Barhydt is an American screenwriter best remembered for his collaboration along with Robert Altman in some of his films such as Sosyeteden İnsan Manzaraları (1993), Beşli (1979), HealtH (1980) and Kansas City (1996). He also appeared as an actor in the successful Hollywood critique Oyuncular (1992) and as Frank Gatling in the miniseries Tanner '88 (1988) - again Robert Altman projects.

The magnum moment from the duo was with the adaptation of Raymond Carver's short stories in the ensemble effort Sosyeteden İnsan Manzaraları (1993). The extraordinary lives of 23 characters where almost nothing happens in a 3-hour film and taken from several different of Carver's writings was a critical success and earned Altman & Barhydt team a Golden Globe nomination for Best Screenplay.