[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Dope Thief.]

Summary

The Apple TV+ series ‘Dope Thief’ explores friendship, addiction and chaos from a heist gone wrong.

Brian Tyree Henry was drawn to the project because of the agency it offered him and that it felt like something of a reset.

Complex relationships, brotherhood, love, and loss are all explored through the dynamic between Ray and Manny.

Created by Peter Craig and based on the book by Dennis Tafoya, the Apple TV+ series Dope Thief explores grief, addiction, and the deep love that can come from the bond between friends who understand each other on a whole other level. When Philly friends Ray (Brian Tyree Henry) and Manny (Wagner Moura) pose as DEA agents to rob a seemingly unassuming country house that goes wrong and sends them spiraling onto a path that puts everyone in danger. As Manny descends deeper into despair, Ray may not be able to do anything to help his friend, but he can form a partnership of sorts with an unlikely ally on the same hunt for the truth.
Collider recently got the opportunity to go in-depth with Henry about Dope Thief. The actor, who’s also got an executive producer credit on the series, is thoughtful about not only the projects he signs on for and the characters he plays, but what he’d like to do next and what that might pull into his own life. During the chat, he discussed why this particular series reeled him in after he’d sworn off doing more TV, the ways that he felt connected to Ray, the moment in the season that he was vehemently against, the love he has for co-star Moura, what led him to throw a party on set, and the complicated dynamic between Ray and Mina (Marin Ireland), a DEA agent working undercover in that country house, who are more alike than they are different. He also talked about the lasting influence of Atlanta, that he saw Dope Thief as something of a reset, whether he wants to direct, and how much he’d really like to have his rom-com moment that doesn’t involve having to run for his life.
Brian Tyree Henry Had Decided Not to Do Another TV Show Until ‘Dope Thief’ Reeled Him Back In

“I knew it was going to have to be something really good.”

Collider: Your show creator, Peter Craig, told me that while he wanted you to play Ray, you had decided you didn’t want to do TV anymore at that point. I would like to thank whatever fates intervened to make him decide to ask you anyway and you to decide to read it anyway. Did you know immediately that you wanted to do this, or did you need to think about it?
BRIAN TYREE HENRY: I knew it was going to have to be something really good. I knew it was going to have to be something that did a few things. It gave me agency. I knew I wanted to be front and center. I just had to feel like I had a sense of artistic control, and I’d written that off. I was like, “I don’t think that’s going to happen. And if it’s not going to give me that, I had to find the power of no.” This is when I decided to use it. And then, of course, the fates gave this wonderful script to my wonderful manager and producing partner who was like, “Hey, you should read this.” And I immediately was like, “No, I should not. It’s television. No.” And she was persistent. She said, “Read another episode.” And I just got lost in Ray.
It was one of those moments where I was like, “It has to be me. I feel like I know this journey. I feel like I’ve done the work to meet Ray where he lives.” And that’s a great feeling, when an actor is like, “Yeah, it’s gotta be me. I know how to do this.” And then, they also offered me an executive producer credit, which was nothing to shake a stick at. What was so wonderful about Dope Thief is that there were things that were being presented to me as, “Yes, we want this for you.” That was an easy decision to make because it felt like they trusted me wholeheartedly with what I was going to bring and what I was going to do. That made it very easy to say yes.
It must feel very different when you actually feel like the people you are dealing with know your worth and are saying, “We know your worth and we’re recognizing it.”
HENRY: Yeah, absolutely. Words right out of my mouth.

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Any and every actor has to consider the possibility of typecasting, and I feel like that’s something actors really think even more about when they’re on a TV series for any length of time. Do you feel like Atlanta was a lucky exception to that because that show really couldn’t ever be defined in any one way or fit into any one genre? Do you feel like the range of things that series was actually worked to your advantage?
HENRY: I often think that people typecast because it’s easy for them, rather than experiencing all the different ways people can be, especially when it comes to Black people and Black experience. So, rather than having to go out and experience the Black experience, it’s easy to typecast and make the world that you want, so therefore, you don’t have to have any credibility of going out and experiencing it yourself. And so, as actors, and especially as Black actors, we are constantly fighting to make sure you know that we are not monolithic and that our experiences are very much of range. That’s what we try to show. Hopefully, those experiences are given to us to be able to kick that door in and be like, “Oh, here we go.” And I feel like Atlanta did that, but also the same could be said about Paper Boi.
I’ve been talking about loss because Dope Thief is a lot about loss. Even in Atlanta, you watch Alfred deal with loss as well. But the one loss that I didn’t think I would have to endure is the loss of my name. Once Atlanta took off, every corner, every street, every place that I knew that was familiar to me, I was no longer Brian. I was Paper Boi. And then, it kept going, no matter how much I kept building my resume. It was like, “Paper Boi is nominated for an Oscar.” Even when I did Atlanta, I never referred to him as Paper Boi. I always called him Alfred because I was like, “The worst thing is for him to lose his name. That is the name his mother gave him.” And so, when I took Dope Thief, I took it with the hope of reclaiming my name again. I was like, “Hopefully, when people see this, they will identify me as this person or for this thing, and not just for that one thing.”
What I’ve also realized about the course of all the men that I’ve played is that all of them have fallen in different places where they could be typecast. You could easily typecast this trap rapper as being this one thing, and I didn’t want that. You could have easily typecast James and Causeway as being this one thing, and I didn’t want that. With all my characters, I’m often making sure that I’m always twisting the valve of opening up people’s minds to be like, “Oh, these are men that we do know and these are men that we have encountered. Maybe if we just give ourselves an hour and 30 minutes and invite them in, we can get closer to them.” The best way that I can show that they are worthy of being cared for is to show all the different sides of who they are emotionally.
I thought the same thing with Ray. He’s a convict in a trap house who’s doing all these things. But he’s actually not good at it. He’s not trained. He doesn’t want to use a gun. He hasn’t killed anything. He actually is someone who is dealing with immense heartache and dealing with addiction and dealing with suicidal ideation. The only person that really understands him and cares about him is his best friend Manny, this brown man who isn’t even from this country. He’s from Brazil and he was caught in the system as well. There are all these different layers. It could be very easy to see a show with the Black and brown man, with violence and drugs, and automatically think that you know. And then, you also have these two actors who are also known for these characters, with Pablo Escobar and Paper Boi. And what me and Wagner [Moura] really wanted to do was show the absolute upside-down world of who we are. Manny is dealing with religious conflict. He’s never killed anybody before. He is really scared of a lot of things. Ray is just a novice who is acting like he has it all together, but he’s incredibly scared as well and dealing with all this abandonment.
It was a chance to reset for us, which was exciting. I think that’s exciting for any actor to get to do. I’m in no way shaking a stick at the fact that I’m known as Paper Boi because it could be easy to not remember him. I remember when we first came out, people really thought that I was somebody they pulled off the street. And I was like, “That’s a testimony too. That’s actually really great.” But now, at this point in my career, stepping into the leading roles, executive producing, playing characters like Ray, that’s the trajectory that I want. That’s how I want to reset. It definitely felt like a place to reset myself.
“If I start attracting love, then maybe it will happen.”

Image via Apple TV+

I was reading an article recently that said, “Where is our Brian Tyree Henry rom-com?,” and I have to say that I absolutely agree with that and would like to know the answer to that myself. Is that something that you’re actively seeking?
HENRY: Absolutely! I keep saying, I would love to be the owner of a sandwich shop who falls in love. I want to have an ice cream store. I want it to be during Christmas. I would love that. I really would love that. I’m going to keep putting that out there. Based on the project, sometimes that’s the stuff you’re attracting. If I’m always being shot at in a bulletproof vest, covered in blood, running for my life, that’s probably what I’m going to keep attracting. If I start attracting love and that kind of relationship, then maybe it’ll happen. I would love to show that side of me. I really would. It would be nice to be in a sensible polo and just not fighting for my life. It could be a messy love story, but I would like to be in love. That would be really great. And I think that I’m now ready. I think before I wasn’t particularly ready, which is why I was attracting roles where I’m running for my life. But I think it’s time. Pour some love on me. I would love that.

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The series is streaming on Apple TV+.

Peter Craig also told me that working with you on this series was like having another director on the ground because of the way that you work. He said that he could easily see you stepping into directing yourself. Is that something you’re also thinking about?
HENRY: Yes, especially after having the fortune of being an executive producer. When you’re an executive producer and lead of a show, it is a relationship. I thought about it every day. I went home thinking about the next morning, and the following week. I took this show on dates, slept with the show, showered with the show, dressed it, and I never got tired of it. I think the same thing goes for directing. It’s a relationship. It is also known how to communicate your vision to other people, to get them to believe it so much that they go and do it. He says this all the time0, but I’m like, “I don’t know, bro. I’ve gotta learn lens numbers. It’s a lot.” But it is something that I feel deeply about, that would be the next progression for me. I wouldn’t run away from it. It just has to be the right thing.
It’s all about alignment, really. I don’t want to call a crew to set every morning and these actors to set every morning, and I don’t have my vision ready for them. It really is about making them believe your vision. After having the experience of doing Dope Thief, I think I’m ready. It’s a commitment. But I said I want to be in love, so I think it may be the next love story for me. Working with Wagner, he’s a director and I love watching his creative brain and seeing how he picks projects and what he wants to do. I’m learning, at the same time. I’m such a student. But I think it’s in the cards. If it’s the right thing, I’ll do it.
Brian Tyree Henry Had One Moment in ‘Dope Thief’ That He Was Vehemently Against

“I spoke my mind and was like, ‘No!'”

Image via Apple TV+

After everything that these guys have been through, how hard was it to have Manny die alone and to not have Ray be there?
HENRY: When Peter presented that this was going to happen, I was vehemently against it. I was like, “No. No, man.” I don’t wanna say we fought. We didn’t fight. Me and Peter don’t fight. But I spoke my mind and was like, “No!” I remember having the conversation with Wagner and the ease with which he took it. He was sad, but he understood it. And I was like, “Cool, make me understand because I don’t understand.” But that’s loss. That’s how it is. It was tough to know that was coming. That scene was Wagner’s last day on set, and I knew it was coming. I remember showing up that day. I wasn’t called that day, but I was like, “I’m going to be on set if he needs anything.” And also, at that point, it was post his fight and he was bruised and battered and cut. I would sit on set next to his cell, as the cameras was going in. I was like, “I’m gonna throw Wagner a party. Don’t tell him.” I got all this Brazilian food, four cakes, and a boom box for when they said, “That’s a wrap on Wagner.” I played this music and was like, “Follow me.” I took him to this other part of the soundstage, and it was a huge celebration for him. To see this man smile, with all these brilliantly, beautifully constructed cuts and bruises that looked so real, seeing everybody celebrating him, that was a testimony that we had something special.
There was so much love. I’m so grateful that Wagner Moura is in my life. That relationship is so important to be seen and to be captured the way it is, with Ray and Manny. It’s such a beautiful love story. It’s a tragic love story that’s very Greek and Roman and Shakespearean in its own way. It was tough. I’m still hearing from people how tough it is. People are mad, and I get it. But that was an impetus for Ray’s journey. It had to spur Ray somewhere. It had to motivate Ray in a different way. He had to surrender at some point. And I think the loss of one of the greatest loves of his life was the way to do that. So, may he rest in peace. But it was the natural progression, in order to get Ray where Ray needed to land.

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There’s this circle with Ray thinking that he’s the one taking care of Manny, when Manny feels like he’s the one that’s taking care of Ray. And then, you have this moment in the car between Ray and Mina at the end, when she wipes his mouth and it feels like she’s taking care of Ray a little bit now. How did you feel about ending up in that truck with that character in that moment?
HENRY: It’s the baton of care, as I call it. Marin Ireland is, to me, one of the most amazing actresses of this generation. I think she is brilliant and she is a great friend to me. I was like, “Isn’t it hilarious that we have eight episodes and we don’t come together until the final episode?” You see this person chasing me. I’m her Moby Dick. She’s doing everything. She’s become Ishmael. She’s trying to find me. And then, we come together. She’s been his ghost. She has been the thing that he has been obsessing about for the longest time. “The dead lady. Where’s the dead lady? Nobody mentioned the dead lady. Where’s the dead lady?” Because he also felt responsible. It’s the one moment that you see the true guilt of Ray feeling responsible for that. There were supposed to be no casualties, and then we kill this woman. So, when he’s laying in this hospital bed after losing Manny, he sees what he thinks is a ghost. She’s like, “Do you want to live like that?” Even for me and Marin, we were like, “Here we are. We are both broken.” It also shows this other side of tenderness to them. You see Mina, who lost a daughter and she tries to take her own life. And then, Ray lost the love of his life and he’s trying to take his life. They are so much more similar than they are different.
At the very end, here they are in this truck, covered in blood and soot, and I can’t even get this sandwich into my mouth. It’s one of the first moments you see her giggle. She just tenderly, as a mother, wipes his mouth and says, “You’re clean.” It’s such a beautiful, understated moment because he knows what comes with that. All Ray has been trying to do is get clean, or try to find some way to be clean of something, whether it’s his record, his addiction, or his abandonment. That’s the first time you see him really believe it, which is why he says, “Hallelujah.” He truly believes it himself. Peter has this amazing way of doing this crazy juxtaposition to what characters present and to what they really feel, and that’s really fun to play because that’s who we are as humans as well. We try to act like we have it all together, but right underneath the surface, everything is completely jagged and you’re trying to just make your way to the end. That is what that scene represents. It’s this absolute surrender to the fact that it’s all behind them now and all they can do is move forward.
Well, I would watch the Ray and Mina show. Peter said that if this were to continue, it would be with Ray as Mina’s confidential informant and her as his handler, and I would tune in to see where that goes. What does that relationship look like?
HENRY: And who do we take down? We’ve got a whole bag full of people to take down.

Dope Thief

Release Date

March 13, 2025

Network

Apple TV+

Dope Thief is available to stream on Apple TV+. Check out the trailer for Dope Thief: