The man who played Barney the dinosaur for 10 years has revealed all of the secrets

The man who played Barney has revealed what life was like inside the pink dinosaur costume he wore for 10 years.

David Joyner revealed to Business Insider the Barney suit can get up to 49 degrees inside and the heat made him "sweat profusely".

"Sometimes, when they took a break, I put a fan in the mouth, I'd sit down on an Apple box, and I'd put my hand on my knees, and I would just close my eyes. So I would literally meditate," he said.

Joyner said the suit was difficult to manoeuvre, and that he had to glue sneakers on his feet in order to move around.

"It's a T-rex, so you're basically just up to your elbows in being able to move. Also, Barney's feet were huge. Now I did have some sneakers inside that were glued to the bottom of the feet," he revealed.

"The head doesn't come off. The head doesn't swivel ... And when Barney's mouth is closed, I can't see anything. So what I would literally do is I would walk around my apartment as if I was blind.

"I would close my eyes, and I would try to feel energy. And try to feel the energy of anything that was around me."

Joyner also revealed the pay for playing Barney was significant, and that it allowed him to purchase a "beautiful" home.

"I remember receiving the first residual check, and the check was so big. And I was just like, 'Oh my god, are you kidding me?' So I had his beautiful white stucco home, and I paid for the house with residuals, which is really cool."

This article was first published on NZ Herald and is republished here with permission.