thumb|right|Spranger Barry (left) as [[Romeo Montague|Romeo to Maria Nossiter's Juliet in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in Covent Garden in 1759.]]
Spranger Barry (23 November 1719 – 10 January 1777) was an Irish actor.
Life
He was born in Skinner's Row, Dublin, the son of silversmith William Barry, to whose business he was brought up. He took over the business but was not successful.
His first appearance on the stage was at the Theatre Royal, Smock Alley, Dublin, on 5 February 1744, and his engagement at once increased its prosperity. His first London appearance was made in 1746 as Othello at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Here his talents were speedily recognized, and in Hamlet and Macbeth he alternated with David Garrick, arousing the latter's jealousy by his success as Romeo. This resulted in his leaving Drury Lane for the Covent Garden Theatre in 1750, accompanied by Mrs Cibber, his Juliet. Both houses now at once put on Romeo and Juliet for a series of rival performances, and Barry's Romeo was preferred by the critics to Garrick's.
In 1758, Barry opened and managed the Crow Street Theatre in Dublin (1758-66), and later a new Theatre Royal in Cork (1761). He staged many successful productions but seems to have lived beyond his means.
