‚Barry‘ star Anthony Carrigan discusses how NoHo Hank’s mistakes finally catch up to him in the series finale.
This interview contains spoilers from the series finale of “Barry,” now streaming on Max.
Nothing is sacred in the world of “Barry.”
Played by Anthony Carrigan, NoHo Hank was an immediate fan favorite when the dark HBO comedy series premiered in 2018. As a Chechen mobster with a heart of gold, Hank was the perfect foil to Barry’s (series co-creator Bill Hader) perpetual seriousness. And when Season 3 got dark and depressing after Cousineau (Henry Winkler) learned that Barry had murdered his girlfriend (Paula Newsome), Hank was one of the show’s last remaining sources of comedic relief … until he killed his boyfriend Cristobal (Michael Irby) midway through the show’s fourth and final season.
In the Season 3 finale, Hank is forced to murder Cristobal’s homophobic wife, who has kidnapped and tortured him. Confronting mortality in that way makes Hank feel so weak and scared that he brutally murders his and Cristobal’s business partners as soon as he gets the chance to regain the protection of his Chechen brethren. And when Cristobal breaks up with him over it, Hank has his lover killed, too. He then spends the next eight years denying he had anything to do with the hit, which puts him back in harm’s way after Fuches (Stephen Root) brings it up after his prison release and their argument devolves into a violent feud.
Desperate for his safety, Hank decides to help Fuches carry out his vengeance on Barry. He kidnaps Sally (Sarah Golberg) and their son, John (Zachary Golinger), to lure Barry forth, but Fuches ends up giving him an easier choice. Instead of putting Sally and John in harm’s way, Hank has the option of confessing to Cristobal’s murder, and Fuches will leave him alone. Hank begins talking through how scared he felt, and how much he loved Cristobal, but stops himself at the last second, calls Fuches a liar and says that the deal is off. A shootout erupts, and Hank dies at the feet of his Cristobal statue, miserably holding its hand.
Variety interviewed Carrigan about fear, heartbreak and the demise of North Hollywood Henry.
Did you already know Hank was going to die when you started shooting Season 4?
I’m not entirely sure when Bill told me, which is a good indicator that I totally blocked it out of denial. I do remember having one conversation with him, and we were able to unpack it and really understand that Hank having made these decisions to double down, in terms of him trying to be a gangster, have ultimately led to his demise. You live the life of a gangster, you have the death of a gangster. That’s just how it goes.
What conversations did you have with Michael Irby about Hank killing his character, and Hank’s eventual death?
You know, we didn’t really talk too much about the details. I think we wanted to explore it in the space. We did have rehearsal, which was very helpful in terms of understanding what that scene is really about — and it’s kind of fucked up, but at its core, it’s a breakup.
