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A lot of people, especially in the comedy genre, have to wait a long time until they’re the star of the show. One of those actors that bided his time before landing a leading role on television is John Ross Bowie, who was most known for his supporting characters on some major hits such as “The Big Bang Theory” before becoming the patriarch of “Speechless”. Bowie has had a very busy career in both film and television to this point, and has plenty of work ahead of him.
Bowie, also like many actors, comes from New York City where he was born on May 30, 1971. Bowie spent his entire childhood in the Big Apple, finishing up his schooling while living in the Manhattan borough. After high school, Bowie headed to Ithaca College, where he earned his degree. Acting didn’t come at first, however.
“I was in my late 20s and I was writing brochures for a huge consulting firm, and it was looking like this was going to be my career, even though I wasn’t very good at it,” he said. “A friend suggested I take improv classes, and desperate for something to do, I jumped in. IMprov has been called an addiction by far smarter people than I, and I was very quickly hooked.”
From there, he went into improv comedy, landing with the popular Upright Citizens Brigade comedy group. The group had their own show in the late 1990s on Comedy Central, and Bowie made his TV debut in 1999 by appearing on that sketch series. The following year, Bowie had his first film with “Road Trip”, playing a small role as a waiter. After a guest spot in “Undeclared” in 2001, Bowie joined the cast for the short-lived NBC series “A.U.S.A.” in 2003.
During the mid 2000s, Bowie had appeared in a lot of different shows as a supporting actor, including shows such as “CSI: NY”, “Las Vegas” and “Reno 911”. During this time, Bowie joined the cast of several films including “Life of the Party”, “He’s Just Not That Into You” and “Because I Said So”. Since then, he’s appeared in films including “The Heat” and “Between Us”.
For many years, Bowie was most known for playing the role of Barry Kripke on “The Big Bang Theory”, a recurring character throughout a majority of the popular show’s run. Kripke was often the foil for Jim Parsons’ Sheldon Cooper character, often getting the one-up on the main character. Bowie was a ribber, for sure, and became a fan favorite throughout the series.
It was a blessing for Bowie’s career, even if he didn’t know if and when he was coming back at any given time. “I (lived) from offer to offer on the show, so I never know how many episodes I will do in a season,” Bowie said. “Usually, I get several weeks’ notice but I don’t see the script until a night or two before we start rehearsing.” When he auditioned, Bowie said he was actually trying out for the role of Leonard that went to Johnny Galecki. “I was uncharacteristically not resentful,” Bowie said of not getting the part. “I didn’t know him, but was familiar with his work and felt he was a good match for the role.”
On top of his work with “The Big Bang Theory”, Bowie had appeared in many other shows in guest spots and recurring roles. This included popular shows like “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”, “Chasing Life” and “Fresh Off the Boat”. Then, in 2016, Bowie finally got his chance to take on that leading role.
Bowie was cast alongside Minnie Driver as parents on the ABC series “Speechless” that followed the DiMeo family and their personal struggles that included caring for a disabled son with cerebral palsy and financial difficulties. “I have friends who have children with various disabilities, and I was able to talk to them about just sort of the struggle and the extra effort that has to be put into very commonplace things,” Bowie said.
“‘Speechless’ is first and foremost a show about a family that doesn’t have a ton of money,” Bowie said. “But they move into a really crappy house in a really nice neighborhood so their kids can go to a nice school.” He added that for his character, “It’s really hard to figure out what (the children) need to know. And that’s parenting in general. It’s hard to figure out what would benefit your kids and what would just make them needlessly frightened. We just can’t scare our kids by living in fear.”
Many were saddened to hear the ABC had ended “Speechless” in 2019 after three seasons, leaving the future a bit open for Bowie. When asked what he wanted to do next, Bowie said “Here’s the answer that no talent agent wants to hear: I wanna do more theater. I’ve done a single play in 11 years, but it was so much fun. I take scene study classes so I can take a break from sitcom work and do some Chekhov, some Shakespeare. I love working in television, and I learn a lot, but there’s something very exciting in doing dialogue that’s been around for over 100 years.”
Talking about his career, Bowie says that “Commercials led to TV, and TV led to movies here and there...There are some people who were born with good timing, and I think my comic timing is pretty solid.” He also gets introspective about the work he does. “I guess that’s the big challenge of any art,” he said. “Do you want to be something for everyone or everything for someone?”
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