Brian Tyree Henry says 'Dope Thief' role felt like 'homecoming'

Record ID: 1983008

  • Title: Brian Tyree Henry says 'Dope Thief' role felt like 'homecoming'
  • Date: 11th March 2025
  • Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 25, 2025) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** CRAIG POSING FOR PICTURES AT "DOPE THIEF" PREMIERE (SOUNDBITE) (English) SERIES CREATOR, PETER CRAIG, SAYING: "I love this idea about people who have to use disguises for, for their con, you know? And I came up as a crime novelist too, so I really connected with i
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: APPLE TV+ BRIAN TYREE HENRY DOPE THIEF PETER CRAIG WAGNER MOURA
  • Location: VARIOUS
  • City: VARIOUS
  • Country: US
  • Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,North America,Television
  • Reuters ID: LVA008652805032025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Brian Tyree Henry plays a thief fearing for his life while dealing with his painful past in gritty crime drama "Dope Thief", a role the U.S. actor said felt like "a homecoming".
    The eight-part mini-series stars Henry as Ray and "Narcos" actor Wagner Moura as Manny, two Philadelphia friends who pose as DEA agents to rob trap houses. But when they raid an unknown rural house, they unleash a dangerous set of events that sees them running from a cartel as well as the police.
    “There was so much about (Ray) that resonated with me. I saw this man that was dealing with generational trauma, trying to find a way to make it, trying to find a way to actually be cared for," Henry, known for films such as "Transformers One", "Bullet Train" and "Causeway", for which he earned an Oscar nomination, told Reuters on Tuesday (March 4).
    "He allowed me to lay down a lot of my burdens that I had been carrying ... it was definitely another transition for me ... to elevate myself and how to deal with my emotions and deal with my abandonment, deal with my fear and deal with all those different things.
    "And so, Ray was actually the first time in a long time that I felt like I had come home. He felt like a homecoming in a way."
    At the heart of "Dope Thief" is the long-running friendship between Ray and Manny and how they deal with their struggles.
    "The show is violent. There's a lot of violence and crime and running and you've got this Black and Latino man, we've kind of seen this kind of show before," Henry said.
    "But ... we wanted to show the tenderness between these two, the friendship."
    While Ray at times makes bad decisions, the audience often feels for him and what he is going through.
    “The mission statement of every character that I play is that usually these characters are not really characters that people want to care about or should care about, you know, from drug dealers to like ... an auto mechanic .... and there's something about these men that I find really tender," Henry said.
    "I find that there are so many things about these Black men that I get to play that I want to showcase how endearing they can be and how familiar they are and how they need love just as much as anybody else. And Ray was no different."
    "Dope Thief" is based on the 2009 novel by Dennis Tafoya, however the show drifts away from the book, series creator Peter Craig said.
    "I liked that (Tafoya's) really got two novels in one. The second half is very internal, so I liked the idea of just using the first half and then having a lot of room for invention," he said.
    "Dope Thief" premieres on Apple TV+ on Friday (March 14).
    (Production: Justin Nathanson, Marie-Louise Gumuchian)
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