John Ross Bowie

John Ross Bowie is an American actor, comedian and writer best known for his roles as Barry Kripke on The Big Bang Theory and Jimmy DiMeo on Speechless.

Bowie was born in New York City. He graduated from Ithaca College with a Bachelor of Arts in English, and later performed regularly at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater.

His early television credits include appearances on the sketch series Upright Citizens Brigade and a starring role on the short-lived NBC legal sitcom A.U.S.A.. Before The Big Bang Theory, Bowie had guest roles on shows including Joan of Arcadia, CSI: NY, Charmed, Psych, Heroes and Monk. He also appeared in four episodes of Reno 911!.

In 2009, Bowie made his first appearance on The Big Bang Theory as Barry Kripke, a Caltech plasma physicist who challenges the guys to a robot fight. Kripke was an abrasive colleague and occasional frenemy to Sheldon, Leonard, Howard and Raj, often antagonizing them but sometimes working alongside them. Bowie went on to appear in every subsequent season of the show, with 25 episodes in total. He reprises the role in Stuart Fails to Save the Universe.

In 2016, Bowie starred opposite Minnie Driver on the ABC sitcom Speechless. He played Jimmy DiMeo, a father of three whose eldest son, JJ, has cerebral palsy and is played by Micah Fowler, an actor with cerebral palsy. The show ran for three seasons.

Outside of The Big Bang Theory and Speechless, Bowie has had recurring roles on Episodes, Chuck Lorre’s United States of Al and The Neighborhood. His other guest credits include Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Hot in Cleveland, Fresh Off the Boat, Veep, The Rookie and CSI: Vegas.

Bowie’s film credits include The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, Sex Drive, iSteve, The Heat and Jumanji: The Next Level.

He is a former member of the pop-punk band Egghead. He also authored a book about the cult film Heathers and published the memoir No Job for a Man in 2022.