Steven Prusakowski
Over four seasons, HBO’s Barry gifted the world with a motley crew of characters comprised of some of the most reprehensible people you can imagine. And yet, viewers could not resist them and all the madness to the screen. The series’ unique mix of comedy and chaos was a showcase for amazing talent. One standout was the work done by Anthony Carrigan as the fan favorite NoHo Hank.
The character is as quirky as they come, sweet, polite, and morally bankrupt at all the worst moments. I sat down with Carrigan for Awards Radar to discuss his work on the series. It was not until our conversation that I learned that series creators Alec Berg and Bill Hader (who also stars as the title character) had very different plans for Noho – that is until a door of opportunity opened, changing the character and the actor’s fate forever.
Carrigan discuss his work on the series through topics ranging from what drives NoHo to the process of creating that distinctive voice and much more. We also touch upon another universe which is dear to my heart as we talks a little Bill and Ted history. Check out these excerpts where Carrigan talks about his relationship with Cristobal. Then watch the full video interview below.
On going from a guest to a central character:
“My character is supposed to die in the first episode. He was supposed to be shot through the windshield. Spoiler alert to anyone who was not the pilot. It was all going to end there for Hank. I think Bill Hader and Alec Berg they were both really enjoying what what I was putting down and we were really riffing a lot, and just having fun. So yeah, that scene where Hank get shot through the windshield, Bill comes over to me, and he’s just like, ‘Can you, when you get shot, just open the of door of the car and just fall out? Just fall out to the side.’ Thus opening an actual door. Since then it just all started kind of popping up organically. I think that was a huge part of the their writing process, having an idea of what they wanted to accomplish, but also being really open to just the best possible storytelling they could kind of drum up. In that sense, it was extremely collaborative. I was more just along for the ride and excited what they were going to come up with, because they’re absolute geniuses.”
On the relationship between Cristobal and Hank:
“The relationship with Cristobal meant everything – it means everything to him. Even from the very beginning, when Goran has a phone call with Cristobal – and Cristobal brings up The Four Agreements. And Hank is like, ‘Wow, that’s a great book.’ Like immediately, they’re just on the same page, and they’re simpatico and you see the evolution of their relationship. At the same time, there’s this kind of fact of the matter, which is that they’re both involved in this extremely dangerous profession. Right? So I think a lot of what Hank does is to protect the two of them. It’s like best laid plans. I think it makes for some really, really intense, intense television.”
The complete series of Barry, all four seasons, are now streaming in Max.
Comments
Loading…