David Berry was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, but moved to Australia at age seven. One of four children, he is talented in both singing and the violin. As a child, he attended school on a scholarship for voice, splitting his time between school and professional performances that included work at Opera Australia and numerous festivals. In 2002 he received a scholarship to study political science at Montreal’s McGill University, where he earned a B.A. in Political Sciences and Cultural Studies. Returning to Australia, he began his Masters in Media Practice at the University of Sydney, while also working as a researcher in the newsroom for Channel Seven. Shortly after, he decided to abandon a career in media and return to his true passion, the performing arts. He applied and was accepted to the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), from which he graduated in 2010.
Berry’s first professional role was a guest appearance in an episode of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. He went on that same year to portray Logan Meyer in a ten episode stint on 7 Network’s long running soap opera Home and Away. In 2013, Berry starred in writer/director Robert White’s made for TV horror film, Progeny. He also joined the main cast of the Foxtel drama A Place To Call Home as James Bligh, a man tortured by society’s treatment of his homosexuality, in 1950s Australia. Appearing for six seasons, Berry was nominated for Most Outstanding Supporting Actor at the 2016 Logie Awards.
2015 saw Berry star as Brian Cleaver in The Crater: A True Story of Vietnam. The film revolves around the experiences of Cleaver during The Battle of Coral-Balmoral, fought between May 12 and June 6, 1968.
In August 2016, it was announced that Berry had won the coveted role of Lord John Grey and would be joining the cast of Starz’s time travel period drama Outlander. He debuted in the 2017 episode “All Debts Paid” and has appeared in 13 episodes to date, leaping to international stardom and garnering a legion of fans worldwide.
2020 saw Berry team up with fellow actor Tim Downie on an unofficial Outlander podcast entitled Outcasts. He has appeared on the TV shows Barons in 2022, and Hapless in 2023. Berry also guest starred in the British-Australian psychological thriller television mini-series, Riptide, as Dan Burrell, in 2022.
Staying true to his musical roots, Berry sang alongside Rhonda Birchmore and a host of other celebrity performers at the Carols in the Domain 2023.