Brian Tyree Henry

Brian Tyree Henry (born March 31, 1982) 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. 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.

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.

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."

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". For his performance he Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play nomination. 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." 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'', 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. 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 and an Independent Spirit 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.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, Brian Tyree
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