Barry (TV Series)

''Barry'' is an American dark comedy crime drama television series created by Alec Berg and Bill Hader that premiered on HBO on March 25, 2018. Hader stars as Barry Berkman, a hitman from Cleveland who travels to Los Angeles to kill someone but finds himself joining an acting class taught by Gene Cousineau ( Henry Winkler), where he meets aspiring actress Sally Reed ( Sarah Goldberg) and begins to question his path in life as he deals with his criminal associates such as Monroe Fuches ( Stephen Root) and NoHo Hank ( Anthony Carrigan). The second season premiered on March 31, 2019. In April 2019, HBO renewed the series for a third season, which premiered on April 24, 2022. In May 2022, the series was renewed for an eight-episode fourth season.

''Barry'' has received critical acclaim, with most praise going to its directing, writing, originality, humor, characters, and performances (particularly Hader's). The series has received various accolades, including 44 Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Hader won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series twice, while Winkler won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance in the first season. For the second season, Winkler, Root, and Carrigan all received Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor, while Goldberg received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Hader, Winkler, and Carrigan each received another nomination for the third season. All three seasons of ''Barry'' have been nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series.

Premise

''Barry'' follows Barry Berkman, a U.S. Marine and Afghanistan veteran from Cleveland, who works as a hitman. Lonely and dissatisfied with life, he travels to Los Angeles to kill a target and finds a new sense of purpose when he joins a class full of aspiring actors. Despite his efforts to leave behind his criminal history and become an actor himself, he struggles to escape his dark past.

Cast and characters

Main

* Bill Hader as Barry Berkman / Barry Block, a depressed U.S. Marine and Afghanistan veteran turned low-level hitman who finds himself drawn towards human connection among a community of aspiring actors. A mentally unstable yet exceptional assassin, Barry longs to put his criminal history behind him to become a full-time performer, but can't seem to stop his bloody past from creeping into the new life he tries to build for himself. The character’s struggle with anxiety in a profession he’s gifted in was inspired by Hader’s tenure as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live''.
* Stephen Root as Monroe Fuches, an old family friend of Barry's who groomed him for a career as a hitman after Barry left the Marines. Fuches is cowardly, manipulative, and self-centered, refusing to believe he’s been anything but good to Barry, despite consistently abusing him whilst dragging his protege back into a life of crime to serve his own personal interest, be it money, power, or revenge.
* Sarah Goldberg as Sally Reed, an aspiring and talented but struggling actress from Joplin, Missouri, in Barry's acting class who becomes romantically involved with him to dysfunctional results. Seemingly good-natured but extremely selfish and envious, Sally is focused on becoming a famous actress while frequently alternating between bouts of narcissism and self-hatred as both a person and an artist. She later creates and stars in her own TV series based on her life, titled ''Joplin''.
* Glenn Fleshler as Goran Pazar (season 1; guest season 3), the leader of the Chechen mafia who employs Barry to kill a man who has been sleeping with his wife.
* Anthony Carrigan as NoHo Hank, an effusively positive and naive member of the Chechen mafia and Goran's right-hand man. Hank quickly becomes attached to Barry, who does not reciprocate his attempts at friendship. He later becomes the leader of the Chechen mafia himself, but struggles with the responsibility of running an organized crime ring when he is not an inherently violent person. Originally planned to die in the pilot, Carrigan’s performance impressed the show’s creators enough that his character was spared and made a series regular.
* Henry Winkler as Gene Cousineau, an eccentric acting coach and Barry's mentor, whose glory days as a performer are long behind him, having alienated his industry colleagues and loved ones. Cousineau is incredibly self-obsessed, and rarely seems to help out his students unless there is something of value in it for him. Despite this, Gene makes a connection with and serves as a father figure to Barry, helping him come to terms with some of the atrocities he has committed throughout his life.
* Sarah Burns as Detective Mae Dunn (seasons 3-present; recurring: season 2), A naïve and obtuse investigator who becomes Loach's partner.

Recurring

* Paula Newsome as Detective Janice Moss (season 1; guest: season 2), a police officer investigating the murder of Ryan Madison.
* John Pirruccello as Detective John Loach (seasons 1–2), Moss's perpetually depressed partner who later finds himself investigating Barry.
* Michael Irby as Cristobal Sifuentes, the leader of the Bolivian mafia, and later Hank's love interest.
* D'Arcy Carden as Natalie Greer, an actress and Sally's friend. Natalie often serves as Cousineau's personal assistant during acting class, and later becomes Sally's assistant on her television series.
* Gary Kraus as Chief Krauss, the chief of police, nicknamed the 'Big Cat'.
* Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Sasha Baxter (seasons 1–2), a British actress in Cousineau's acting class.
* Darrell Britt-Gibson as Jermaine Jefrint, an actor in Cousineau's acting class.
* Andy Carey as Eric (seasons 1–2), an actor in Cousineau's class with a proclivity for slam poetry and rap, neither of which he has any talent for.
* Alejandro Furth as Antonio Manuel (seasons 1–2), a Puerto Rican actor in Cousineau's class.
* Rightor Doyle as Nick Nicholby, a flamboyantly gay actor in Cousineau's class.
* Mark Ivanir as Vacha / Ruslan (season 1; guest: season 3), twin brothers and Chechen assassins working for Goran. Ruslan is a sadistic and skilled torturer but considered overly theatrical and irritating by his colleagues.
* Chris Marquette as Chris Lucado (season 1; guest: season 3), a former Marine logistics officer and one of Barry's only friends.
* Karen David as Sharon Lucado (seasons 1 & 3), Chris' wife
* Dale Pavinski as Taylor Garrett (season 1), a former soldier and one of Chris' friends.
* Marcus Brown as Vaughn (season 1), a former soldier and Chris and Taylor's friend.
* Robert Curtis Brown as Mike Hallman (season 1), a talent agent who helps Sally book acting auditions.
* Cameron Britton as Simmer (season 1)
* Jessy Hodges as Lindsay Mandel (seasons 2–3), Sally's agent.
* Nikita Bogolyubov as Mayrbek (season 2; guest: season 3), a star pupil of the new Chechen army and Barry's protégé, earning him the nickname "Baby Barry”.
* Troy Caylak as Akhmal (seasons 2–3), a member of the Chechen mafia who often serves as Hank's right-hand man.
* JB Blanc as Batir (seasons 2–3), a Chechen mobster and Hank's immediate boss.
* Nick Gracer as Yandar (seasons 2–3), a member of the Chechen mafia
* James Hiroyuki Liao as Special Agent Albert Nguyen (seasons 2–3), a former Marine who served alongside Barry. He later arrives in LA to help investigate Moss' death as an FBI agent.
* Andrew Leeds as Leo Cousineau (seasons 2–3), Gene's estranged son and an organic farmer.
* Patricia Fa'asua as Esther (season 2; guest: season 3), the Burmese gang leader.
* Elizabeth Perkins as Diane Villa (season 3), a major TV producer and head of streaming service BanShe.
* Elsie Fisher as Katie (season 3), a teenage actress playing the role of Chloe in Sally's TV series ''Joplin''
* Miguel Sandoval as Fernando (season 3), the head of the Bolivian mafia and Cristobal’s father-in-law.
* Eli Michael Kaplan as Gordon Cousineau (season 3), Gene's grandson and Leo's son.
* Laura San Giacomo as Annie (season 3), a theater director and Gene's ex-girlfriend.
* Fred Melamed as Tom Posorro (season 3), Gene's agent.
* Robert Wisdom as Jim Moss (season 3), Janice's father.
* Jolene Van Vugt as Traci (season 3), Taylor's sister.
* Patrick Fischler as Lon Oneil (season 4)

Guest

* Tyler Jacob Moore as Ryan Madison, an actor in Gene's class that Barry is hired to kill (" Chapter One: Make Your Mark")
* Melissa Villaseñor as a diner waitress aspiring to be an actress ("Chapter One: Make Your Mark")
* Larry Hankin as Stovka, a renowned Chechen assassin (" Chapter Three: Make the