Stephen Root (‘Barry’): ‘I’ve had a bullseye on the back of my head my whole freaking life!’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
This article and video contain spoilers about the series finale of “Barry.”
The HBO dark comedy “Barry” just aired its final episode, and if you ask Stephen Root his opinion, he will tell you the show is perfect. The Emmy-nominated actor, who plays the title character’s (Bill Hader) mentor and former handler Monroe Fuchs, calls the Emmy-winning comedy “a magic show.” In an exclusive video interview with Gold Derby (watch above), Root talks about the show’s legacy, Fuchs’s transformation into a prison gang boss and his ideas about Fuchs’s future path.
The final season of “Barry” saw Fuchs joining Barry in prison, only to be left behind after the latter’s escape. Fuchs is submitted to brutal daily beatings, only to emerge eight years later having fully embraced his persona as The Raven, complete with a gang of loyal followers and a lot of tattoos. Root describes the collaboration to come up with Fuchs’s post-prison look. At a certain point there was talk of of bullseye tattoo that may or may not be used, but Root knew exactly where to place it. “No no, that goes right there,” the actor says, pointing to the back of his neck. “Because that’s the crux of my character — I’ve had a bullseye on the back of my head my whole freaking life!”
The series finale showed a tense standoff between Fuchs and NoHo Hank (Anthony Carrigan) as they barter over Barry’s son. The scene ends with Fuchs killing Hank but not before he expresses what Root believes is the main theme of the series. “In the second half of season four, everybody has turned into someone else,” he explains. “Because I think what’s happening in the show is that sentence [in the scene] — everyone has become someone else.”
Despite Fuchs’s insistence that he is “a man with no heart,” we see the opposite when Fuchs protects Barry’s son from violence and returns him safely to Barry. The two characters share a long, silent look before Fuchs retreats into the night. Asked about Fuchs’s future, Root has strong ideas on his character’s future. “I think he would immediately go and get another Barry and do the same thing he’s been doing but with a renewed confidence that he’d never had before,” he argues. “I think he would do the same thing, but he would actually be better at it.”
Root is all too aware of television’s penchant for spinoffs and reunions, but in his mind “Barry” should remain untouched. “There shouldn’t be spinoffs of it,” he argues. “It’s a piece of art. I don’t think you should do anything with it.” Root reiterates that the magic of the series comes from the combined efforts of everyone who put it together. “It’s a magic show because of the group effort to go for the good of the show instead of the good of your own individual character.”
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