The HBO show Barry walks a tightrope between satirizing the delusional nature of actors and straightforwardly examining the fatal consequences of the title character’s (Bill Hader) decisions. Each season of the show pushes the plot into more horrific territory, but the comedy is still on point thanks to characters like Noho Hank (Anthony Carrigan). A few seasons in and now Hank is everyone’s favorite Chechen gangster, but when Barry began filming, the plan was for him to die in the pilot episode.
Noho Hank is the comedic heartbeat of ‘Barry’
Hank is second in command of the Chechen mafia led by Goran Pazar (Glenn Fleshler). He is Barry’s main foil as the hitman-turned-actor sinks deeper into LA’s criminal underworld. Despite the gravity of their circumstances, Hank approaches his life with pure positivity and a deep desire to cultivate good vibes in any situation.
The “gangster with a heart of gold” trope has existed for decades, but Carrigan puts such a twist on the archetype — portraying Hank as an earnest helper with an endless supply of tight polos and an implacable “Valley Girl meets Eastern Bloc” accent — that it feels like a wholly original creation. Hank’s chill personality and laidback perspective on everything happening around him is the most consistent source of comedy in Barry. In a Washington Post profile of Carrigan, Hader said that Hank was partially based on an Apple Store employee who fixed his laptop while he was writing the series.
So far, the actor has earned two nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series at the Primetime Emmys.
Noho Hank would have died in the ‘Barry’ pilot if not for Carrigan’s performance
Hank’s presence in Barry required a mid-production audible from Harder and the show’s other co-creator Alec Berg.
In an interview with Uproxx in the lead-up to season 2, Hader revealed that the original version of the pilot saw Hank meet his untimely demise at Barry’s hands.
“Yeah, when I shoot up the car, he was dead. And then Alec and I said, ‘We’d be insane to kill that guy. He’s so funny,” Hader recalled. “That’s why in episode two, his arm’s in a sling, and everything.”
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He and Berg deserve credit for recognizing what they had and making such a significant change to the story on short notice. Hader had some experience developing a show with Documentary Now!, but this was his first attempt at creating a prestige drama. It would have been easy to hold on to the idea he had for the show prior to the beginning of filming and ignore the fact that Carrigan captured lightning in a bottle with his performance. It’s hard to imagine Barry without his energy providing a contrast to the show’s main storyline.
The fourth season of ‘Barry’ will be its last
The story of Barry Berkman will soon come to an end. Season 4 of Barry, which begins on April 16, will bring the series to its conclusion.
(Spoilers for Barry Season 3 follow here.)
Following the events of last season, Barry is wasting away in jail after finally getting caught by the police for his murderous ways.
The trailer spends most of its runtime focusing on Barry stewing in shame and pondering if he can ever be seen as a good person. But we also see glimpses of what Noho Hank’s up to.
His intense rescue mission to save his lover, the Bolivian gang leader Cristobal Sifuentes (Michael Irby), was successful and the two appear to be starting their own operation. Thankfully, nearly dying in Bolivia hasn’t dimmed Hank’s fashion sense (peep the incredible fit at 0:35) nor his out-of-place wholesomeness (taking a group selfie with his goons at 0:53).
Each previous season of Barry placed its lead character in increasingly impossible situations and found ways for him to maneuver out of them in creative ways. We can’t wait to see how the show moves forward with its central star seemingly stuck behind bars.
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