Raised in Kirkcaldy, he started to play bass at an early age, drawing inspiration from James Brown, the Funk Brothers and Kool & the Gang.

[1] Berryman joined Coldplay with Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland and Will Champion at University College London, where he enrolled in a mechanical engineering degree but later dropped out.

[6] Raised close to the Beveridge Park area, he said his childhood was one with "a huge sense of freedom", as he went out with friends and "just did whatever we wanted from a very young age", which included exploring the Raith Estate and the woods near it.

[7] Berryman said that listening to Stevie Wonder's "My Cherie Amour" (1969) was a pivotal moment in his life, as well as the reason why he decided to become a bass player: "I can remember being maybe six years old, having this experience.

[6] With his father involved in building the Channel Tunnel as a project manager, Berryman's family moved to Kent when he was around 12 years old, the same period in which he began to play bass.

[11] He then enrolled in mechanical engineering at University College London, where he met Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland and Will Champion, eventually forming Coldplay.

[b] Berryman later dropped out of his original degree and enrolled in a seven-year architecture programme at the Bartlett, which in turn was abandoned to focus on playing bass.

[16] When the band were asked about their creative process in an interview for The Howard Stern Show, they claimed that while Buckland is usually more optimistic to either disapprove or give his input on Martin's initial ideas, Berryman tends to be more critical, concluding that if he does not like a certain song, "there's no point in ever playing it again".

[20] In 2011, they played at the Neue Nationalgalerie,[21] appeared at the Steirischer Herbst Festival,[22] then launched Apparatjik World, an iPad application in which fans helped them to produce songs.

[29] In the following year, he launched Applied Art Forms, a fashion brand inspired by utilitarian, workwear and military clothing,[30] including designers Helmut Lang, Katharine Hamnett and Martin Margiela.

[35] In 2023, Applied Art Forms switched their menswear presentation to unisex,[32] sold exclusive wireless headphones in partnership with Master & Dynamic,[36] and collaborated with Hannah Martin to launch their first jewellery collection, which drew influence from industrial and punk aesthetics.

[40] His most notable hobby throughout the years has been photography, which included taking candid photos of his bandmates with disposable cameras on the Twisted Logic Tour (2005–07) and throwing them to attendees.

[45] During Music of the Spheres World Tour (2022–25), he curated a photo diary for NME and shot pictures for the concert run's official book.

[46] With a style described as "slick" and "relaxed",[47] Berryman is usually seen using different models of a Fender Precision Bass, including editions such as Squier, Mustang, Jazz and Jaguar.

[7] Berryman likewise is the founder of Dawghaus, an online catalogue focused on curating "the best in design" and promoting well-established creations alongside the ones he thinks that deserve more attention.