Brian Tyree Henry says ‘Dope Thief’ role felt like ‘homecoming’

LONDON: 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.

“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.”

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“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.