At the age of seven, he appeared with his father in "The Mark of Zorro" and like his father, who immediately began billing himself as "Noah Beery Sr.", he went on to become a respected character actor. His paternal uncle, Oscar-winning actor Wallace Beery, became the world's highest-paid actor by 1932. Although neither Beery Jr. nor his father ever approached that level, both had long and memorable acting careers. The three acting Beerys physically closely resembled each other, but Noah Beery Jr. lacked the powerful voice his father and uncle possessed, which is ironic since both older Beerys made major careers in silent movies.