Bryan Tyree Henry has been working for years, and little by little, small part by small part, he has started to become a major name in Hollywood. Henry is an actor of contrasts; he can play crazy, but also soulful; loud, but introspective; fun, but menacing. All those qualities are what’s making him one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood. It’s also why Alfred “Paper Boi” is the perfect role for him, as he can play all those notes in the same character. Here are Brian Tyree Henry’s best performances, ranked.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
6 Joker (2019)
Warner Bros. Pictures
Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) is a bad comic who descends into madness and becomes the Joker, the villain that will eventually terrorize Batman and the whole city of Gotham. Henry only gets to play one scene in this Joaquin Phoenix tour de force, but it’s one of the more magnetic scenes in the entire movie. The confrontation shows that Henry can stand his own against an actor of such stature and talent as Phoenix, making us want to see more of his Arkham Asylum’s clerk character in Joker.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
5 Widows (2018)
20th Century Fox
A group of thieves gets killed on a job while owing a lot of money to the mob. So, their widows must do a new job to save their lives and pay for what their husbands didn’t. Can this group of amateur thieves do it? In Widows, Henry plays Jamal Manning, the mob boss whom the widows owe their money to. In an incredibly stacked cast (Viola Davis, Liam Neeson, Carrie Coon, Robert Duvall, and Colin Farrell) it’s Henry, and Daniel Kaluuya as his brother, who steal the show. Henry plays the mob boss with political aspirations, making him a man of many contrasts, as he’s menacing, but also kind, worrying about the community, creating a tri-dimensional character that’s the villain, but also much more. It’s a great character study and one of the best Steve McQueen movies.
4 Eternals (2021)
Walt Disney StudiosMotion Pictures
A group of Eternals has lived on Earth for thousands of years. After some strange things start happening, they decide to reunite and find out what’s going on and how they can help save Earth. Henry plays Phastos, the tech brain of the team, and also the first LGBTQ+ superhero of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His character is not the most developed, but in all his scenes, you can see the brotherhood he feels for the rest of the Eternals; the love for humans, and how hurt he is when he understands his creations have been used for evil and caused death. Eternals is not like the rest of the MCU, and that’s in part because of its director, Chloe Zhao, and her unique path to directing a Marvel movie.
3 Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Sony Pictures Releasing
The origin story of the latest Spider-Man, Miles Morales, is where he learns his powers and bravery with the help of other Spider-Men (and women) in the Spider-Verse. This Oscar-winning animated film might be the best Spider-Man movie ever. In Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Henry voiced Jefferson Davis, Miles Morales’s father. The relationship becomes the heart of the movie, as they’re having a double conflict: for one, the typical father-son complications that come with puberty, but also Jefferson’s hate for vigilantes and his son becoming one. Even using only his voice, Henry can transmit all his vulnerability and hurt in the scene where he talks to his son through a door. About that scene, Henry told Geeks of Color: “The pain of what I’m having to share is real. And, that kind of reluctance that a teenager will have toward his father at that age and trying to reach this kid no matter what. No matter what you thought you’d done right it’s still something that’s like missing; you are still not reaching that far.”
2 If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)
Mirror Releasing
The adaptation of the incredible novel by James Baldwin was adapted by Barry Jenkins (his first movie after the Oscar-winning Moonlight). If Beale Street Could Talk tells the story of Fonny (Stephen James) and Tish (KiKi Layne) as she tries to prove her lover is innocent of the rape he’s been accused of committing. This film is incredibly romantic. Henry plays Daniel, a friend of Fonny’s, who’s on parole after spending time in jail for a crime he didn’t commit. Henry’s character shows the consequences of what could happen if Fonny goes to jail, as he’s traumatized, lost, hurt, sad, and hunted in a heartbreaking performance that explains the worst case possible for Fonny, and what could happen to his relationship with Tish.
1 Atlanta (2016-2022)
20th Television
Atlanta tells the story of Earn (Donald Glover) and what happens to him while representing his rapper cousin, Paper Boi (Henry). This Donald Glover masterpiece has catapulted all his stars, not just Glover and Henry, but also LaKeith Stanfield and Zazie Beetz. Atlanta is a show that still holds a special place in the modern TV landscape.
Henry plays the rapper Alfred “Paper Boi” Miles, a character that suits Henry’s acting abilities. Alfred has the rapper swagger, confidence, and charisma, but it is in the moments when he’s alone, where we see he’s vulnerable, lost, and has an incredible amount of self-doubt. Maybe that’s why some of the show’s best episodes revolve around his character being alone, and having to confront some hard truths about his life and personality. Henry is always up for the challenge. Proving to be an incredible leading man who can play both comedy and drama (and change between them in seconds) making him the perfect jack-of-all-trades to transmit all of Glover’s unique and creative ideas.
About his character, Henry said to Complex: “One of the things I wanted to make sure of is that Alfred embodied the essence of the people from Atlanta. I really tried to zero in on the friends I’ve encountered because I think everybody who’s anybody from Atlanta has a friend like Alfred. He’s just that guy with the biggest heart. He’ll make you bust a gut laughing at something, he’s really down for family; he’s very loyal, and he’s willing to be on one for you if anything goes wrong.”. And it shows in every word, gesture, and idea that Henry as “Paper Boi” does on this incredible show.
