Calvin Ross Barnes (born January 14, 1988) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, film producer, novelist, and playwright. Barnes moved to Los Angeles in 2009, where he began his career by starring in short films, appearing in television commercials, and writing screenplays.Myers, Ashley Scott
Script Magazine Cal Barnes
Script Magazine. Retrieved August 7, 2019 His stage play, '' Rise,'' won Best World Premiere at the 2012 Hollywood Fringe Festival.Holder, Travis Michael
"Rise is a Roller Coaster of Emotional Impact"
Backstage. November 11, 2012. Retrieved February 1, 2019 In 2014, Barnes appeared in the

Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...

horror film, ''

Unfriended ''Unfriended'' (originally titled ''Cybernatural'') is a 2014 American screenlife supernatural horror film directed by Levan Gabriadze and produced by Timur Bekmambetov. Set on a computer screen, the film stars Shelley Hennig, Moses Storm, ...

'', which was executive produced by

Jason Blum Jason Ferus Blum (; born February 20, 1969) is an American producer. He is the founder and CEO of Blumhouse Productions, best known for horror franchises such as ''Paranormal Activity (film series), Paranormal Activity'' (2007–2021), ''Insidi ...

. He has two published novels, ''

True Grandeur ''True Grandeur'' is a 2017 novel written by American author Cal R. Barnes. The story tells the tale of Conrad Arlington, a young Hollywood hopeful that moves to modern day Los Angeles to fulfill his dream of becoming a great artist. From humbl ...

'' (2017), and the recently released

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...

sequel, ''Son of Neverland'' (2021), which he is also attached to star in.Vincent, Owen James
Cal Barnes x Revamp Magazine
Revamp Magazine. Retrieved March 24th, 2023.'The Astrid Experience' Star and Director Publishes New Peter Pan Fantasy Series to Star In
EIN Newsdesk. Retrieved November 29th, 2021. He stars in the recently released feature film, '' The Astrid Experience'', which marks his feature film directorial debut.

Early life and education

Cal Barnes was born in

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, w ...

.Lynn, Capi
Statesman Journal Speaks with Actor and Filmmaker Cal Barnes
The Statesman Journal. Retrieved August 17th, 2020. He studied creative writing, journalism, and theatre at

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the next ...

before moving to Los Angeles.

Career

Barnes started his acting career in 2010 when he began booking numerous short films he self-submitted for that filmed in and around

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He began acting professionally in 2011 when he landed his first agent and began booking theatrical and commercial work.Myers, Ashley Scott
SYS Interview with Writer/Director Cal Barnes
SYS with Ashley Scott Myers. Retrieved August 5, 2019 In late 2011, he moved to the Franklin Village neighborhood in the

Hollywood Hills The Hollywood Hills is a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. It borders Studio City, Universal City and Burbank on the north, Griffith Park on the north and east, Los Feliz on the southeast, Hollyw ...

, where he began penning feature screenplays.Belnick, Jake
Radio Interview with Cal Barnes and Mickey River
Do Me A Solid Show. Retrieved July 2, 2019. During his time in the village, Barnes penned his first play, '' Rise'' (2012), which went on to win Best World Premiere at the 2012 Hollywood Fringe Festival.Johnson, Reed
"Hollywood Fringe Festival Performs its Own Way"
''LA Times''. June 20, 2012. Retrieved February 1, 2019 He also wrote his first novel, ''

'', which chronicles the tale of Conrad Arlington, a young Hollywood hopeful that moves to Los Angeles to pursue his dream of becoming a great artist, all while managing his affections for Gracie Garrison, a young Hollywood

it girl An "it girl" is an attractive, well-known young woman who is perceived to have both sex appeal and a personality that is especially engaging. The expression ''it girl'' originated in British upper-class society around the turn of the 20th&nbs ...

who takes an interest in him. In an interview regarding the novel, Barnes stated, "I was inspired by some experiences I had in my early twenties when I first moved to Los Angeles."Meet Cal Barnes of Nineteen Films
Voyage LA. Retrieved November 9th, 2020. He also had a role in the successful horror film franchise, ''

'' (2014), which was produced by

Timur Bekmambetov Timur Nuruakhitovich Bekmambetov (, ; ; born 25 June 1961) is a Kazakh-born Russian film director, producer, screenwriter, and tech entrepreneur. He is best known for the fantasy epic '' Night Watch'' (2004) and the action thriller '' Wanted' ...

and

, and released by

. Barnes recently starred in the feature film, '' The Astrid Experience'' (2023).Patta, Gi
The Astrid Experience Shows an Unforgettable Night in LA
LRM Online. Retrieved February 25th, 2020 It marks Barnes's second collaboration with musician John That, the first being the music vide
''Hippy Girl''
2014), which Barnes directed. ''The Astrid Experience'' is Barnes's feature film debut as director. ''The Astrid Experience'' had its world premiere at the Laemmle Royal Theatre in Santa Monica, CA on March 23, 2023. On March 25, 2023, Barnes and That released the film on the Official Noblehooks Productions Youtube channel to 2.5 thousand subscribers. The film has subsequently been released by

Tubi Tubi (stylized as tubi) is an American over-the-top ad-supported streaming television service owned by Fox Corporation since 2020. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In 2023, Tubi, Credible L ...

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

, and

Apple TV Apple TV is a digital media player and a microconsole developed and marketed by Apple. It is a small piece of networking hardware that sends received media data such as video and audio to a TV or external display. Its media services include ...

.The Astrid Experience on Tubi
Tubi TV. Retrieved August 23rd, 2023.The Astrid Experience on Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video. Retrieved August 8th, 2023. and in 2025 was ranked #5 on FandomWire Magazine's 'Top 10 Movies Shot on iPhone', behind Sean Baker's ''

Tangerine The tangerine is a type of citrus fruit that is orange in colour, that is considered either a variety of the mandarin orange (''Citrus reticulata''), or a closely related species, under the name ''Citrus tangerina'', or yet as a hybrid (''Citr ...

''. On October 27, 2021, Barnes published his second novel, ''Son of Neverland'', a

sequel that takes place one hundred years into the future. The novel hit the #1 new release for mythology and folklore fantasy fiction on Amazon for the month of November, 2021. In honor of J.M. Barrie's legacy and support of children's hospitals, Barnes and the publisher set up a charitable fund to continue the endowment. On the official website and in the recitals of the novel Barnes and publisher state that "10% of the net proceeds from this book will go directly towards supporting children’s hospitals, charities, organizations, institutions, and causes worldwide that are designed to keep children safe, healthy, creative, imaginative, and ultimately make their lives better." In an Interview with Revamp Magazine in March, 2023, Barnes confirmed that he's attached to play Peter Pan in the franchise. "I am the character," Barnes says. "I'm attached to play Peter, and the novel art has already been created in my likeness, so it's well on its way." He also announced that the second installment of the series is in active development, with the title to be announced in late 2023 to early 2024. Between acting and filmmaking Barnes currently serves as the head of creative and CEO of Nineteen Films, a production and sales company in Los Angeles.

Appearances in other media

In 2011, Barnes portrayed the teenage version of Jimmy "

The Rev James Owen Sullivan (February 9, 1981 – December 28, 2009), also known by his stage name The Rev (shortened version of ''the Reverend Tholomew Plague''), was an American musician, best known as a founding member of the heavy metal band Aven ...

" Sullivan in the music video for the

Avenged Sevenfold Avenged Sevenfold (abbreviated as A7X) is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist M. Shadows, rhythm guitarist Zacky Vengeance, lead gui ...

song " So Far Away", which served as a tribute video to the band's late drummer who passed in 2009. It is the band's first number one single. As of October 2024, the video has over 370 million views on youtube. In October 2024, Barnes briefly appeared in Tyler, the Creator's " Noid" music video.'Noid'
Tyler, the Creator 'Noid' Official Music Video. Retrieved October, 21st, 2024

Filmography

Films

Stage

Music videos

Books & Publications

* '' True Grandeur: A Hollywood Novel'' (Magic Hour Press 2017) * ''Son of Neverland'' (Magic Hour Press 2021) * '' Rise'' (Prodigy Play Group 2022)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Cal 1988 births Film directors from Oregon Male actors from Salem, Oregon Male actors from Los Angeles American male screenwriters American male novelists Writers from Los Angeles Living people Portland State University alumni Writers from Salem, Oregon