Dwight Henry (born 1962) is an American actor, baker, and businessman. He is best known for his role as Wink, Hushpuppy's father, in the film ''

Beasts of the Southern Wild ''Beasts of the Southern Wild'' is a 2012 American fantasy-drama film directed, co-written, and co-scored by Benh Zeitlin. It was adapted by Zeitlin and Lucy Alibar from Alibar's one-act play ''Juicy and Delicious''. The film stars Quvenzhané ...

'' (2012). Additionally, Henry is the founder of the Buttermilk Drop Bakery in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Life and career

Born in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, Henry moved to

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, when he was a young child. Having lived there through adulthood, he founded Henry's Bakery and Deli near his home in the historic

Tremé Tremé ( ) is a neighborhood in New Orleans, Louisiana. "Tremé" is often rendered as Treme, and the neighborhood is sometimes called by its more formal French name, Faubourg Tremé; it is listed in the New Orleans City Planning Districts as Trem ...

neighborhood. The bakery was successful enough that Henry planned to open a second location of his store, until

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

changed his plans. Though he had no professional training or experience as an actor, the filmmakers of ''

'' cast him in the film, while allowing him to operate his bakery regularly during shooting. Henry earned positive reviews for the film, which was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only category ...

, but insists that his primary career is managing his bakery, now called the Buttermilk Drop Bakery. He agreed to open a second location of his store in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

in the near future. He continued his acting career and appeared in

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1 ...

's '' 12 Years a Slave'' (2013). He will portray Marvin Gay, Sr., the father and killer of the late

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

music icon

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

in the biopic ''Sexual Healing''.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Buttermilk Drop Bakery Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, Dwight Living people 21st-century American male actors Male actors from New Orleans American male film actors American bakers 21st-century American businesspeople African-American male actors Male actors from Tennessee Male actors from Nashville, Tennessee 1962 births 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people