Cal Barnes

Cal Barnes was born in Salem, Oregon.^[12][13] He studied creative writing, journalism, and theatre at Portland State University before moving to Los Angeles.^[14][1]

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.^[1] He began acting professionally in 2011 when he landed his first agent and began booking theatrical and commercial work.^[15] In late 2011, he moved to the Franklin Village neighborhood in the Hollywood Hills, where he began penning feature screenplays.^[16][17]

During his time in the village, Barnes penned his first play, Rise^[18][19][20] (2012), which went on to win Best World Premiere^[21] at the 2012 Hollywood Fringe Festival.^[22][15] He also wrote his first novel, True Grandeur,^[23][24] 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 who takes an interest in him.^[25] 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."^[26][27] He also had a role in the successful horror film franchise, Unfriended (2014), which was produced by Timur Bekmambetov and Jason Blum, and released by Universal Studios.^[28][29]

Barnes recently starred in the feature film, The Astrid Experience (2023).^{[30][31][17][32][15]} It marks Barnes's second collaboration with musician John That, the first being the music video Hippy Girl(2014), which Barnes directed.^[33][27] The Astrid Experience is Barnes's feature film debut as director.^[34][1]

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.^[35] The film has subsequently been released by Tubi, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV.^[36][37][38] and in 2025 was ranked #5 on FandomWire Magazine's 'Top 10 Movies Shot on iPhone', behind Sean Baker's Tangerine. ^[39]

On October 27, 2021, Barnes published his second novel, Son of Neverland, a Peter Pan 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.^[9] 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."^[40]

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."^[8]

Son of Neverland and the Kingdom of Time, the second book in the series, was released on October 29th, 2025.^[41]

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.^[27]

In 2011, Barnes portrayed the teenage version of Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan in the music video for the Avenged Sevenfold 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.^[42]

In October 2024, Barnes briefly appeared in Tyler, the Creator's "Noid" music video.^[43]