Barry is an American crime tragicomedy television series created by Alec Berg and Bill Hader for HBO. Set and primarily filmed in Los Angeles, California, the series stars Hader as Barry Berkman, a depressed hitman who joins an acting class while hunting a target, and begins to question his path in life as he deals with his criminal associates while navigating his new relationships. It also stars Stephen Root, Sarah Goldberg, Anthony Carrigan, and Henry Winkler.
The series premiered on HBO on March 25, 2018, and concluded on May 28, 2023, after four seasons and 32 episodes. It explores themes relating to psychological trauma, morality, honesty, forgiveness, the impacts of violent crime, and criticisms of the American film industry.
Barry received critical acclaim, with most praise going to its directing, writing, originality, humor, characters, and performances (particularly those of Hader and Winkler) as well as its examination of its subject matter. The series received various accolades, including 55 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, 10 Golden Globe Award nominations, and 12 Critics' Choice Award nominations. At the Emmys, Hader won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series twice, while Winkler won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance in the first season.
Premise Barry follows Barry Berkman, a U.S. Marine and Afghanistan veteran from Cleveland, who works as a hitman and wrestles with loneliness, depression, and guilt caused by his lifestyle as well as his actions during his service. He travels to Los Angeles to kill a target and finds a new sense of purpose when he follows his target into an acting class. After joining the class and making plans to become an actor, using his newfound passion as an outlet for his anxiety, he struggles to distance himself from his old life and keep his past a secret from new friends and colleagues.
Cast and characters Main Bill Hader as Barry Berkman, a depressed former Lance Corporal from the U.S. Marines and Afghanistan veteran who works as a hitman but is drawn towards human connection in an acting class. A mentally unstable yet exceptional assassin, Barry longs to put his criminal history behind him to become a full-time performer under the stage name Barry Block, but struggles to stop his past from creeping into the new life he tries to build for himself. The character's struggle with anxiety in a profession for which he has natural talent was inspired by Hader's tenure as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. According to early drafts of the pilot episode's screenplay, Barry's surname was originally planned to be "Belkin". Reese Levine portrays Barry as a child in flashbacks (season 4). Stephen Root as Monroe Fuches, Barry's old family friend since Barry's childhood and a former military cook, who groomed him for his post-military career as a hitman. He is cowardly, manipulative, and self-centered, refusing to believe he has been anything but good to Barry despite consistently abusing him and dragging him back into a life of crime to serve his own personal interests. Sarah Goldberg as Sally Reed, an aspiring and talented but struggling actress from Joplin, Missouri. She meets Barry when he joins her acting class and becomes romantically involved with him, culminating in a dysfunctional relationship. Seemingly good-natured but selfish and envious, Sally is focused on gaining fame and fortune as an actress while frequently alternating between bouts of narcissism and self-hatred in both her personal life and creative work. Glenn Fleshler as Goran Pazar (season 1; guest season 3), the leader of the Los Angeles branch of the Chechen mafia, who employs Barry to kill a man who has been sleeping with his wife. Despite his ruthlessness as a crime boss, he cares greatly for his teenage daughter Natasha. Anthony Carrigan as NoHo Hank, Goran's overly positive, polite, and naïve best friend and right-hand man, whose Chechen birth name is never revealed. Though he would be happier conducting legitimate business, particularly in sales, he sticks to his belief that being a gangster is his life's calling. Hank quickly becomes attached to Barry, who does not reciprocate his attempts at friendship. Following Goran's death, he becomes the leader of the Chechen mafia but struggles with this responsibility as he lacks in the skills necessary to be a gangster. Originally planned to be killed by Barry in the pilot episode, Hank was made a series regular after Carrigan's performance impressed the show's creators. Henry Winkler as Gene Cousineau, an eccentric acting coach and Barry's mentor whose glory days as a performer are long behind him, having alienated his industry colleagues and loved ones. Cousineau is self-absorbed and rarely seems to help his acting students, in whom he instills a nearly fanatical devotion, unless it directly benefits him. Despite this, he makes a connection with and serves as a father figure to Barry, helping him come to terms with his past atrocities and grow as a person until he learns of his criminal activity. Sarah Burns as Detective Mae Dunn (season 3; recurring season 2; guest season 4), a naïve and obtuse investigator who becomes Detective John Loach's partner. Robert Wisdom as Jim Moss (season 4; recurring season 3), a Vietnam veteran and former SERE instructor, and the father of LAPD Detective Janice Moss, who previously served in the U.S. Army in the field of psychological warfare.
Recurring
Paula Newsome as Detective Janice Moss (also starring season 1; guest season 2), a police officer investigating the murder of Ryan Madison, who starts an on-and-off relationship with Gene. John Pirruccello as Detective John Loach (seasons 1–2), Moss' perpetually depressed partner who later finds himself investigating Barry. Michael Irby as Cristobal Sifuentes, a Bolivian drug lord with whom the Chechens come into conflict, and later Hank's love interest. His ultimate goal is to unite all of LA's criminal gangs for what he believes will be a greater good. D'Arcy Carden as Natalie Greer (seasons 1–3; guest season 4), an actress and Sally's friend. Natalie often serves as Cousineau's personal assistant during acting class, and later becomes Sally's assistant on her television series. Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Sasha Baxter (seasons 1–2; guest season 4), a British actress in Cousineau's acting class. Darrell Britt-Gibson as Jermaine Jefrint (seasons 1–3), an actor in Cousineau's acting class. Andy Carey as Eric (seasons 1–2; guest season 4), an actor in Cousineau's class with a proclivity for slam poetry and rap, neither of which he has any talent for. Alejandro Furth as Antonio Manuel (seasons 1–2; guest season 4), a Puerto Rican actor in Cousineau's class. Rightor Doyle as Nick Nicholby (seasons 1–3; guest season 4), an actor in Cousineau's class who acts all his scenes as "flamboyantly gay". Mark Ivanir as Vacha and Ruslan (season 1; guest season 3), twin brothers and Chechen assassins working for Goran. While Vacha is more serious and vengeful, Ruslan is an enthusiastic and theatrical torturer considered irritating by his colleagues. Chris Marquette as Chris Lucado (season 1; guest season 3), a former Marine logistics officer and one of Barry's only friends. Karen David as Sharon Lucado (seasons 1, 3), Chris' wife. Dale Pavinski as Taylor Garrett (season 1), a former Marine and one of Chris' friends. Marcus Brown as Vaughn (season 1), a former Marine and Chris and Taylor's friend. Jessy Hodges as Lindsay Mandel (seasons 2–4), Sally's talent agent. Nikita Bogolyubov as Mayrbek (season 2; guest season 3), a star pupil of the new Chechen army and Barry's protégé, earning him the nickname "Baby Barry”. Troy Caylak as Akhmal (seasons 2–3), a Chechen mobster who often serves as Hank's right-hand man. JB Blanc as Batir (seasons 2–4), a Chechen mobster and Hank's immediate boss. Nick Gracer as Yandar (seasons 2–3), a Chechen mobster. James Hiroyuki Liao as Special Agent Albert Nguyen (seasons 2–3), a former Marine who served alongside Barry. He later arrives in LA to help investigate crimes as an FBI agent. Andrew Leeds as Leo Cousineau (seasons 2–4), Gene's estranged son and an organic farmer. Patricia Fa'asua as Esther (season 2; guest season 3), a Burmese gang leader. Elizabeth Perkins as Diane Villa (season 3), a major TV producer and head of the streaming service BanShe. Elsie Fisher as Katie Harris (season 3; guest season 4), a teenage actress playing the role of Chloe in Sally's TV series Joplin. Gary Kraus as Chief Krauss (seasons 3–4; guest seasons 1–2), the chief of the LAPD, nicknamed the "Big Cat". Miguel Sandoval as Fernando (season 3), the head of the Bolivian cartel and Cristobal's father-in-law. Eli Michael Kaplan (season 3) and Charlie Korman (guest season 4) as Gordon Cousineau, Gene's grandson and Leo's son. Laura San Giacomo as Annie Eisner (season 3), a theater director and Gene's ex-girlfriend. Fred Melamed as Tom Posorro (seasons 3–4), Gene's talent agent. Jolene Van Vugt as Traci (season 3), Taylor's sister. Michael Bofshever as George Krempf (season 3; guest season 1), Ryan Madison's father. Patrick Fischler as Lon O'Neil (season 4), a Vanity Fair writer terrorized into silence by Jim Moss after interviewing Gene and Barry. Fischler previously auditioned for the role of Fuches but was later given this part as compensation, at the request of casting director Sherry Thomas. Charles Parnell as District Attorney Buckner (season 4), the district attorney for Los Angeles. François Chau as Bong (season 4), a Thai mob boss who joins Hank and Cristobal's sand importation business venture. Tobie Windham and Andre Hyland, respectively, as "Groove Tube" Damian and "Live Wire" Jason (season 4), two prison inmates who join Fuches' gang and continue working with him after their release from prison. David Warshofsky as FBI Agent Harris (season 4), an incompetent FBI agent. Zachary Golinger (season 4) and Jaeden Martell (guest season 4) as John, Barry and Sally's son.
Guest Tyler Jacob Moore as Richard Krempf / Ryan Madison, a personal trainer and actor in Gene's class whom Goran hires Barry to kill, though Ryan is instead killed by Chechen assassins. ("Chapter One: Make Your Mark") Mia Juel as Oksana Pazar, Goran's wife, who cheated on him with Ryan. ("Chapter One: Make Your Mark") Mo Anouti and Dennis Keiffer as "Thick Neck" and "Lucky", the Chechen mobsters who kill Ryan, only to be killed by Barry. ("Chapter One: Make Your Mark") Melissa Villaseñor as a diner waitress aspiring to be an actress. ("Chapter One: Make Your Mark") Cameron Britton as Charlie Simmer, a detective in the LAPD. ("Chapter Two: Use It", "Chapter Four: Commit... to YOU") Robert Curtis Brown as Mike Hallman, a talent agent who helps Sally book acting auditions. ("Chapter Three: Make the Unsafe Choice", "Chapter Four: Commit... to YOU") Geo Corvera as Paco Zambrana, a Bolivian mobster turned informant for the Chechens. ("Chapter Three: Make the Unsafe Choice") Larry Hankin as Stovka, a renowned Chechen assassin and brother of Vacha and Ruslan, who is weary of his life as a contract killer and appears severely aged despite being only 45 years old. ("Chapter Three: Make the Unsafe Choice") Kat Foster as Liv, a former friend of Sally's. ("Chapter Three: Make the Unsafe Choice") Jon Hamm as himself ("Chapter Four: Commit... to YOU") Michael Beach as Police Detective ("The Power of No") Patrick Fabian as Space Dad ("The Power of No") Sam Ingraffia as Thomas Friedman ("Past = Present x Future Over Yesterday") Joe Massingill as Sam, Sally's abusive ex-husband. ("Past = Present x Future Over Yesterday", "What?!") Daniel Bernhardt as Ronny Proxin, a deadly martial artist whom Loach hires Barry to kill as revenge for sleeping with his ex-wife. ("ronny/lily")