Barry Sloane spoke to the ECHO in an exclusive interview about his new show The Cage and how he has been shaped by his upbringing in Garston
Barry Sloane spoke to the ECHO in an exclusive interview about his new show, The Cage(Image: 2026 THE CAGE © Element Pictures/BBC/Photographer James Stack)
“Everyone should have a good amount of rage in them.” For Barry Sloane, it’s this fire in his belly that has driven his rise from Garston to Hollywood.
The 45-year-old is a true Liverpool success story, having firmly cracked America with appearances in blockbuster shows such as HBO Max’s House of the Dragon and Netflix’s Sandman. Although he now lives in LA with his family, Barry has not forgotten his upbringing in L19, as he said being from Liverpool gave him the tools to break through the glass ceiling and succeed in a notoriously difficult industry.
He told the ECHO in an exclusive interview: “There’s something about the energy of the city. We’re a city of immigrants. There’s an interesting soup of energy that’s lived in the city for a long time, and it’s within us all.
“I think there’s a rage which can be used for positive and negative things. We don’t stand for inequality. We don’t stand for injustice. That fire is within us naturally as people.
“We’re the most wonderful people. Funny, charming, and willing to do anything for anyone, but the one thing you don’t want to do is get on the wrong side of a large group of Scousers. That translates well to screen. I think everyone should have a good amount of rage in them, used for the right means.”
Barry’s interpretation of the Scouse identity is perfectly captured in his latest TV show, The Cage, which saw him return to his home city to star as ruthless criminal Gary Packer. The thriller from Scouser Tony Schumacher is set in the world of casinos and earned rave reviews after it premiered last weekend.
Barry Sloane stars opposite Sheridan Smith in The Cage, which is available to watch on iPlayer now(Image: 2026 THE CAGE © Element Pictures/BBC/Photographer James Stack)
Barry is privileged to be part of a programme that shows off Liverpool in cinematic style and contributes to his home city’s production boom. He added: “To come back, be close to family and get to shoot something with Liverpool at its heart is incredibly important to me. I loved being back in the city.
“It’s always been an incredible city. When you live there all the time, you can get quite blasé with it and walk through town with your head down.
“But it only takes a bit of time away, which I’ve had, to walk around the city centre and just be blown away by it. So I’m not surprised that so many film companies are walking round, having a look at it and saying this could be anywhere or any time.”
Although Liverpool may now be the second most filmed city in the UK outside of London, the scene wasn’t as vibrant when Barry made his first foray into acting in 1999 by taking a chance on an open audition for the John Lennon biopic, In His Life. He landed a role as Ivan in the TV movie and caught the attention of Sir Phil Redmond, who cast him in Brookside – and set him on the path to becoming the successful actor he is today.
Barry’s beginnings in the city mean he feels a responsibility to repay Liverpool for giving him his chance, as he is living proof that working-class Scousers more than deserve their place in the industry. He added: “I feel a desire to support and show people from the city, young and upcoming actors, that there’s a pathway there and it’s a reality.
“And just because people might say, ‘Ah it mightn’t be for you, lad.’ You’ve got to push and you’ve got to believe. The Scouse accent has been there a long time and people will listen.”
Although Barry has lived in Los Angeles for over a decade, it’s striking how Barry has not compromised his Liverpool accent, and he is very proud to show it off Stateside. He said: “My career has taken me to other places, which I feel very privileged to have done, but your identity as a Scouser becomes even stronger because you’re representing the city away from home.
“Being in LA and meeting people, taking the accent to them, giving them stories of the city, and telling them stories of how it is, the people there is a badge I’ve always worn with immense pride.”
Perhaps Barry’s most famous role is as the voice of Captain Price in the Call of Duty series, and the actor laughed; he tried to keep his authentic accent when he first signed up to take over the part in 2019. He said: “It was a one-man campaign to get a Scouse video game superhero, but it wasn’t to be. He’s certainly a Liverpool fan, which might be controversial to some. Certainly to my wife, who’s a massive Evertonian. She will be well p****d off.”
Having a strong Liverpool accent overseas has not always been plain sailing, as it was recording Call of Duty when Barry had a hilarious misunderstanding, which led to a viral moment in 2022. He laughed: “It became a bit of a meme at the time. I was doing a shoot over here. One of the guys said, ‘I’m going the craft service. Can I get you anything’ I said, ‘Can I have a coconut water please?’ He came back with a coke and a water. I was like, ‘What have you brought me that for?”
But the occasional miscommunication isn’t going to change anything for Barry as he wouldn’t want to speak any other way. He said: “It’s not a responsibility that I take lightly. I think it’s important that people know, away from any stigma or anything they might have of the city, I’ve always tried to represent us with a bit of class whenever I can.”
Representing the city is important to Barry, and it’s something that weighed heavily on him when he got the chance to play one of Liverpool’s most iconic characters, Yosser Hughes, in the stage adaptation of Boys From the Blackstuff in 2023.
Alan Bleasdale’s seminal classic on the devastating impact Margaret Thatcher’s policies had on the working class in the 1980s is perhaps the greatest example of the rage that Barry feels defines the Liverpool spirit. The actor said it was an honour to channel this important trait into the role made famous by Bernard Hill and see firsthand just how much it connected with people.
He added: “The response to Yosser was quite profound, really. There were a lot of middle-aged to older men, who were breaking down during that performance, who saw themselves [in it] or perhaps their fathers. A generation that wasn’t able to speak up about the mental health struggles they were going through. You weren’t a man if you were showing any emotion, which we know now is absolute b******t.
“There was one night in particular when I started to break. There was a grown man in tears saying, ‘Don’t you break Yosser.’ Because it was him. If I broke, that would mean he might break. It was heartbreaking.”
The stage show went from the Royal Court to the West End, and Barry considers this amongst his proudest achievements. While two memorable roles in his home city with Boys from the Blackstuff and The Cage certainly rank among career highs, they will not make Barry rest on his laurels.
The fire that inspired him to pursue a career in acting still burns brighter than ever as he looks forward to the next chapter – and continuing to serve as an example of how Scousers should always chase their dreams.
He said: “I’m proud of the younger version of me, certainly the one that got in the industry because he was absolutely fearless, getting in rooms we had no right to be in. If that version of me hadn’t been so fearless or driven, I wouldn’t have the life I’ve got now.”
The Cage episode two is broadcast on BBC One tonight at 9pm. All five episodes are now available to stream on iPlayer