AJ had a particularly short run on The O.C. but one that left the viewers with a long lasting impression. In case you do not remember who AJ was, he was Dawn Atwood's deadbeat boyfriend, a moocher of sorts as well as a fine connoisseur of watching TV while smoking a cigarette and drinking booze.
The only time we actually get to see AJ is in the pilot episode. After Ryan gets out of juvenile detention (thanks to Sandy Cohen), he gets a warm welcome back by his mom Dawn stating that Ryan should get out of the house.
Then when Ryan starts questioning his mom on where he is suppose to go, AJ steps in and starts talking crap. Which ended with AJ and Ryan getting in a fight, and AJ landing several punches into Ryan's face.
Such a short lived character yet was very effective and believable for what it was. The guy that played the beloved character AJ in The O.C. is Ron del Barrio he was 36 at the time. Out of curiosity I wanted to see what the actor that played AJ was up to these days. After going through his short acting career on IMDB, notable last gig was working 3 times as minor characters in the show CSI from 2012-2014 but surely he was doing other things..
Then a quick google search landed me on several articles with golf linked to Ron del Barrio's name.
I discovered that Ron del Barrio the actor that played AJ in The O.C. was a golf lover and also an instructor in the arts. The 1997 magazine article above highlights that Ron del Barrio (only 30 in the photo) is a high paid golf coach and teacher. He has trained many names including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tommy Lee, Heather Locklear, Eddie Van Halen, Rob Lowe, Shari Belufonte, Scott Baio, David Leisure, Dana Carvey, Jon Lovitz, Richard Dreyfuss, Will Smith and Vin Scully to name a few! For two years Sylvester Stallone kept Ron as his exclusive coach, flying him by private jet straight to the golf course! At 200 dollars an hour, the stars get some much needed golf advice as well as lining Ron del Barrio's pockets with some sweet green!
Fast forward to 2003 when the pilot of The O.C. was filmed Ron featured a cut-off shirt exposing his real life right armed snake tattoo, a gift from Tommy Lee and Heather Locklear when they were still married in the 90's!
They both had awesome hair together didn't they?
A little cyber stalking and we have a conversation between the actor Jon Lovitz and Ron. Very cool! Ron lives in Studio City, California is married and has kids, a true family man!
A YouTube instructional video featuring the man himself!
As you can see above, Ron also has his own website promoting his training business. His website is complete with tips, recommendations, a pro shop where you can buy Ron del Barrio's instructional golf DVD and even book lessons (still 200 dollars an hour)! Check out his site here!
And finally here is Ron del Barrio almost 20 years later in 2016 doing what he does best, teaching GOLF! I figure that Ron del Bario has made a nice career for himself and probably also enjoys getting minor roles on various TV shows on the side. Seems like a great guy and is the complete opposite of the character he played The O.C. so i'd say that's a hole in one!
UPDATE 5/14/2018
Ron recently reached out to us via Twitter and filled us in with a few fun mentions regarding the pilot fighting scene between AJ and Ryan. See below!
Just think about it Ron almost made contact with Ben's face - now that is some true method acting on both ends!Thanks so much Ron for contacting us! Everyone feel free to show Ron some love and follow him via Twitter @barrio_ron
