Anthony Carrigan on the End of ‘Barry’ and Playing Metamorpho in ‘Superman: Legacy’

Anthony Carrigan was supposed to die in the first episode of Barry. And yet, his cheerful Chechen mobster in the crime-comedy series managed to survive for four seasons.

“I was really rewarded with the opportunity to have this arc with Hank in which he starts off as this lovable goofball who’s continuously failing upward and his naivete gets him through these experiences unscathed,” Carrigan tells Rolling Stone. 

Barry, which has nearly a dozen Emmy nods this year, follows war veteran turned hitman Barry Berkman (Bill Hader) who, searching for a new calling, joins an acting class in L.A. taught by Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler). Despite his efforts to be a “good person,” especially to his classmate/romantic partner Sally (Sarah Goldberg), the hitman cannot escape his criminal past. As the fashionable NoHo Hank, Carrigan is up for his third Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, going up against the likes of Ted Lasso’s Brett Goldstein (who took the trophy in 2022) and Phil Dunster, The Bear’s Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Jury Duty’s James Marsden, Abbott Elementary’s Tyler James Williams, and his Barry co-star Winkler. 

Carrigan, 41, has kept busy since Barry’s shocking finale in May 2023. He was cast as the superhero Metamorpho in the upcoming Superman: Legacy, helmed by co-head of DC Studios James Gunn, and filmed a role in A24’s Death of a Unicorn, alongside Jenna Ortega and Paul Rudd, which began filming last summer under a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement. 

Ahead of the 75th Emmy Awards, airing Jan. 15, Carrigan spoke to Rolling Stone about keeping some of NoHo Hanks outfits, bringing comedy to villainous characters, and getting his chance to play a superhero for a change. 

This is your third Emmy nomination for your role in Barry. How are you feeling?
I feel great. I’m excited to just celebrate with my cast, and anytime we get a chance to get together, hang out, have a good time, party, is a time I’m excited for. It’s wild. It’s kind of a circus but there’s a lot to really enjoy about it.

Barry’s Henry Winkler is also up for Supporting Actor. Do you have any hopes of getting the trophy this year?
I don’’t like to have too many expectations in general of anything. So even with Barry, I mean, my character was supposed to die in the first episode. So basically, everything after that moment when they decided to keep me around, it was all just a bonus. Keeping my expectations low has proved very well for me.

Can we talk about the fact that your character was supposed to die in the first episode, yet you managed to survive to the very, very end. 
Somehow, continuously falling upward, Hank made it to the final episode. 

What led them to keep you? 
Bill Hader directed the pilot, and frankly, even though it was his first time in the directing chair, he was so excited and just so passionate about it. He really had worked so hard up until that point that we all felt really taken care of, to the point where we could play, where we could just enjoy, relax, let go, and experiment. I love that kind of permission to play and try new things. And I think once we let that out, things really began to crackle. Bill and I began to be total idiots with each other and it led to some really amazing stuff. And so I think once we found that dynamic, everything began to just jump off the page. 

What was it like starring opposite Bill Hader while also being the funniest person on screen?
Equal parts terrifying and then comforting. 

NoHo Hank is one of the best-dressed characters in the show. How did your character express himself through fashion?
When you get into the fitting room, you know very quickly when you put something on whether or not it belongs on this character. And it’s funny, because as soon as I put on something that I feel like Hank would wear, I would immediately strike a Hank pose with my hands on my hips and arms akimbo. As the seasons progressed, we just got more and more playful in terms of what was possible.

Did you get to keep some of the outfits? 
A couple of things, but the curse of having a character’s wardrobe is that every time you put it on, you can’t really put it on as yourself. It kind of always remains in the realm of Hank, and so as much as I’d love to wear my short, short volleyball shorts from Season Two, I might as well just frame those.

Fans have followed Cristobal and NoHo Hank’s love story throughout the show, which tragically ended in the final season. What are thoughts on the final scene of Season Four?
In those final moments at the statue, he realized that this lie that he had built in this statue, this false idol, was just a mere imitation of what he actually lost. It’s really heartbreaking because all he wants is Cristobal’s touch, and all he has is this imitation in the form of a statue to hold on to. So it’s really bleak, like a lot of the show, but ultimately it’s a reminder of what he’s lost and the life that he wished he had chosen.

With Metamorpho, this is a character who was almost cursed with his powers and thought that he was freakish in terms of what he looked like and that’s something I could totally relate to because of my alopecia. 

In Barry you played this lovable mobster, in Fox’s Batman prequel Gotham you played a hitman, and you were cast in James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy as a superhero. How do you feel about playing these antagonists? Do you have a preference when it comes to playing a superhero versus a villain?
It’s very refreshing to be playing a superhero, finally, but I don’t think it quite matters to me. My favorite game is to, no matter what I’m given, try to find the opposites. See what’s possible in terms of stretching a character in different directions. With all of my characters, I really try to find some sense of authenticity and truth on what I can relate to about the character. With Metamorpho, this is a character who was almost cursed with his powers and thought that he was freakish in terms of what he looked like and that’s something I could totally relate to because of my alopecia. 

How does your diagnosis relate to Metamorpho?
Alopecia is an interesting experience to go through because it more than anything rocks your world when it comes to your identity. You go from someone who moves throughout the world in a way that everyone looks at you and you are who you are, and then all of a sudden, things start to change on your head and on your face. People stop looking at you and they start looking at your condition, and that is a really alienating, very dehumanizing thing. Villains don’t really accept themselves all that much. Superheroes tend to. There’s this concept of acknowledging one’s journey and leading with love as opposed to bitterness and wishing that you could change. 

Can you tell me anything about filming or updates on Superman: Legacy?
I can’t give away any of those details, but I can just reiterate that I’m so grateful to be part of it. I’ve been wanting to work with James Gunn for such a long time and this opportunity is the coolest that you could possibly get. I’m so, so grateful.