György Barkó was born on 18 July 1931 in Purcăreni, Brașov County. He graduated from the Székely Mikó Reformed College in 1950, and in the same year he successfully entered the István Szentgyörgyi Institute of Drama in Cluj, where he graduated in 1954 from the class of Árpád Kis and Sándor Salamon.

Between 1954 and 1988, he was a member of the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj, and the leading actor in performances staged by György Harag. In 1989 he moved to Hungary and joined the National Theatre of Pécs, where he remained until his retirement in 1995. In November 2000 he was elected an honorific member of the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj. In the 2000s he returned to the Cluj stage, playing the role of Ferapont in Three Sisters (directed by Gábor Tompa, 2009) and Maestro Csillala (directed by Attila Keresztes, 2009).

The range of roles he has performed throughout his career is extremely wide. From character roles in dramatic works to classical and musical comedy characters, his stage presence has been characterised by emotionally rich performances enriched by his unique style.

His memorable performances at the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj include József Csavaró (Géza Páskándi: Tornyot választok, directed by György Harag, 1973), Herse (András Sütő: Egy lócsiszár virágvasárnapja, directed by György Harag, 1975), De La Fontaine (András Sütő: A Bright Star at the Stake, directed by György Harag, 1976), Bandi bácsi (László Csiki: Öreg ház, r. György Harag, 1978), Bubnov (Maxim Gorky: The Lower Depths, r. György Harag, 1978), Peták (Zsigmond Móricz: Nem élhetek muzsikaszó nélkül, r. György Harag, 1980), Bessosz (András Sütő: The Susa Wedding, r. György Harag, 1981), Ivan Vasilievich Bunsha-Koretskiy (Mikhail Bulgakov: Ivan Vasilievich, dir. Gábor Tompa, 1982), Mason, former fisherman (Lucian Blaga: Meșterul Manole, dir. Gábor Tompa, 1983), Actor, Gravedigger (William Shakespeare: Hamlet, dir. Gábor Tompa, 1987), Fügedes (András Sütő: Vidám sirató egy bolyongó porszemért, dir. Gábor Tompa, 1987), Ferapont (Anton P. Chekhov: Three Sisters, dir. Gábor Tompa, 2008).

In addition to his theatre roles, he has also appeared in several films, including such notable films as Sátántangó (dir. Béla Tarr, 1994), Ábel az országban (dir. Sándor Mihályfy, 1994) and Fateless (dir. Lajos Koltai, 2005).

His work has been acknowledged with the following awards: 3rd Prize at the Romanian Theatre Festival (1984); 2nd Prize at the Romanian Theatre Festival - 1986), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Kornis: Hallelujah) - XI National Theatre Festival (Szolnok, 1992); Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Örkény: The Tóth Family) - National Theatre Festival (Debrecen, 1996); Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Örkény: The Tóth Family) - National Theatre Festival (Debrecen, 1996).

May he rest in peace!