Barry picked up 50 awards in its first three seasons, including nine Emmys, and the new season has a 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes – the fourth-highest this year.
Empire Magazine calls the final season “nerve-shredding, hilarious and emotionally devastating to the very end,” saying, “Season 4 will be remembered as some of the best TV of 2023.” AwardsWatch calls it “truly spectacular… one of the greatest shows of the last century,” and Radio Times says, “If you’re not watching this show, you’re a fool… There’s simply nothing like it.”
We spoke to Stephen Root about Barry’s surprise success and his Emmy-nominated role as Barry’s vengeful former handler, Monroe Fuches, now better known as The Raven.
Did you expect Barry to be a hit?
It’s a logline that no producer should have ever bought. I mean: a hitman who wants to be an actor. No, I don’t think so. I’d never buy it. It’s always been an odd, odd duck, but it took special people like Bill [Hader] and Alec [Berg] to make it work. You have to walk the line every time on this show.
When did you know that it was breaking through?
Second season probably. That was when people started coming up. I thought four people would see this show, and that’s okay because we’re doing good work and if those four people like it, that’s great because I really love it. But it surprised me, the people that like it, from guys who like dumb comedies to really serious cinephiles. Bill got a call from [Oscar winner] Mel Brooks saying he loves the show.
What is going on with Monroe at the start of the fourth final season?
We’re starting this season in prison – a very different environment for this guy. He is not happy to be there, but he is much more unhappy that he’s there with Barry…
Looking back, what do you think Monroe’s arc has been?
It’s confusion. He started off the whole show with, “This is what we do. I do this for you, you do this for me, and why wouldn’t this continue forever?” It’s immediately disrupted by Barry’s decision to want to do something else. That’s the problem that he has. Barry doesn’t want to keep doing the same thing that they’ve always done. Why does he want to be an actor? It’s insanity. All the chaos comes from that decision to better himself. Fuches is confused, but deep down he loves Barry and is broken with his revenge tactics. Then for that one moment in jail he gets peace. Then Barry spoils it all again.
Fuches is so obsessed with Barry.
Yeah, his broken part is that he’s revenge motivated, and he doesn’t know it. He has a deep and desperate love for Barry. But if he’s crossed, he’s immediately out for revenge. If he’s in an idyllic situation with a beautiful girl on a farm, and Barry does something, he’s gone to get revenge. He is really broken in that respect.
What’s it like working opposite Bill? He’s directing and writing as well, so it must be quite stressful for him.
You wouldn’t know it; he doesn’t give off any stress. I love the fact that he’ll ruin scenes because he is an inveterate giggler. He loves to giggle. I remember doing a scene in a working prison. He whispers an idea, I give him an answer, and he exploded with laughter for about 10 minutes. We all say, ‘Well, I guess we’re on a break because Bill’s laughing.’ He wears all of his emotions on his sleeve. The only thing is, if he wrote the episode, he’ll sometimes mouth the words along with you during the scene. You have to go, “Stop it. You write them; I’ll say ’em.”
What was it like coming to the end of Barry?
This last bit of the show we shot on location. Not everybody was there, but enough were that it was emotional. I didn’t feel sad as much as I felt relieved that we were doing the vision that Bill wanted to see and that he was happy with it. With Bill directing every episode this year, it’s pretty much his vision of closing the door on the show, which is great because he’s got a very, very strong directorial vision.
Watch Barry S1-4 on Showmax ahead of the finale on Monday, 29 May 2023: www.showmax.com/eng/tvseries/1kqppt2q-barry
