From classic Westerns to Emmy-nominated TV and modern-day hit streamers, Barry Corbin is the go-to-pro actor who adds his signature country charm to project after project, upstaging the leads and creating quotable TV and movie memories!
Barry joins Weezy to reflect on a remarkable career that began with a childhood dream inspired by movie cowboy Wild Bill Elliott. But Barry understood early that he had no interest in being the cowboy. He wanted to be the actor who plays the cowboy.
We revisit Urban Cowboy, discussing the film's enduring cultural impact and how younger generations still continue discovering it. Barry shares that Uncle Bob's memorable closing monologue was subject to his own rewrite, at the behest of director James Bridges.
The conversation turns to Barry's beloved role as retired astronaut Maurice Minnifield on Northern Exposure, which earned him back-to-back Emmy nominations.
He discusses the show's willingness to explore social issues long before those conversations became commonplace. He identifies Maurice as a man shaped by his era, and recounts a hilarious visit to the Smithsonian that ended with museum staff having to pry him out of John Glenn's Mercury capsule after an ill conceived photo op.
Barry also looks back on the landmark miniseries Lonesome Dove, sharing backstage stories about adapting Larry McMurtry's sprawling novel for television and the production's memorable budget battles.
He recalls learning to drive a six-horse stagecoach for Conagher in just two days, talks about a devoted One Tree Hill fan who had Coach Whitey's quotes tattooed up and down her arms, and confesses to some scene-stealing moments opposite Sylvester Stallone in Tulsa King.
Plus, Barry previews his latest project, the Apple TV+ comedy Brothers, starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson.
And in IMDb Roulette, Barry reveals that Wargames offered another opportunity to add some key lines to the final cut and he takes us behind his memorable scene in No Country For Old Men where the Coen Brothers had no notes for him or Tommy Lee Jones saying, “If you cast it right. There’s no need.”
In media recommendations --
Weezy: The Docuseries Murder 101, streaming on Prime
Engineer, Mason: (In honor of Barry), the book Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Producer, Dina: Netflix original sitcom, Leanne
Path Points of Interest:
Chris Corbin Watching My Dad's Movies
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry