Background and career
John Ross Bowie (; born May 30, 1971) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Barry Kripke in the The Big Bang Theory franchise and Jimmy DiMeo on Speechless, in addition to over 100 film and TV credits.
Bowie was raised in New York City. He graduated from the Bayard Rustin High School for the Humanities in 1989 and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and a teaching credential from Ithaca College. He taught English for one year in New York.
Bowie is a regular sketch comedy performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater (UCBT) in New York and Los Angeles. At UCBT he was a member of the sketch troupe "The Naked Babies" with comedians Rob Corddry, Seth Morris, and Brian Huskey. The group appeared at the 1999 Big Stinkin' International Improv & Sketch Comedy Festival in Austin, Texas.
He had a recurring role in Corddry's Adult Swim series Childrens Hospital. A former member of New York pop punk band Egghead., he worked with Big Bang Theory co-star Kevin Sussman to create two television comedies, The Ever After Part and The Second Coming of Rob. He appeared in What the Bleep Do We Know!? opposite Marlee Matlin and made guest appearances on shows such as Reno 911!, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Glee, and Good Luck Charlie. In March 2011, he appeared in a series of commercials for the Ford Motor Company. He is reprising his role of Barry Kripke on Stuart Fails To Save The Universe, which premiered on July 23, 2026 on HBOMax.
Bowie has written for Go Metric and The New York Press, and has authored a book on the cult movie Heathers. His memoir, No Job For A Man, was published in November 2022 by Pegasus Books, a division of Simon & Schuster. Publishers Weekly called the book a "smart, pithy memoir with an earnest emotional arc."
Bowie married comedian Jamie Denbo in 2004. They have two children. Bowie was raised Episcopalian, but converted to Judaism in 2025.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
