Brian Tyree Henry on Dope Thief Coming at the Right Time

Brian Tyree Henry joined us to talk about his lates project in his AppleTV+ series Dope Thief. He shared how the project came about in the right time in his life, because it conjured up a lot of personal feelings and connections and he felt ready to tackle everything head on. One of the things he loved instantly in the character was how in the middle of everything in episode one he’s completely fixated on the fact that he thinks nobody remembered his birthday and found this to be so humanizing.

In the series he plays Ray who has had a life full of setbacks and along with his best friend and chosen family Manny, played by Wagner Moura, they set about posing as DEA agents to procure money from drug dealers, except they’re not very good at it and the mission goes incredibly wrong. As a result each episode leads to more and more tense situations for the pair and also forces Ray to confront his past and his relationship with his father. Brian spoke to how he was able to channel a lot of emotion into how Ray feels abandoned and let down by his father.

Working with Wagner Moura was a complete dream come true for him and something he felt lucky to get to experience. On their first day working together on set they had a real heart to heart which set the stage for their ongoing relationship, to the point where Brian showed up for Wagner on the day he filmed his last scene of the series despite not being in the scene himself, and proceeded to throw him a party on set after he wrapped.

For Brian, a lot of the gratification of the story came from a. journey towards his character understanding and appreciating the people in his life differently and choosing to want to move forward rather than being stuck in the past.

Watch the full conversation below:

Q&A on the Apple TV+ series Dope Thief with actor & executive producer Brian Tyree Henry. Moderated by Mara Webster, In Creative Company.

Follows long-time friends and delinquents who pose as DEA agents to rob a house in the countryside, but end up unintentionally revealing and unraveling the biggest hidden narcotics corridor on the Eastern seaboard.