Cary Guffey (born May 10, 1972) is an American former child actor best known for portraying Barry Guiler in Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). Cast at the age of three with no previous acting experience, his performance became one of the film's most memorable elements. He later appeared in The Bermuda Triangle (1978), When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? (1979), and The Day Time Ended (1979). Guffey retired from acting while still a child and pursued a career outside the entertainment industry, remaining fondly remembered for his role in Spielberg's science fiction classic.