Brian Tyree Henry
Brian Tyree Henry | |
|---|---|
 Henry at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con | |
| Born | March 31, 1982 |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2007–present |
Brian Tyree Henry (born March 31, 1982)[1][2][3] is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Alfred "Paper Boi" Miles in the FX comedy-drama series Atlanta (2016–2022), for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He is also known for his performances in Boardwalk Empire, How to Get Away with Murder, and This Is Us.
Henry made his film breakthrough in 2018 with starring roles in Steve McQueen's heist film Widows, Barry Jenkins' romantic drama film If Beale Street Could Talk, and the animated superhero film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. He's since appeared in Joker (2019), Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), The Woman in the Window (2021), and Bullet Train (2022). He portrayed Phastos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Eternals (2021).
He has also appeared on stage, making his debut performance in the Shakespeare in the Park production of Romeo and Juliet (2007), and acting in various plays at the Public Theatre, before appearing in the original Broadway cast of The Book of Mormon (2011). In 2014 he appeared in the off-Broadway musical The Fortress of Solitude. For his performance in the 2018 Broadway revival of Kenneth Lonergan's play Lobby Hero, he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play.
Early life
Henry was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina and raised partly in Washington, D.C. His father was in the military, and his mother, Willow Dean Kearse, was an educator.[1][4] Henry attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia as a business major-turned-actor in the early 2000s, and received his master's degree from Yale School of Drama.[5]
Career
2007–2015: Early career
Henry began his career on stage, with roles in numerous plays and musicals. In 2007, he starred as Tybalt in Shakespeare in the Park's production of Romeo and Juliet. Henry also appeared in Tarell Alvin McCraney's trilogy of plays, titled The Brother/Sister Plays. In 2011, he received further success in his Broadway debut as a part of the original cast of the musical The Book of Mormon opposite Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells.[6]
Henry made guest appearances in television series such as NBC's Law & Order, and CBS's The Good Wife. In 2013 he had a brief but recurring role as Winston Scrapper in HBO's Boardwalk Empire appearing in the episodes "Havre de Grace" and "Farewell Daddy Blues". The following year he appeared in Steven Soderbergh's Cinemax series The Knick as Larkin in the episode "The Busy Flea". He made his feature film debut in the 2015 comedy film Puerto Ricans in Paris.
2016–present: Breakthrough
In 2016, Henry received critical acclaim and recognition for his starring role as Alfred "Paper Boi" Miles in the FX comedy-drama series Atlanta. For his performance in the series, he received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance in the episode "Woods". Chase Hutchinson of Collider declared Henry the "show's best character" writing, "Uniting [Atlanta] is the irreplaceable Henry’s sense of presence and vulnerability he conveys as an actor, an element of the show that would not be the same without him. It makes him one of the best parts of the series and one of the best actors working today for all he manages to do in even the simplest of moments."[7]
From 2016 to 2017, he acted as Tavis Brown in the HBO comedy series Vice Principals. In 2017, Henry appeared as Ricky in the NBC drama series This Is Us, for which he received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. That same year he starred in Dustin Guy Defa's drama film Person to Person and Matt Ruskin's Crown Heights.
In 2018, he returned to Broadway in the revival of Kenneth Lonergan's Lobby Hero opposite Chris Evans, Bel Powley, and Michael Cera. David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter hailed Henry as "terrific" and cited him as "the production's standout performance".[8] For his performance he Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play nomination.[9] Also in 2018, Henry made his film breakthrough appearing in seven films. He appeared in Steve McQueen's acclaimed heist film Widows portraying Jamal Manning, a crime boss and politician in the Chicago. Alissa Wilkinson of Vox declared "Brian Tyree Henry continues his run as the actor to watch, thanks to his appearance here as a charismatic and menacing political candidate."[10] He also appeared in Barry Jenkins' romantic drama film If Beale Street Could Talk based off the 1974 James Baldwin novel of the same name. For his performances in both films he received a nomination from the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor. That same year he portrayed Jefferson Davis in the animated superhero film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse which received the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. That same year he also starred in the dystopian thriller film Hotel Artemis, and the crime drama White Boy Rick.
In 2019, he appeared in Todd Phillips's psychological drama Joker,[11] the science fiction horror film Don't Let Go and the horror film Child's Play, the latter being a remake of the 1988 film.[12] The following year he appeared in The Outside Story and Superintelligence. During this time he also appeared in the Netflix animated series BoJack Horseman, the HBO anthology series Room 104, and portrayed Berry Gordy an episode of the Comedy Central sketch series Drunk History. He also has recurring roles as Armando in the Fox animated series HouseBroken (2021–present), and as Elijah in the Netflix animated series Big Mouth (2022).
In 2021, he starred as Bernie Hayes in Godzilla vs. Kong alongside Millie Bobby Brown and as Phastos in the Marvel Studios film Eternals directed by Chloe Zhao. In 2022 he starred in David Leitch's action comedy Bullet Train opposite Brad Pitt. He also starred in Lila Neugebauer's A24 drama Causeway opposite Jennifer Lawrence. Henry received a Gotham Award nomination for his performance.
Personal life
Henry's mother, Willow Deane Kearse, died in early 2016. The Atlanta episode "Woods" was dedicated to her.[13]
Filmography
Film
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Puerto Ricans in Paris | Spencer | |
| 2017 | Person to Person | Mike | |
| Crown Heights | Clayton "Massup" Benton | ||
| 2018 | Irreplaceable You | Benji | |
| Family | Pete | ||
| Hotel Artemis | Honolulu/Lev | ||
| White Boy Rick | Det. Mel "Roach" Jackson | ||
| Widows | Jamal Manning | ||
| If Beale Street Could Talk | Daniel Carty | ||
| Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Jefferson Davis (voice) | ||
| 2019 | Don't Let Go | Garret Radcliff | |
| Child's Play | Detective Mike Norris | ||
| Joker | Carl | ||
| 2020 | The Outside Story | Charles Young | |
| Superintelligence | Dennis Caruso | ||
| 2021 | Godzilla vs. Kong | Bernie Hayes | |
| The Woman in the Window | Detective Little | ||
| Vivo | Dancarino (voice) | ||
| Eternals | Phastos | ||
| 2022 | Bullet Train | Lemon | |
| Causeway | James | ||
| 2023 | Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse† | Jefferson Davis (voice)[14] | Post-production |
| 2024 | Untitled Godzilla vs. Kong sequel† | Bernie Hayes | Filming |
| TBA | The Magician's Elephant† | TBA (voice) | In production |
| Flint Strong† | Jason Crutchfield | Post-production |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Law & Order | Ben | Episode: "Dignity" |
| Last of the Ninth | Uniform | Television film | |
| 2010 | The Good Wife | Randall Simmons | Episode: "Double Jeopardy" |
| 2013 | Boardwalk Empire | Winston 'Scrapper' | Episodes: "Havre de Grace" and "Farewell Daddy Blues" |
| 2014 | The Knick | Larkin | Episode: "The Busy Flea" |
| 2016–22 | Atlanta | Alfred "Paper Boi" Miles | Main role |
| 2016–17 | Vice Principals | Tavis Brown | Episodes: "The Good Book", "Gin" and "Tiger Town" |
| 2017 | How to Get Away with Murder | Public Defender | Episode: "Go Cry Somewhere Else" |
| This Is Us | Ricky | Episode: "Memphis" | |
| Drop the Mic | Himself | Episode: "David Arquette vs. Brian Tyree Henry and Jesse Tyler Ferguson vs. Chrissy Metz" | |
| 2018 | BoJack Horseman | Cooper Wallace, Jr. / Strib (voice) | Episode: "The Amelia Earhart Story" |
| Room 104 | Arnold | Episode: "Arnold" | |
| Drunk History | Berry Gordy | Episode: "Game Changers" | |
| 2021–present | HouseBroken | Armando (voice) | Recurring role |
| 2022 | Big Mouth | Elijah / Chief (voice) | Recurring role (season 6) |
| TBA | Class of '09[15] | Tayo Miller | Miniseries; filming |
Theatre
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Romeo and Juliet | Tybalt | Shakespeare in the Park |
| The Brothers Size | Oshoosi | The Public Theatre | |
| 2009 | In The Red and Brown Water | The Egungun | |
| Marcus; Or the Secret of Sweet | Oshoosi Size / Terrell | ||
| 2011 | The Book of Mormon | General | Eugene O'Neill Theatre |
| 2014 | The Fortress of Solitude | Robert Woolfolk | The Public Theatre |
| 2018 | Lobby Hero | William | Helen Hayes Theatre |
Awards and nominations
References
- ^ a b Brown, Emma (September 7, 2016). "Discovery: Brian Tyree Henry". Interview. Brant Publications. Archived from the original on September 8, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
- ^ Fitz-Gerald, Sean (September 6, 2016). "Who Plays Paper Boi The Rapper on 'Atlanta'?". Thrillist. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
- ^ https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJ2F-LBTS [bare URL]
- ^ Blagrove, Kadia (April 20, 2018). "Atlanta and the Unfolding of Paper Boi's Depression".
- ^ "How Brian Tyree Henry Became Paper Boi, Atlanta's Rising Rap Star". Vulture. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
- ^ "Brian Tyree Henry". Playbill. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
- ^ "How 'Atlanta' & Brian Tyree Henry's Sense of Vulnerability Makes Paper Boi the Show's Best Character". Collider. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
- ^ "'Lobby Hero': Theater Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
- ^ "The Tony Award Nominees - Artists - Brian Tyree Henry". TonyAwards.com. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
- ^ "In Widows, Viola Davis's heist crew captivates even when the story stumbles". Vox. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
- ^ Brian Tyree Henry Teases Joker by Zack Scharf, IndieWire.com, June 12, 2019.
- ^ N'Duka, Amanda (September 20, 2018). "Gabriel Bateman To Star As Andy In MGM's 'Child's Play' Remake, Joining Aubrey Plaza & Brian Tyree Henry".
- ^ Nguyen, Hanh (April 20, 2018). "'Atlanta' Writer on Paper Boi's Heartbreaking Loss, 'Teddy Perkins,' and Life After 'Deadpool'". IndieWire. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
- ^ Rubin, Rebecca; Donnelly, Matt (April 26, 2022). "'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' Teases Over 200 New Characters, Presents Never-Before-Seen Footage". Variety. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
- ^ White, Peter (June 22, 2021). "Brian Tyree Henry & Kate Mara To Star In FBI AI Limited Series 'Class Of '09' Set At FX". Deadline Hollywood.
- ^ a b "Brian Tyree Henry - Awards - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
- ^ "Brian Tyree Henry - Playbill". Playbill. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
- ^ Davis, Clayton (November 22, 2022). "Independent Spirit Awards Nominations: 'Everything Everywhere' Leads With Eight Noms". Variety. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
External links
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
- Articles with bare URLs for citations from May 2022
- 21st-century American male actors
- African-American male actors
- American male film actors
- American male stage actors
- American male television actors
- American male video game actors
- American male voice actors
- Living people
- Male actors from North Carolina
- Morehouse College alumni
- Yale School of Drama alumni
- People from Fayetteville, North Carolina
- 1982 births
- 21st-century African-American people
- 20th-century African-American people