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All Of It with Alison Stewart
Brian Tyree Henry Stars in 'Dope Thief'
00:23:13
Actor Brian Tyree Henry discusses his starring role in the new series "Dope Thief."
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Brian Tyree Henry
Listener Supported WNYC Studios.
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Alison Stewart
This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. Our next guest might be familiar to Broadway audiences for his Tony nominated performance in Lobby Hero. He has played an up and coming rapper in Atlanta, a Marvel superhero in the Eternals, a boxing coach in this year's the Fire Inside. Now Brian Tyree Henry is executive producing and starring in a new crime thriller, a Robin Hood story gone wrong. Ray, that's Brian and his buddy have found a lucrative side hustle in Philly. They pose as DEA agents, but they rob drug houses. The pair storm in with their fake badges and vests and real guns, ordering those in the vicinity to stop doing what they're doing. And then they make off with money or any product. Sometimes there's even a lecture and no one gets hurt in the process. That is, until they target the wrong house and the whole operation goes up in flames. Like actual flames. The mistake puts the real life cops and even scarier criminals on their tail. The show is titled Dope Thief. It's based on Dennis Tafoya's 2009 novel of the same name. Last week the first two episode premiered on Apple TV and the new ones will be released every Friday until April 25th. Joining us now to discuss it is actor and executive producer Brian Tyree Henry. Hi Brian.
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Brian Tyree Henry
Hey, what's going on?
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Alison Stewart
So how did you get in touch with the folks who wanted to put Dennis Tafoya's novel the Dope Thief and make it into a TV show?
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Brian Tyree Henry
You know what? They found me actually. I was filming another series at the time called Class of 09 where I was playing a federal agent and it was taking place in the past, present and future. And that's a lot of work like that. It was at that point I had just wrapped the last season of Atlanta, went straight into the show and I was like, I need a break from tv. It's just very taxing. My wonderful producing partner, Jennifer Wiley Moxley, who was also my manager, was with me at the time and she usually has a really good barometer of the characters and stories that I wanna do. And so she slid this script to me and I slid it back to her and I was like, no, thank You. I was like, I can't. I was like, I really don't know. She's like, but it's Peter Craig. You know, it's Ridley Scott. And I was like, that's wonderful. It is television. So, no, thank you. But I ended up reading the script, and with Rey, the character Rey, and the journey that he was taking, I knew it was something that I hadn't done before. It felt very exciting. And then they also were like, oh, executive produce with us. And I was like, oh, well, I can't say no to that. But I was really intrigued by the story of Rey.
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Alison Stewart
What hadn't you done before with Rhe?
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Brian Tyree Henry
Well, you have this character that is basically circumstantially in these situations that have him with his back against the wall and just trying to find a way to make it. You know, Ray is this young who basically has been in the system of incarceration since he was 15 years old. He basically was living the life, I felt, of what is considered to be an inconvenient child. You know, his father has been in the system. His mother died of an overdose. You know, like, there were all these different things that you could feel that you're not supposed to care about him. He felt very much the anti hero. And that excited me because I also was like, there's gotta be this core to him that is absolutely yearning to be loved and yearning to be cared for. And I was really intrigued about how I could bring that to life.
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Alison Stewart
It's sort of interesting in television now, an anti hero can be. A hero can be someone you root for.
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Brian Tyree Henry
Yeah.
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Alison Stewart
Once upon a time. It wasn't always like that.
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Brian Tyree Henry
No, I know. You know, it used to be a time that if you were a bad guy on television, people would find you in the street and throw things at you because they thought that's who you were. But I think there's just something about the humanity to who they are. Like, once you realize that this could be you at any given point in time. That's the great thing about Dope Thief is that every single episode is truly a twist and turn where you're just like, is he gonna make it? He might not make it. And it's also. Yeah. Like, if the situations went this way, maybe it would have happened this way. And so you just never know. So it's all about this just making that one wrong turn. Right. Making that one wrong decision, which has basically been the narrative of Ray's life.
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Alison Stewart
Executive producer. That's the other thing that attracted you.
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Brian Tyree Henry
Yeah, absolutely.
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Alison Stewart
What do you know about being an executive producer that you did not know before?
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Brian Tyree Henry
You know what's crazy is that as I am doing this press tour for this series in the shoes of an executive producer, I realized that most of the projects that I been a part of, I had, in my own way, been executive producing. I just wasn't credited that way. When it came to the character development, the way that I go into, like, you know, how I want to dress as a character or how I interact with the crew or how things come together, the music, all that stuff had been something that I always bring to every project. This one was different in that you are actually the bridge, you know, because not only am I starring in it, but I'm also an ep. So, you know, we're out in the philly streets till 3 o'clock in the morning and the neighborhood is wondering what's going on. I'm like, hey, it's. You know, just want you to know that. Thank you for. For letting us be here. So on and so forth. Being the bridge between the crew and the producers, being the bridge between the cast and transport, you have to. You're there in all of it. And it's amazing because this show in particular, I care about this crew so much. Care about the present tense so much. And you build a family. Like when you shoot a TV show, it sometimes takes four months, five months. This one happened to take a year. It took a year. We started in January of 2023, and then this strike happen. And, you know, so the strike shut us down for seven months. And I remember I knew that I didn't want to leave Philly. I stayed in Philly the entire time because we didn't know when it was gonna lift. We didn't know what was gonna go. But I knew that I wanted to be the point person for my crew. I wanted to be there for them in case anything, you know, happened to change. So I stayed in Philly the whole time. And I also wanted to stay rooted in the city. You know, my character was born and raised in Philly. All he knows is Philly. So I was like, I should get acquainted with the city just as much. But, yeah, it's a lot of work, but it is so fulfilling. Like you're. It's so fulfilling. It was the most amazing experience I had being able to ep.
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Alison Stewart
When was the time when Brian the EP had a difference. Opinion. Difference from opinion than Brian the actor?
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Brian Tyree Henry
I mean, there are a few times. There's a few times because, like, you're having discussions about, you know, each episode and what it takes to make each episode. And then you're going to set, and you're laying on the ground crying for your life. Cause you've just been shot through the leg, and you're trying to figure out what that looks like. But also, is this the right thing? Is this the right kind of dog that we need? You know, like your baby pictures from when you were a kid are up on the wall, and you're just like, is this right? Is this the tone? But, you know, one of my favorite moments, honestly, is that when this strike happened, I remember just the fear that kind of went through all of us. Cause we really didn't know what it meant. And, you know, a lot of people are gonna be out of jobs for a long time, and we didn't know what was gonna happen. I remember thinking, I was like, well, how can I boost morale in the best possible way? And so one of my colleagues, Jess Kirkness, who's our set photographer, one of my best friends, we went to her house, and I was like, I'm gonna get bouncy castles. I was like, I'm making an executive decision. I'm gonna get bouncy castles.
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Alison Stewart
Bouncy castles.
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Brian Tyree Henry
I'm bouncy castles. We're gonna get all different kinds of fun treats, and we're gonna barbecue, and we're just gonna get on these bouncy castles, and we're gonna just, like, rage out, just so people can feel like they can get it all out. Because it was uncertain for all of us. For all of us. And I just remember how amazing that day was to see these grown ad in this castle, screaming at the top of our lungs. But those are the things that I like. Like, those are very much parts of me and who I am. Because, you know, I do love what I do. But, you know, it's also so uncertain at any given point in time, much like the strike showed us. So why not, you know, have a bouncy castle just in case?
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Alison Stewart
So you went to Yale?
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Brian Tyree Henry
Yes.
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Alison Stewart
And Morehouse.
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Brian Tyree Henry
Yes.
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Alison Stewart
What are some things that they don't prepare you for at Yale and Morehouse? Find institutions that you can only know by going through it. Being an actor, you know.
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Brian Tyree Henry
Hmm. There's quite a few things. Identity is one. Who you are. I remember when I got accepted into Yale, you know, I was straight out of undergrad, which is rare, 22 years old. It was the furthest north I'd ever been. You know, I'm from the South. I knew of Ivy Leagues, but I Never stepped on an Ivy League campus. And I just remember looking at how old these buildings were and like the history of these buildings, the prestige of these buildings. And I was like, well, slaves built this, so that's cool, Mr. Calhoun. You know, I was like. So I guess I should really take a lot of pride in this. But I also just felt like I just, I was like, how am I here? And I was like, but I was like, regardless of how I'm here, don't forget that it was you as you are that got you here. And I'm like in ripped jeans, like a polo. I think I got like a like waist chain on. Like I was dressed like a crazy skater back in the day. Hair was very long and natural, you know. And I remember there's this theater that and I was supposed to go see a play. And if I'm not mistaken, I believe the play was in the Continuum that starred Danai Gurira and was directed by Robert O'Hare. And I remember I was starving and there was a takeaway across the street and I was, I'm gonna get some chicken wings and french fries. I'm gonna go and watch this play with these two black women talking about it was brilliant. And I remember sitting in this theater and everybody kept looking back at me and I was like, why is everybody looking at me? Cause I'm the only black guy in here. Is that what's going on? It's cause they could smell my chicken wings. Throughout the entire play. I was like, oh Ray. I was like, oh Ray, I brought fried chicken wings into. Cause my 22 year old self was like, well this was my first, you know, like I'm hungry. This was my first play. But it was like, that's who I am. Like that, that's that, that's who I am. I mean, I learned, I learned decorum, theater decorum. But that was just so me. Like that was just who I am. And would I take wings to a theater now? Maybe. But it was just. I just remember not having that kind of burden of doing it right and being perfect and knowing it all. Like the whole opportunity of going to both of these institutions was to bring all of who I am there instead of them telling me who I should be. And I think that people need to remember that when it comes to going to these amazing, amazing institutions. But you are what's important. Like they can't teach you how to be you. You have to hold onto the parts that make you you. Please don't bring win to a theater though. If you listen to this. Like, I'm not trying to say, but like, just really inherently know who you are, man. Because like, I know that. I remember telling myself, leave this institution the way you came in. Because the way you came in is why they accepted you. So, like, make sure that you really hold onto those parts, who you are.
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Alison Stewart
My guest is Brian Tyree Henry. We're talking about his new. We're talking about a lot of stuff, but we're also talking about his new show, Dope Thief. It's streaming on Apple tv. You said you stayed in Philly during the strike. What did you find unique about Philly?
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Brian Tyree Henry
Oh, my goodness. There's so many things about Philly. Well, one, I lived in New York for over 13 years. This is where I cut my teeth. This is. This city will always be so incredibly special to me. As I was reminiscing earlier about the first place I lived in New York, because I had no concept of New York. Like everything you knew was Manhattan, Manhattan, Manhattan. But they'll never tell you when you're starting here as a theater person, you probably will not be able to afford Manhattan. So you gotta live somewhere else. And the first place I lived was Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. There are people in here laughing that are jo. You can't see them, but they're like, what? Yeah, I lived in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. And I was doing theater at the Public Theater at the time. So to get you to understand the distance that takes. Because theater is six days a week, eight shows a week. I was 26 years old. This is the only time I would suggest you do this is when you're in your 20s. Cause you have hopes and dreams and you're still young. But it would take a 20 minute walk from my house to the train station because the buses weren't always running. And then if it was express, it would be the B. But then usually it wasn't. So it was the local queue. And I remember being on the Q train. You'd be on there for at least an hour, 45 minutes. And I remember us going from past Avenue A all the way to Avenue Z. I was like, oh, there's Alphabet. Like it goes all the way from A to Z. There is no Avenue Q. And I was like, oh, that's where there's no. But I would be on this train for so long. But I just remember thinking, like, this is the life. Like, I was like, I would like. I absolutely loved it. This was the time where it was ipod shuffles, where it was just that Little block you had where you couldn't see what you put on. And I would clip it in my shirt and I'd walk through the. I mean, it was the life. I was on food stamps, but I was doing a play at the Public Theater. Like, I can't even explain to you how awesome it was, man. Like, it was just so great. And I was starving, but it was fine. I would go to Western Beef and get, you know, like. Get, like, cold cuts. And, you know, I would make latkes. Cause that was the only thing that was cheap at the. Like, oh, man. And I'm grinning about it now. Like, I just remember Western Beef, yo. Western Beef was the jump off. Okay? $125 went a long way. But, yeah, it was. I don't know, man. It was truly. It was truly the best time of my life and with some of the best community of my life. And New York made that for me. Like, I know that I wouldn't be sitting across from you, Alison, talking about my series that I did if I had not started the way I started here in New York. It just was. Yeah. What was your question again?
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Alison Stewart
No, but you said Western Beef and ipod shuffle.
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Brian Tyree Henry
I was like, just the potatoes of it. Yeah.
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Alison Stewart
What would you say was your big break?
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Brian Tyree Henry
You know, my big break had to have been when I got cast in Shakespeare in the park right out of school. I had actually not. I had not graduated Yale yet. I was seen by this wonderful director, Michael Greif, because I had done under the Radar festival at the Public. So I was going back and forth between New York to New Haven, New York to New Haven, which is so strange that there is a train that goes from New York to New Haven. I'm like, who is going to New Haven? And I said, oh, right, there's a major theater. So. And I would go back and forth, and I would see it in that production. And I got cast as Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet. And Oscar Isaac was my Romeo. Lauren Ambrose was my Juliet. Michael Kristofer was Lord Capulet. Cameron Manheim. It was like, ah. And I wasn't making any money. I'm not trying to call the public out, but back then, this was 2008, I think I was making 250 bucks a week. Wow. 250 bucks. And you couldn't tell me anything. I was like, man, yeah, 250 bucks, man. Like, I was like, and I get to do this in the park. And, you know, like, it was truly. And I hadn't graduated, so I had to go back and forth between rehearsal and school, and it was just the best. It was just the best time of my life. And that was one break, right? And then I went and did the Brother Size, written by Terrell McCraney at the Public. But then I ended up doing the Book of Mormon. I don't. Like, I somehow fell into musical theater, and I. And I originated the Book of Mormon. And that was the first time I was like, I'm making money on stage. Like, money, money, money, money. Like, Book of Mormon was a phenomenon, but I also knew that wasn't my place, you know, Like, I wasn't a musical theater person. The musical theater mindset, it's another evolution. It's another skill set. It truly, truly is. And I respect musical theater for that. But that wasn't what I knew myself to do. Like, that wasn't a muscle that I had. And I stayed for three years. I stayed in that for three years. But I made myself a lead in that. You know, I had equity come and see me one evening. I was like, I think that I'm a lead. You know, I get this really big laugh. And I think. And they were like, yeah, you are a lead. And what I didn't know is that when you're made a lead after being an ensemble, your minimum is a year. And I was like, what? Like, I was just for a year. Like, nobody told me that. I would not have advocated.
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Alison Stewart
They didn't tell me that at Yale.
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Brian Tyree Henry
They didn't tell me that. They don't. That's the stuff they don't tell you. But also, I was like, all right, well, let's just go with it. And I stayed for three years, and I remember leaving, and that was that moment, that titular moment, I think, that every creative goes through of like, well, I haven't done this. I wasn't on television. I wasn't doing this stuff. I was like, well, how much more do I have? You know, you come out of institutions like that, and it's easy to think that your life is gonna go this way. And I was a kamikaze mission. I didn't understand a lot of it. I just went with the flow. Like, I'm very much like, if people tell me to try this, I'll try it. And, you know, but I didn't have a guideline of how I thought my career would go. And I remember standing in my kitchen, I had just left Book of Mormon. I was like, well, you gotta give yourself the biggest push. You can go as hard as you can, try as hard as you can. And I linked up with my now manager, you know, who was recommended to me through a good friend. And she put the script Atlanta in front of me. And I remember getting the script Atlanta. And in five pages, I was like, so, Alfred. I'm going there for Alfred, right? I was like, okay. And I remember going into this audition just unencumbered. I wasn't nervous. Cause I knew who this guy was. The guy I had gone to Cop in Atlanta. Alfred was literally modeled after one of my best friends. I knew this guy. I was like, this is the guy I used to smoke weed with. This is the guy who told me how to roll a blunt. This is the guy who I went to drive throughs with at 12 o'clock and got crystal sandwiches with. And I got it. And I just remember thinking, I knew that it was different. I didn't know how much of a phenomenon it would be, but I just knew that I. And I knew that people needed to know Alfred too, because Alfred helped me be where I am. And the rest is history. You know, here we are and it's all just so full circle. Even sitting here across from you right now, I'm just like, all right. Like every time I come back to the city, I'm like, man, yeah, this is like where I did it. Like, you know? And I always have respect for that. So, yeah.
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Alison Stewart
I want to ask you about the series. So Ray, he's impersonating a DA agent, robbing houses as one does.
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Brian Tyree Henry
As one.
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Alison Stewart
How did they get in this scheme to rob houses as fake DEA agents?
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Brian Tyree Henry
You know, I remember really rubbing up against this because they're so bad at it. Like, that's the other thing. I was like, they're so. I love anti heroes who are absolutely terrible at what they do. Because there's a desperation, right? There's this mode of survival that. That they're going through. So I had to start at the very beginning. So I was like, okay, well, Ray, his father has been in the system. And unfortunately, the way the statistics show is usually if you have a parent that's a part of the life of recidivism, more than likely you will be a part of it as well. You also have this dynamic of him having this foster mom, Kate Mulgrew, who's great. Listen, listen. If you are listening, you Google Kate Mulgrew, you send her Shamrock. She's Irish, so it's St. Patrick's Day, so happy St. Patrick's Day, Ma. But she's one of the best. That's Ever done it. But then I was like, but also, you have this white woman who takes on this young black kid. And what does that mean? And then he's incarcerated at the age of 15, not because he's selling drugs, not because of a car accident. Circumstantial things. And usually what I find is that when you incarcerate a black or a brown man at a certain age, that's the age they usually stay. Mentally. It's like kind of where they stay. That's where the system kind of keeps them trapped. And then you have them developing as men under this system, right? And so now you come to this show where you see them out as men, as grown men, and they're posing as DEA agents. Not only are they posing as DEA agents, they're doing it during the time, like, I think it's the year right after Covid. And I just was like, oh, yeah, so what are they supposed to do? Did they go in? Did they at least try to get a job at Best Buy? Did they think about, you know? And I'm like, well, they couldn't. You know, like, I'm pretty sure that their backs were against the wall in a way that they just couldn't figure out. And so you watch them kind of turn on this kind of, like, facade of being these agents, you know, like. Cause I was like, wow, they went and got coats printed and hats made and all this stuff, and y'all ain't want to go buy a Chipotle or nothing, I guess, like. But it's easy, right? Because what you're technically kind of watching is them still very much in a childlike state. Like, you're still watching these grown men be 15 year olds playing dress up, in a way. And that intrigued me. There was just something that was really intriguing about that also. The city of Philly as the backdrop. Because I always am tasked with playing these men who are natives and locals of the city that they're in. And the city is usually the backdrop of their lives and their destiny. So with Alfred, he's never left Atlanta. When I played James in Causeway, he never left New Orleans, you know, and now you have Ray, who's never left Philly. And these cities not only are the places that made them, but also the places that kept them trapped, right? It kept them feeling like they couldn't go anywhere. And that was intriguing to me for Ray, because, of course, as a convicted felon, you know, like, he's not really able to go anywhere. And now he's created this situation where Philly is now trying to kill him. Like, now everything in Philly is trying to kill him. And he's never thought about going anywhere else. So I'm always intrigued by that because I was a runaway. Like, the minute I could, I was like, where does this bus go? I'll go. I don't know. Like, I didn't even know Yale was in Connecticut until I got to Yale. I was like, oh, that's fine. It says north. All right, cool. But that's just always been me, like. And so I'm always captivated by these men who, who choose to stay or have no choice but to stay and what that life looks like. Because that means that that city is also the backdrop to lots of milestones in their life, their biggest losses, their first loves, all those things. So that was really intriguing to me. And seeing how Ray had to navigate this city, that also told him he couldn't be any more than what it wanted him to be.
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Alison Stewart
You have to find out what happens to Ray on Dope Thief. My guest has been Brian Tyree Henry. Dope Thief is available on Apple tv. Plus episodes one and two are out now. The remainder come out on Friday. It is really nice to meet you.
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Brian Tyree Henry
It's a pleasure.
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Alison Stewart
And that's all of it. I'm Alison Stewart. I appreciate you listening and I appreciate you and I will meet you back here tomorrow.
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