Barry's Anthony Carrigan Studied Russian YouTubers To Play NoHo Hank - Exclusive
The HBO series "Barry," which follows hitman Barry Berkman (Bill Hader) as he struggles to balance his criminal career with his love of acting, is one of those shows that treads a fine line between being a comedy and being a drama. When it comes down to classifying the series as one genre or the other, comedy tends to win out, as it's a half-hour show built around absurd premises with gags and performances that are often very funny. The comedy, however, is so dark that the laughs often come second to the intensity, and the characters are built so compellingly that one can easily watch the show as a drama.
On some level, NoHo Hank (Anthony Carrigan) could be seen as the most comedic character in "Barry," as he's the most incongruously upbeat character in the show, yet his subplots work increasingly well as dramatic arcs as well. So how do you take a character who seems like an absurd joke and still ground him in something resembling realism? Looper spoke with actor Anthony Carrigan about his process for researching for the role of Hank — and it involves a lot of YouTube.
Carrigan wanted a level of realism for NoHo Hank
Noho Hank is a member of the Chechen mafia based in Los Angeles. Anthony Carrigan himself hasn't heard any reactions from any Chechen viewers, either positive or negative, regarding his portrayal; if he were to hear from them, he says, "I hope that it is a very positive and amicable experience. I'm not trying to step on any toes."
So how does one research for this kind of role? Carrigan has never been to Chechnya himself, and Hank's "Barry" plotlines tend to operate on such a heightened level that it sometimes seems as if realism wouldn't even be a concern. But despite the show's fictional and comedic nature, Carrigan says, "I wanted to do my best and be accurate in the ways that I could be." Since travel wasn't an option, Carrigan turned to other forms of research. When asked about his preparation, Carrigan answers, "[I] definitely [watched] a lot of Russian YouTubers — a lot of hours spent down that rabbit hole."
New episodes of "Barry" Season 3 air Sunday nights at 10 p.m. ET/PT on HBO.