“I know that last season got some mixed reviews because we teetered off the path of the ordinary formula that people expected. But it’s like, look, man. When we started this Atlanta was something y’all didn’t expect either…”
Source: Irving Rivera / @graphicsmetropolis
Brian Tyree Henry is Cassius’ latest cover star and the talented actor is dishing on being an unstoppable force in Hollywood. The chameleonic actor is continuing to crush cinema and television roles and he apparently enjoys crushing not only his career—but a certain A-lister’s widely admired face.
‘There’s no greater feeling in the world than slamming Brad Pitt’s face on a tray table,” Brian Tyree Henry told Keith Murphy for Cassius referencing his role and fight scenes in the film Bullet Train.
Source: Irving Rivera / @graphicsmetropolis
Henry plays one-half of the quirky British brothers/assassins Lemon and Tangerine and his “twin” is played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Spoiler alert; they look nothing alike because Johnson is [quite] white, but Brian Tyree Henry told Cassius that it made things especially interesting and he’s especially grateful for the opportunity.
“I know the dynamic of having a Black guy and a white guy team up to go on the same mission,” Henry explains of his unlikely, fraternal, onscreen bond with Taylor-Johnson. “But usually those duos are two men from different worlds coming together like in Lethal Weapon or Pulp Fiction. But with Lemon and Tangerine, we don’t know what their upbringing was like, but we know they went through it together. I’m really grateful to David for allowing us to explore that because you don’t really get the chance to see that kind of kinship and brotherhood between two people like us.”
In addition to dishing on Bullet Train the actor, 40, also spoke on his work on Atlanta FX where he stars alongside Donald Glover, Lakeith Stanfield, and Zazie Beatz and brings Paper Boi to life. According to the actor, he’s well aware of mixed reviews for season three and he’s got an opinion about them.
Source: Irving Rivera / @graphicsmetropolis
Take a look at some Cassius highlights below.
On working with Zazie Beatz:
“Me and Za have an ongoing joke. Like on Atlanta it’s very rare when she and I ever get to have scenes together. So flash forward to the Joker. We both get cast in that movie and I was like, oh my God, yet another project where I don’t have any scenes with Zazie! And then I’m in Bullet Train and I was like, still no scenes together. I just told Zazie at this point this should just be our cosmic joke for the rest of our lives.”
On ‘Atlanta’:
“Atlanta is its own magnifying glass on our own personal lives and trajectory. I think there’s never been a show like Atlanta doing what we have done, telling the stories we are telling and turning the lens back on the viewer like, yeah, sh*** is absurd, right? I know that last season got some mixed reviews because we teetered off the path of the ordinary formula that people expected. But it’s like, look, man. When we started this Atlanta was something y’all didn’t expect either. We didn’t think y’all would rock with an invisible car, but you did.”
On working with Brad Pitt:
“So Brad and I are trying to figure out how to do all of this different fight choreography where we have to be quiet. At one point [during the scene], I told him, “You look like every homeless white man I’ve ever seen. You are going to sit in front of me wearing a bucket hat? Oh, fantastic.” I just said, “Let’s go in, man.” And Brad had a great time with that. I’ve been fortunate enough to been on this leg of the Brad Pitt Fun Tour.”
On being a Black Actor:
“I grew up as most of us Black men and Black women in a society hearing what we can’t be. We’ve been told, no, you can’t aspire to be that. Make sure that you push everything down and don’t feel anything. So what I’ve had the absolute honor and grace of being able to discover in acting is it gave me an outlet. It gave me an opportunity to play several different layers and several different sides of who a Black man can be in this world. I just want to constantly do this as a reminder that you can do anything.”
Source: Irving Rivera / @graphicsmetropolis
Read more of Brian Tyree Henry’s Cassius cover story HERE.
Cover Credits:
Talent: @briantyreehenry
Cover Story: @murphdogg71 [Instagram] @murphdogg29 [Twitter]
Photographer: @graphicsmetropolis
Director Of Content: @AlvinBlanco
SVP of Content: @AllieMcgev
Consigliere: @Shamika_Sanders