Lance Barber

Last updated

Lance Barber
Born (1973-06-29) June 29, 1973 (age 52)
Alma mater Kellogg Community College
OccupationActor
Years active1998–present
Known for
SpouseAliza Barber
Children2

Lance Barber (born June 29, 1973) [1] is an American actor. He gained recognition for his main role as Paulie G on the HBO sitcom The Comeback (2005; 2014), which was followed with a starring role in the film The Godfather of Green Bay (2005).

Contents

In the 2010s, Barber had recurring roles as Bill Ponderosa on the FX and FXX sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2010–2013; 2015–2018) and Lucas on the MTV television series Faking It (2014–2016). He received renewed attention for his main role as George Cooper Sr. on the CBS sitcom Young Sheldon (2017–2024).

Early life

Barber was born and raised in Battle Creek, Michigan, and developed an interest in acting at the age of seven, after seeing a performance of Grease at the Barn Theatre. [1] He acted at Pennfield High School, from which he graduated in 1991, and performed in school productions from Kellogg Community College [1] while earning his associate degree.

Career

After a year at the Barn Theatre, Barber moved to Chicago and spent five years working his way up in The Second City improvisational comedy troupe. [1] He then moved to Los Angeles and had his first television role in On the Spot, an improv sketch show that ran for five episodes on The WB in 2003. [1] He credits his breakthrough to the 2005 HBO series The Comeback with Lisa Kudrow, in which he played Paulie G., a television writer. In 2010, he landed the recurring role of Bill Ponderosa on FX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia . [1] He reprised his role as Paulie G. when HBO brought back The Comeback in 2014. [2] He also appeared in episodes of How I Met Your Mother , Gilmore Girls , Californication , Monk , The Mentalist , and Grey's Anatomy .

Barber played Jimmy Speckerman, who bullied Leonard Hofstadter at high school, in one episode of The Big Bang Theory . [3] He was cast as George Cooper Sr., father of Sheldon Cooper, in the spin-off Young Sheldon that premiered in 2017, and mentioned in an interview that some fans were confused by his different roles in the two related series. [3] [4] Barber also played Cooper in "The VCR Illumination", a 2018 episode of the parent show's twelfth season; the character is deceased in the series but appears on an old VHS tape that Sheldon plays. [5]

Personal life

Barber lives in Los Angeles with his wife Aliza, who is a chef, and their two children. [1]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2002TenfoldDunken Boy
Like Mike Director in CommercialUncredited
2003Patching CabbageRyanShort film
2004Bad MeatBuddy
2005 The Godfather of Green Bay Kenny Caruso
The Poet of CanisThe PoetShort film
2006 For Your Consideration Dinkie
BreakdownLogan ConnerShort film
The Lather EffectPaul Helling
2008 Shades of Ray Karaoke Singer
Leatherheads Toledo Referee
2010Dead CatShort film
PennyFrank
2013 Gangster Squad Comanche
2017Never Seen You Shine So BrightNeil Short film
2021Raunch and RollCrash
2023 Fool's Paradise Side Kick

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2001 ER Howard NordenEpisode: "Start All Over Again"
2001; 2006 Gilmore Girls The Man at Inn / Hugo Gray2 episodes
2002 What I Like About You Phone GuyEpisode: "Spa Day"
2003 On the Spot Ensemble Player5 episodes
2004 Come to Papa PhillipEpisode: "The Crush"
Faking the Video Billy the Fake DirectorEpisode: "Two PA's Left"
Yes, Dear ManEpisode: "Who Done It?"
2005 Joey SteveEpisode: "Joey and the High School Friend"
2005; 2014 The Comeback Paulie G.21 episodes
2006Thick and ThinKevinEpisode: "Mary Moves On"
Untitled Patricia Heaton ProjectPete Television film
2007 The Hill Eric
Californication Nick Lowry3 episodes
InsatiableJerry MarinelliEpisode: "Pilot"
2008 The Mentalist Daniel CardeiraEpisode: "Red-Handed"
The Middleman Johnny JohnEpisode: "The Cursed Tuba Contingency"
2009Single White MillionaireSeth MortinTelevision film
CSI: Miami Al WayonsEpisode: "Bad Seed"
Monk Bill the DeliverymanEpisode: "Mr. Monk Is Someone Else"
2010 Justified FrankEpisode: "Long in the Tooth"
United States of Tara Sully2 episodes
Grey's Anatomy PhilEpisode: "Suicide Is Painless"
Men of a Certain Age Hardware Store ManagerEpisode: "Father's Fraternity"
2010–2013, 2015–2018 It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Bill Ponderosa11 episodes
2011 Harry's Law David KerwinEpisode: "Purple Hearts"
2011; 2018 The Big Bang Theory Jimmy Speckerman / George Cooper Sr. 2 episodes
2012 Baby Daddy TommyEpisode: "The Daddy Whisperer"
The Soul Man Mr. RichardsonEpisode: "Pastor Interference"
How I Met Your Mother Guard #1Episode: "The Magician's Code Part 2"
Key and Peele CopEpisode: "Episode #1.2"
2013Timms ValleyEpisode: "2nd Executive"
The Crazy Ones ClydeEpisode: "Models Love Magic"
Franklin & Bash Teddy LazlowEpisode: "Control"
Whitney NateEpisode: "Sorry!"
2014 Masters of Sex LarryEpisode: "One for the Money, Two for the Show"
Garfunkel and Oates DrewEpisode: "Speechless"
Hot in Cleveland TylerEpisode: "Straight Outta Cleveland"
Bob's Burgers Justgrillin' (voice)Episode: "Uncle Teddy"
We Got NextJayTelevision film
2014–2016 Faking It Lucas / Karma's Dad8 episodes
2015 Dr. Ken Phil StocktonEpisode: "The Master Scheduler"
2016 Brooklyn Nine-Nine PatrickEpisode: "Captain Latvia"
2016, 2017 Black-ish Dr. Gabler2 episodes
2017 All Hail King Julien Bruce (voice)Episode: "One More Cup"
2017–2024 Young Sheldon George Cooper Sr.141 episodes
2023; 2025 Big City Greens Frank / TV Announcer (voice)5 episodes
2025 Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage George Cooper Sr.Episode: "Typhoid Georgie"

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Lance Barber finds a home in television". Battle Creek Enquirer . November 14, 2014. Archived from the original on March 2, 2022. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
  2. Metz, Nina (December 11, 2014). "Lance Barber on his long-awaited 'Comeback'". Chicago Tribune . Archived from the original on September 27, 2017. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Young Sheldon interview: Lance Barber on playing Sheldon's father George Cooper Sr". CarterMatt. September 22, 2017. Archived from the original on February 3, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
  4. Bojalad, Alec (May 17, 2024). "Young Sheldon: Why Everybody Loves Lance Barber's George Sr". Den of Geek. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
  5. Dumaraog, Ana (December 9, 2018). "Big Bang Theory's Young Sheldon Crossover Resolves Its Biggest Continuity Issue". Screenrant. Archived from the original on October 17, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.