Barret Oliver

Infobox actor
name = Barret Oliver


caption =
birthname = Barrett Spencer Oliver
birthdate = birth date and age|1973|8|24
birthplace = Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
yearsactive = 1981–1989, 2008–present

Barrett Spencer Oliver (born August 24, 1973) is an American former child actor who later found work as a photographer. He became famous for such roles as the boy Bastian in the film adaptation of "The NeverEnding Story" and an android in "D.A.R.Y.L."

Biography

Early life

Oliver was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Kathy and Kent Oliver, an interior designer. He has an older brother, Kyle. Oliver attended the Los Feliz Private School (also sometimes called the Apple School) and continued to live in the Los Angeles area throughout his acting career.

In the late 1970s, a friend of the Oliver family with Hollywood connections introduced Kyle to the movie business, where he soon achieved some modest success in juvenile roles. At once, Barret on his own initiative declared that he would like to venture on to the screen. His first appearances were in a number of commercials, and this eventually led to small roles in television productions such as "Battlestar Galactica" and "The Incredible Hulk."

Career: 1982-1985

By 1982, Oliver was being offered more significant, speaking roles in the feature movies "Kiss Me Goodbye," "Jekyll And Hyde...Together Again," and "Uncommon Valor." There was also a well-developed character for him in the pilot episode of "Knight Rider" for TV, and in a further pilot for "The Circle Family" which did not evolve into the expected series. During the autumn of the same year, he was one of 200 boys to audition for the role of Bastian in the imminent production of "The NeverEnding Story," to be directed by Wolfgang Petersen. Barret made a strong impression, but was initially rejected on the grounds of being too young and immature for the role.Fact|date=September 2008

By March 1983, however, the casting directors for "The NeverEnding Story" had still not found their ideal Bastian, and Barret was called to re-audition. The agents were amazed that he had matured so much in a few months, and they were impressed by the confidence and intensity with which he read the scene with Bastian in conversation with Koreander, though he had declined the chance of a practice run.Fact|date=September 2008 It happened that Petersen was in LA at that time for the Oscar presentations. So it was arranged that Barret should meet Petersen in a lounge at LA airport - Petersen's Lufthansa flight was delayed so that the meeting could take place. Barret was immediately confirmed in the Bastian role, and shooting began in Munich only a few weeks later.Fact|date=September 2008

"The NeverEnding Story" was filmed in Munich during the spring and summer of 1983, and premiered in Germany in April 1984. Barret's powerful contribution to the success of this movie brought him a measure of international stardom, and despite the author of the original book reportedly being unhappy with the film, it is still regarded as a classicFact|date=September 2008. At around the time of the release of "The NeverEnding Story," Tim Burton was planning his first live-action movie under the Disney banner. This was to be "Frankenweenie," which spoofed, but also paid loving tribute to, the gothic horror genre. The lead role was that of a young boy who uses Frankensteinian techniques to resuscitate his beloved dog, killed in a traffic accident. Burton was keen to cast Barret in this part, and the movie was shot in a few weeks in the early summer of 1984. But once it was completed, Disney lost the courage to release it. In spite of that, it eventually came to be regarded as a minor classic, and remained widely available as of early April 2008.Fact|date=September 2008

In that same year, he was featured in Wes Craven's "Invitation to Hell," in the "Highway to Heaven" episode "To Touch The Moon," and in the "Finder of Lost Loves" episode "Portraits." These were minor productions, but Barret had a major role in each of them.

Career: 1985-present

Barret was not short of screen work at this time. He spent the late summer of 1984 in Florida, filming the role of David in "Cocoon" under the direction of Ron Howard. Oliver was very effective in this, but he himself was quick to acknowledge his debt to Howard's directorial assistanceFact|date=September 2008. The David character is central to the movie's storyline, appearing in both the first and last scene, and Barret also had the chance to learn from working with a cast of former Hollywood stars. Yet Barret's career was developing further even while "Cocoon" was being shot. He had been shortlisted for the title role of Daryl in "D.A.R.Y.L.." and he was flown to New York during the "Cocoon" shoot to confirm him in this role.Fact|date=September 2008

Filming for "D.A.R.Y.L." started in January 1985; the first scene to be shot was Daryl's and Turtle's first day at schoolFact|date=September 2008. There were location shoots in Florida, North Carolina, and France, while the technical scenes were completed at Pinewood studios near London, England, in March 1985. The movie opened in June of that year, and critical reaction was mixed. The movie itself was regarded as enjoyable, but less meaningful in the context of its human/android theme than had been hoped; yet Barret's playing of the title role was widely regarded as a skilled example of juvenile actingby whom?] . He and his family paid their only visit to Japan at this time, to promote "D.A.R.Y.L.," and there was considerable worldwide interest in the movie. Fact|date=September 2008

Oliver won the Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor for his role as the cyborg Daryl in the film "D.A.R.Y.L."

Oliver's next appearance was in the Shelley Duvall production of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" in her "Tall Tales and Legends" series for TV. At the end of the year (1985) he returned to the realm of sci-fi in "Gramma," an episode of "The New Twilight Zone" based on a Stephen King story. Here Barret was on screen for the entire episode, and also did the voice-overs, but the low production values in NTZ prevented Barret's efforts from making much critical impression. In 1986, however, he moved on to his last feature-length role as a juvenile actor in Disney's lightweight comedy-crime-spoof "Spot Marks the X". Here at last Barret was able to play the part of a normal, well-balanced, good-humored American youth, and he clearly revelled in the opportunity.

Henceforth Barret, his voice now changed, took on the roles of teenagers rather than children. In 1987 he returned to England to shoot "The Secret Garden" with a galaxy of British stars that included Sir Michael Hordern and Sir Derek Jacobi. The casting of an American in the role of Dickon Sowerby, an English rustic lad, is open to question, but Barret performed manfully, giving the part a wistful twist. Next, after completing an episode in the "Hooperman" television series, he was recalled in 1988 for a reprise of the "Cocoon" theme in "," but by this time his natural charm and confidence in front of a camera was less conspicuous, and he lacked the support of a Ron Howard. In 1989 he was asked by Paul Bartel to take on the role of Willie Saravian in "Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills." Here Barret broke new ground, as his role was that of a diseased teenager with sexual fantasies. This became his last known acting role as of early April 2008.

Photography

As of early April 2008, Oliver was working as a teacher of photography classes in Los Angeles, and some of his photographic works were exhibited in galleries and exhibitions. He became respected for his knowledge of 19th century photography techniques, and he even wrote a book titled "A History Of The Woodburytype." He was also involved in the wet plate photography for the movie "Cold Mountain." In addition, Oliver was one of the 10 featured emerging photographers in the 2007 Silverstein Photography Annual (SPA).

Filmography

*"Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills" (1989)
*"" (1988)
*"The Secret Garden" (1987) (TV)
*"Spot Marks the X" (1986) (TV)
*"Cocoon" (1985)
*"D.A.R.Y.L." (1985)
*"The NeverEnding Story" (1984)
*"Frankenweenie" (1984)
*"Invitation to Hell" (1984) (TV)
*"Uncommon Valor" (1983/I)
*"Kiss Me Goodbye" (1982)
*"The Circle Family" (1982) (TV)
*"Jekyll and Hyde... Together Again" (1982)
*"Knight Rider" (1982) (TV)

External links

*imdb name|id=0646768|name=Barret Oliver
* [http://www.geocities.com/barretoliver03/ Unofficial Fan Site]
* [http://nccn.net/~cmautz/Woodburytype.htm A History of the Woodburytype] +
* [http://www.silversteinphotography.com/galleries.php?gid=319 Silverstein Photography Annual]