One of the most enduring recent success stories has been that of actor Anthony Carrigan. Born in Massachusetts, he has gone from a small guest spot actor in series like Law & Order: Criminal Intent and The Blacklist to one of the stars of the critically acclaimed hit HBO series Barry, for which he received a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2019.
Carrigan has alopecia, a disease that causes severe hair loss. What were originally minor symptoms when he was young eventually led to the actor losing the hair on his head, eyebrows and eyelashes. While some told Carrigan to quit acting as his condition worsened, the actor persisted and the industry is better for it. After initially trying to hide his lack of hair, the actor soon embraced it, and Carrigan has used his unique appearance to transition from playing villains to now growing into one of the best and most underrated comedic actors working today. While his list of credits is small, the actor has certainly left an impression over the years in the roles he has played and his future looks bright. These are the best performances by Anthony Carrigan.
6 The Flash
One of two DC villains on this list, Carrigan played the role of Kyle Nimbus aka Mist on The Flash for two episodes in season one. In the series, The Mist is a former mob hitman who was betrayed by his employers when they testified against him. He was sentenced to death in a gas chamber at the exact same time the S.T.A.R. Labs Particle Accelerator exploded, giving him superpowers. He was one of the Flash's first enemies and while beaten, he later escaped in the episode 'Rogue Air' thanks to Captain Cold. The Mist has not been seen since, likely due to Carrigan's commitments to other projects, but the actor makes quite an impression early on in The Flash series.
5 The Forgotten
The Forgotten was a short-lived series on ABC that aired in 2009 and was canceled after one season. Carrigan plays the role of Tyler Davies, who acts as the audience POV character for the pilot as he is a sculptor and medical school dropout who must fulfill 200 hours of community service after being apprehended defacing buildings. He comes across and joins the Forgotten Network, a group of amateur detectives who dedicate their lives to solving crimes of John and Jane Doe victims with what little evidence exists.
This was Carrigan's first time in a lead role, and while it was short-lived and the actor is forced to wear a wig and prosthetic eyebrows, it showed a different side to him. He is given the chance to play a leading man, and the small series showcases his natural charisma that would eventually translate into a strong comedic sensibility.
4 Gotham
Shortly after his appearance on The Flash, Carrigan got hired to play another DC Comic villain, this time the Batman foe Victor Zsask on the Fox series Gotham. Carrigan played Zsask for 20 episodes as an assassin for various villains of Gotham including Carmine Falcone and The Penguin. This is the most the character of Zsask has been given outside the pages of the comics, since his only other live-action appearance was a small role in Batman Begins.
Carrigan gives the character the sense of danger that is present in the comics, but both this and The Flash showed that in 2014 the actor was getting typecast as a villain, specifically a hitman. The later entries on the list will show just how much range Carrigan had when creators started realizing exciting ways to use him.
3 Fatherhood
The 2021 Sony Pictures-produced and Netflix-released film Fatherhood is a dramedy starring Kevin Hart as Matt, a single father trying to take care of his young daughter, and is one of the best recent movies about parenthood. Carrigan plays Oscar, one of Matt's best friends alongside Lil Rel Howery as Jordan. Carrigan is given a chance to flex his comedic muscles in a small but vital role.
One of the film's best moments has Hart, Howery, and Carrigan doing an a cappella song to get a young baby to try and sleep. While the performance does not immediately jump out to the audience, it is not supposed to. Carrigan's role is to work as memorable comedic support for the larger ensemble and does so with ease and feels right at home with comedic powerhouses like Hart and Howery.
2 Bill & Ted Face The Music
Bill & Ted Face the Music might be Carrigan's most different role, but also one of his best. In the film, he plays a time-traveling robot (like a comedic spin on the Terminator) sent from the future to kill Bill and Ted, and the filmmakers have a great deal of fun with his design, which is shiny and pristine yet overly bulky and cumbersome. While introduced as an intimidating threat, the film quickly reveals he is a neurotic, emotionally insecure robot with more human personality quirks than originally believed.
His name is Denis Caleb McCoy, and he is a surprisingly good dancer. Much of the film's comedy comes from the character's stiff movements contrasted with his low quiet voice, awkwardly moving through scenes trying to not be the most notable thing in the room despite his comically absurd appearance. Bill & Ted Face the Music mixes Carrigan's look with his incredible comedic sensibilities to craft one of the franchise's best characters and become the scene-stealer of the film.
1 Barry
Barry is without question Carrigan's most iconic performance and also his best. The series focuses on Bill Hader as the titular Barry, a marine who became an assassin and wants to put that life behind him and become an actor. In Barry, Carrigan stars as NoHo Hank, a sweet and naive member of the Chechen mafia who attempts to become friends with Barry, although Barry does not share Hank's same attachment. Over the course of the series, Hank becomes the leader of the Chechen mob himself and becomes part of a relationship with Cristobal Sifuentes, the leader of the Bolivian mafia.
NoHo Hank was originally supposed to die in the pilot episode, but Carrigan's performance won the producers over and made him a series regular, and it is easy to see why. While Carrigan has often been cast as mobsters, villains, and criminals to the point the actor was becoming frustrated with the typecasting, NoHo Hank swerves in the opposite direction audiences would expect from the character's appearance traditional role in the story. Hank is not a tough criminal and very much sticks out in his profession and that serves for great comedy.
The character's best episode arguably comes from season two, episode three where NoHo Hank tries to kill Barry and when Barry has a gun on him, NoHo Hank tries to act tough and accept his fate but when Barry shows mercy NoHo Hank quickly drops his facade and vomits in fear. Instead of wanting to take complete control, he just wants a nice 50/50 split with Christobal. NoHo Hank is the role that redefined Carrigan's entire career and might be the single best comedic performance on a series filled with great comedic actors.