douglas Goddard in the acclaimed 1987 miniseries Vietnam alongside Nicole Kidman. His other miniseries credits include The Dismissal (1983), The Paper Man (1990) and Through My Eyes (2004) alongside daughter Miranda. He starred as Sir Jeffrey in dance series Dance Academy in 2013, and as Julius Bechly in Sisters in 2017. In 2023, the film Australia received a spin-off miniseries, Faraway Downs in which Otto reprised his role as Administrator Alsop. He has also had guest roles in Case for the Defence, Spring & Fall and A Country Practice, Shadows of the Heart, G.P., Murder Call, Outriders, Farscape, The Secret Life of Us, HeadLand, All Saints, Stupid Stupid Man, Rake and The Other Guy. Additionally, Otto has appeared in numerous theatre productions during his career, including The Marriage of Figaro for which he won a 1991 Green Room Award. He received another 1994 Green Room Award for his performance as Roy in the MTC's production of Cosi, the same part he played in the original 1992 Belvoir production and the 1996 feature film. Playing Captain Andy in the Mariner Theatre’s Showboat in 1999 saw him nominated for another Green Room Award. His role in Last Cab to Darwin earned him a 2005 Adelaide Theatre Guide Award nomination for Best Individual Male Performance, while his performance in Tartuffe for the Melbourne Theatre Company earned him yet another Green Room Award nomination in 2008. Otto's daughter Gracie directed Otto By Otto, a 2024 documentary film for Revealed on Stan, celebrating the life and career of her father. The film was a finalist for the Documentary Australia Award at the Sydney Film Festival, and won the 2025 AACTA Award for Best Documentary.

Otto married Lindsay Clayton, whom he met while performing in amateur theatre in Brisbane. They appeared together in a Brisbane Repertory Theatre 1967 stage production of Goodnight Mrs Puffin. Together they had a daughter Miranda (also an actress), who was born in Brisbane in 1967. They divorced in 1973. After his marriage broke down, Otto met second wife Susan 'Sue' Hill (eventual co-founder of Sydney’s Belvoir Street Theatre), whom he credits with "rescuing him". They met at Brisbane's Twelfth Night Theatre box-office and moved to Sydney in the mid-1970s, when Otto was in his mid-30s, settling in Petersham and both scoring jobs at the Nimrod Theatre. Together with Hill, Otto has a son, Eddie (a teacher and professional cricket coach), and daughter, Gracie (a filmmaker and actress), born in 1987 in Sydney. Through daughter Miranda and her actor husband Peter O’Brien, Otto is grandfather to Darcey O'Brien. Otto is also an artist. He often paints members of his family and has twice entered the Archibald Prize. Otto was prone to suffering from depression, which hit an all-time low when he suffered a nervous breakdown after a blow to his confidence when performing in a stage production of The Kreutzer Sonata at the Adelaide Festival. After a stint in hospital for a hip replacement, in which he became confused, Otto was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2018. Ultimately, his family decided against telling him, as they feared it would exacerbate his depression.

• Illustration — Otto with Australian actress Deborah Mailman in 2012

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1975 — Until Tomorrow — Trevor McKenzie — 180 episodes • 1977 — Benny Hill Down Under — Trevor McKenzie — TV movie • 1978 — Case for the Defence — Doctor — 1 episode • Tickled Pink — Leo — TV special • 1980 — Spring & Fall — Harry Dawson — Anthology series, season 1, episode 5: "The Slammer" • 1982 — M.P.S.I.B. — Mike Barry — 1 episode • 1983 — The Dismissal — Miniseries, 1 episode • A Country Practice — Bela Szollos — 4 episodes • 1984 — The Secret Discovery of Australia — French Ambassador — TV movie • Singies — Peter — Miniseries, 1 episode • Who Killed Hannah Jane? — James Harnney — TV movie • 1985 — The Fast Lane — Daniells — 1 episode • 1986 — Studio 86 — Mr Van Mint — 1 episode • 1987 — Frontier — Government Agent Archibald Meston — Miniseries, 3 episodes • I've Come About the Suicide — Garfield Lawson — TV movie • Vietnam — Douglas Goddard — Miniseries, 10 episodes • 1988 — Takeover — George Oppenheimer — TV movie • 1989 — The Hijacking of the Achille Lauro — Kevin Blaxland — TV movie • 1990 — The Paper Man — Elliot Calder — Miniseries, 4 episodes • Shadows of the Heart — Charles Munro — 2 episodes • 1992 — G.P. — Geoff Evatt — 1 episode • 1993 — Under the Skin — 1 episode • 1998 — Murder Call — Otis Farrow — Season 2, episodes 10-11: "Deadfall" (parts 1 &2) • 2001 — Outriders — Antiques Dealer — 1 episode • Invincible — Professor — TV movie • 2002 — Farscape — Dr Tumii — 1 episode • Don't Blame the Koalas — Mr Fitch — 2 episodes • 2004 — Loot — Charles Highsmith — TV movie • 2005 — The Secret Life of Us — Bill Holdforth — Season 4, episode 12: "The Heart of Friday Night" • HeadLand — Professor Day — 2 episodes • 2006 — All Saints — Bob Tyrell — 1 episode • Stupid Stupid Man — Principal Cooper — Season 1, 1 episode • 2013 — Dance Academy — Sir Jeffery — Season 3, 6 episodes • 2015 — Pypo — 1 episode • 2016 — Rake — Judge Cowper — 1 episode • 2017 — Sisters — Julius Bechly — 7 episodes • 2019 — The Other Guy — Ron — Episode: "New Wheels and Cock Socks" • 2023 — Faraway Downs — Administrator Alsop — 6 episodes

• Year — Title — Role — Company • 1967 — Goodnight Mrs Puffin — Nicholas Fordyce — Brisbane Repertory Theatre • 1970 — Eden House — Bernie Smith — La Boite Theatre, Brisbane • 1971 — Flash Jim Vaux — Circus Style Performer — Twelfth Night Theatre, Brisbane • 1974 — Present Laughter — SGIO Theatre, Brisbane • A Doll’s House — Torvald Helmer • A Stretch of the Imagination — Monk — La Boite Theatre, Brisbane • 1975 — How Does Your Garden Grow? — Twelfth Night Theatre, Brisbane • 1976 — The Tatty Hollow Story — Ben — Stables Theatre, Sydney • Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been? — Edward Dmytryk / Investigator — Nimrod Theatre, Sydney • The Recruiting Officer — Constable • The Duchess of Malfi — Castruchio / Count Malateste • 1976–1977 — Travesties — Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov • 1977 — Twelfth Night — Orsino • Wild Oats — Ephraim Smooth — Seymour Centre, Sydney • The Tempest — Sebastian — Sydney Opera House • 1978 — Black Comedy — Brindsley Miller • The Misanthrope — Alceste • Hay Fever — Sandy Tyrell — Canberra Theatre, Sydney Opera House • The Lady from Maxim’s — Dr Petypon — Sydney Opera House • 1979 — The Bed Before Yesterday — Felix — Theatre Royal Sydney • On Our Selection — Old Carey / Jim Carey — Jane St Theatre, Sydney, Nimrod Theatre, Sydney • Upside Down at the Bottom of the World — D. H. Lawrence — Nimrod Theatre, Sydney • 1980 — Traitors — Giorgi Krasin • The Bride of Gospel Place — The Master — Jane St Theatre, Sydney • The Dybbuk — Azriel • Volpone — Corvino — Nimrod Theatre, Sydney • 1981 — Three Sisters — Fyodor Ilyich Kulyghin • Protest: Audience / Private View / Protest — Malster / Michal / Stane • Cloud Nine — Clive / Cathy • Tales from the Vienna Woods — Zauberkonig • 1982 — Welcome the Bright World — Sebastian Ayalti • Burn Victim • 1983 — Uncle Vanya — Uncle Vanya • The Portage to San Cristobal of A.H. — Adolf Hitler — Sydney Opera House • 1987 — Tom and Viv — T. S. Eliot — Wharf Theatre, Sydney with STC • Kiss of the Spider Woman — Seymour Centre, Sydney with Nimrod Theatre Company • 1988 — Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune — Johnny — University of Sydney • 1989–1991 — The Marriage of Figaro — Figaro — Wharf Theatre, Sydney, Playhouse, Melbourne with STC • 1990 — Hot Fudge and Icecream — Wharf Theatre, Sydney with STC • 1991 — Hotel Sorrento — Edwin — Wharf Theatre, Sydney • 1992 — Cosi — Roy — Belvoir Theatre, Sydney • 1993 — The Trials of Brother Jero — Courtyard Theatre, Bondi • Faust — Faust — Russell St Theatre, Melbourne with MTC • 1994 — White Wheat — Domain Theatre, Sydney • Amadeus — Salieri — Melbourne Athenaeum • Cosi — Roy — Russell St Theatre, Melbourne with MTC • 1995 — The Tempest — Prospero — Belvoir Theatre, Sydney, Space Theatre, Adelaide • 1996 — Night on Bald Mountain — Hugo — Playhouse Adelaide with STCSA & Belvoir Theatre, Sydney • Wasp — Belvoir Theatre, Sydney • 1998 — Show Boat — Cap'n Andy — Lyric Theatre Sydney, Regent Theatre, Melbourne • 1999 — Barrymore — John Barrymore — Sydney Opera House, Glen St Theatre, Sydney, Newcastle Civic Theatre, Cremorne Theatre, Brisbane with STC • 2000 — The Falls — Director — Stables Theatre, Sydney with Griffin Theatre Company • 2002 — Volpone — Volpone — Sydney Opera House • 2003 — Proof — Robert — Sydney Opera House, Glen St Theatre, Sydney • 2003–2004 — Last Cab to Darwin — Max — Australian tour with Pork Chop Productions • 2005 — Boy Gets Girl — Les Kennkat — Wharf Theatre, Sydney with STC • King Lear — King Lear — Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne • 2007 — Troupers — Isaac — Wharf Theatre, Sydney with STC • Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? — Martin — Cremorne Theatre, Brisbane with QTC • Heroes — Philippe • 2008 — Tartuffe — Orgon — Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne with MTC • Hamlet — Polonius — Sydney Opera House, Playhouse, Melbourne with Bell Shakespeare • 2009 — Optimism — Pangloss — Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne, Sydney Opera House & Royal Lyceum Theatre for Edinburgh Comedy Festival • 2012 — The Histrionic — The Landlord — Malthouse Theatre, Wharf Theatre, Sydney with STC • 2013 — The Kreutzer Sonata — Pozdnyshev — STCSA for Adelaide Festival • 2015 — Seventeen — Ronny — Belvoir Theatre, Sydney • King Lear — King Lear — STC

• Year — Title — Role — Company • 1979 — What Price Glory? — Pharmacist's Mate — ABC Radio, Sydney

• Illustration — Otto's plaque at the Australian Film Walk of Fame, Ritz Cinema, Randwick, Sydney

Otto was inducted into the Australian Film Walk of Fame in 2012 (located outside Ritz Cinema in ‘The Spot’ at Randwick) alongside actress Deborah Mailman. Recipients honoured in years before him were Charles 'Bud' Tingwell (2008), Michael Caton, (2009), Roy Billing (2009), Claudia Karvan (2010), Steve Bisley (2010), Gary Sweet (2011) and Jack Thompson (2011).

• Year — Work — Award — Category — Result • 1985 — Bliss — Australian Film Institute Award — Best Actor in a Leading Role • 1986 — The More Things Change... — Australian Film Institute Award — Best Actor in a Leading Role • 1991 — The Marriage of Figaro — Green Room Award — Leading Male in a Drama • 1992 — Strictly Ballroom — Australian Film Institute Award — Best Actor in a Supporting Role • 1992 — Strictly Ballroom — Film Critics Circle of Australia Award — Best Supporting Actor • 1993 — The Custodian — Australian Film Institute Award — Best Actor in a Supporting Role • 1994 — Cosi (play) — Green Room Award — Leading Male in a Drama • 1996 — Cosi (film) — Australian Film Institute Award — Best Actor in a Supporting Role • 1999 — Showboat — Green Room Award — Male Artist in a Leading Role • 2005 — Last Cab to Darwin — Adelaide Theatre Guide Award — Best Individual Male Performance • 2008 — Tartuffe — Green Room Award — Best Male Performer • 2015 — Blinky Bill the Movie — Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards — Favourite Voice in an Animated Film