‘There’s something really terrifying about it’: Anthony Carrigan reflects on his character’s final ‘Barry’ scene

Warning: This article contains spoilers for the series finale episode of Barry

Anthony Carrigan has reflected on the trajectory of his character on Barry, saying there was “something beautiful” about NoHo Hank’s last moments on the just-aired finale episode of the HBO series. Carrigan, who portrayed the fan-favorite Chechen mobster throughout Barry’s four-season run, spoke of the character’s brutal demise during an interview with Variety, discussing Hank’s involvement in a shootout with Fuches that ultimately resulted in his death.

Carrigan described Hank’s final moments — which see him almost admit to the murder of Cristobal before retreating and branding Fuches a liar —  as “a very delicate scene.” He continued: “There’s a very clear veneer that Hank has been trying to keep up the entire season, and then Fuches throws him the curveball… When Hank is faced with that decision, he’s being flooded with guilt and sadness, but there’s that danger there as well. I think that’s why he couldn’t quite fully commit.” 

Elaborating on Hank’s refusal to confess to the murder in an interview with The Wrap, Carrigan said that his character is too afraid of “the truth that he murdered the love of his life” to fully admit to his crimes. “Then it was this twist that then he doubled down again. You saw him swallow his emotions again, and it ended up costing him dearly,” Carrigan added. 

As for the shootout itself, Carrigan said care was taken to ensure that the violence was not glorified, with the scene instead showing the reality of the “really violent, really messy and disgusting” encounter. Speaking on Hank’s devastating final moments alongside a statue of Cristobal, Carrigan said that while “there’s something beautiful about” about this final interaction, “there’s [also] something really terrifying about it.”

Carrigan is one of multiple castmates to reflect on their roles amidst Barry’s finale, with co-creator and lead actor Bill Hader recently recalling the key turning points of his title character throughout the series. Elsewhere, Fuches actor Stephen Root said he was “happy with the resolution of the main characters,” while Henry Winkler admitted to needing a change of underwear while filming a scene in the penultimate episode.