- Dan Barry in Dame un poco de amooor…! (1968)
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He was born Joaquín Gómez Sáinz de Rozas in 1940 (date unknown) in the Soba valley, Cantabria, Spain, to a family of horse breeders.
Moving to Madrid at the age of 16, he began bodybuilding, entering weightlifting contests and qualifying as a coach. He won a number of medals in regional championships for weightlifting and Greco-Roman wrestling and worked regularly in circuses.
Several websites say that he was in Gran Canaria serving his mandatory military service at age 22 (so approximately 1962), when he was spotted on the beach by Austrian director Rolf Olsen, who cast him in the leading role in 2 Tarzan movies. This is borne out by images from a compilation video on You Tube, but neither of the titles appear on the IMDb pages for Barry or Olsen and the only place they come up in searches online is in articles about Barry. A third film for Olsen, Der letzte Ritt nach Santa Cruz, also shot in Gran Canaria, does appear on his IMDb page, but I was not able to identify him. Strange!
Dan's confirmed film career commences in 1965 and for the next few years he appeared in quite a few uncredited bit parts. Biographies online say he also worked as a stuntman and stunt double during these years, which could explain why he is elusive in some of the titles listed - he mentioned in an interview that he was involved in the stunt team of José Luis Chinchilla, so he may appear in some of the films where this stunt team is credited.
He seemingly took a break from acting throughout the 70's to concentrate on a successful Rodeo and Adventure show. He returned to the screen at the start of the 80's, now in larger roles and credited with his pseudonym for the first time. He continued working steadily, though hardly prolifically, throughout the 80's, also directing and writing several of the projects he appeared in. He appears to have abandoned acting after 1987, but he does have 2 further credits as a director of documentary features in the 90's.
Dan is assumed to be still living at the time of writing.
Other websites have him listed as "Joaquín Gómez" or "Joaquín Gómez Sáinz", but since he was listed in all his credited acting roles as "Dan Barry" I have therefore used that pseudonym for his topic.
Dan's biographical details come from his website on worldpress. Since the website contains personal images and information not found elsewhere, then I think it is safe to assume that Dan either oversees the site himself or else has given his approval and assistance to whoever does maintain it. Further biographical information comes from an extensive 2006 biography and interview with Dan by José Luis Salvador Estébenez.
Filmography
- La carga de la policía montada .... Soldier (uncredited)
1966 - A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum .... Acrobat (uncredited)
- El arte de no casarse .... Man from the boat (uncredited)
- Mestizo .... Native firing first arrow (uncredited)
- Principe y mendigo (TV mini-series) Ep. 1 .... Fencing master (uncredited)
1967 - Cervantes .... Attacker outside the church (uncredited)
- Custer of the West .... Barman (uncredited)
- Dove si spara di più .... Arm wrestling spectator (uncredited)
1968 - Dame un poco de amooor...! .... Gong banger (uncredited)
1980 - Consultorio sexológico .... Troglodite (poster credit - role unconfirmed)
- Los cántabros .... Corocotta (credited)
1981 - Asalto al casino .... Sir Thomas' bodyguard (credited)
- Comin' at Ya! .... Thompson henchman (uncredited)
1983 - Al oeste de Río Grande .... Apache (credited)
- Bragas calientes .... Security guard (credited)
1984 - Tunka el guerrero .... Tunka (credited, also credited as director and writer as "Joaquín Gómez Sáinz")
Titles to check
- Tarzán en la gruta del diablo (1962 or 63) Dan's website
- Tarzán en la jungla maldita (1962 or 63) Dan's website
- Der letzte Ritt nach Santa Cruz (1964) IMDb as Deputy. I would have put this as not appearing, however since his appearance here comes with a whole back story on his website then I think I must be missing something.
- Battle of the Bulge (1965) Dan's website. I searched this one with no luck, but the film features hundreds of extras playing soldiers, most wearing helmets, so it's quite possible I may have missed him or it's also possible that he appeared as a stuntman or stunt double and is not identifiable.
- Doctor Zhivago (1965) Dan's website. I have not yet been through this film searching specifically for Dan, but I will be doing a topic for this film in the near future so will search for him then - unless someone else wants to do it first.
- Sugar Colt (1966) Dan's website. Again I searched this one with no luck, but I am still fairly unfamiliar with him so it's possible I missed him.
- Camelot (1967) Online biography. Not found, but there are many knights and other background actors who are not seen identifiably.
- Directísimo (1975-76 TV series) Episode unknown. Online biography - Dan reportedly appears as himself in an episode tearing a telephone book in half.
- Estirpe de dioses, aka Raza de guerreros (1982) Online biography. This is another mystery film, which does not appear on IMDb under either of these titles, reportedly unreleased due to financial problems.
- La herencia del mal (1987) IMDb as Da Silva, also as director and writer.
- Historias para no dormir (1966-1982 TV series) Dan's website, episode(s) unknown.
- Curro Jiménez (1976-1979 TV series) Episode(s) unknown. Information from Abel Haro Pulido.
- Roles from unidentified films from a compilation on You Tube