‘Dope Thief’ Stars Brian Tyree Henry and Wagner Moura Found the ‘Vulnerable People’ in Their Violent Crime Drama
If you were to judge “Dope Thief” based on its logline about two men posing as DEA agents, you would expect a very specific type of high-octane show. Peter Craig’s new Apple TV+ original does offer excellent action scenes and delivers them in spades. But it also tells its story with a degree of empathy and vulnerability rarely seen in the world of crime dramas.
“One thing about the show I really like is the fact that it’s a violent show with a Latino and a Black man in a drug dealing thing, but they are not the stereotype of the action tough guys,” series star Wagner Moura told TheWrap. “They are very vulnerable people who were caught up in this cycle of violence, like many other Black and Latino people, and got caught up in the system since they were 15.”
“Dope Thief” revolves around Ray (Brian Tyree Henry) and Manny (Moura), two friends who met while they were incarcerated. Now adults, their scheme is simple: pose as DEA agents and rob low-level drug dealers. As Ray explains it, it’s a win-win scenario; the duo walk away with money and drugs, and the criminals are scared straight without having to face any legal consequences. But when Ray and Manny rob a large narcotics operation, they quickly realize they are in over their heads. The rest of the incredibly tense series follows the two as they scramble to try and save themselves and their loved ones.
But what makes “Dope Thief” distinct is how Ray and Manny respond to their plight. There’s very little bravado from either of them. Instead, both men act exactly how you would expect real people to act if a drug lord was hunting them down. They panic, make bad choices, scream and cry. And through it all, Ray and Manny cling to each other, both because they are the only ones who understand this new hell and because they are best friends.
“We are not doing the cliché thing. It’s quite the opposite. They are so vulnerable to each other, this is sort of like a romance,” Moura, known for his roles in “Narcos” and “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” said. “For me, this is a marriage story.”
According to Henry, the intimacy that makes this show feel so original and human was not written on the page but was found during filming.
“You had to feel like there was this true kinship. Like I always say, real friendships have no boundaries,” Henry explained. “When we first met each other, I remember going to [Wagner Moura] being like, ‘Is it OK if I touch you. If I lay my head on your shoulder, is it OK?'”
To capture that intimacy, Henry and Moura pulled from their characters’ backstories. “What about those moments when they were 15-years-old and in these cells and the lights went out at night? What if [Ray] heard [Manny] crying down the hall?” the “Atlanta” star explained. “I was thinking about those elements of meeting a friend for the first time. That kind of childlike nature never left the two of them, and we needed to show that.”
Henry credited Craig for giving him and Moura “room” to explore those moments. “We were able to remove that blanket of shame in having these two friends, these two men who went through such an extreme situation their lives, look to each other for tenderness,” Henry said.
The relationship that appears on screen is also a reflection of the level of respect these actors have for each other. Moura noted that, at this point in his career, he’s more interested in tackling projects based on the people involved as well as what he will learn along the way. “I gained one thing for sure, which is Brian’s friendship,” Moura said. “I connected immediately with him.”
“I’m still in shock that I was able to sit across from Wagner every single day and be in a van with him, eating Jolly Ranchers,” Henry said. “I’m still in awe and so grateful that this show allowed that and created that space.”
Aside from Moura, there are many other reasons why Henry was drawn to this project, from the fact this marks the first time he’s the true lead of a show to his executive producer credit. But one of the aspects of “Dope Thief” that excited Henry the most was the role of Ray.
“I knew it would challenge me. I had been reaching this impasse with doing TV because TV was a little hard. Not a little hard. It was a lot hard, I’m not going to lie. I did not feel like I occupied a space that felt genuine,” Henry admitted. “When I read Ray, there was something that really made me feel connected in a very scary way. I believe it was a spiritual thing that was like, ‘It’s time. It’s time for you to really lay this out. It’s time for you to open up’ … I never thought that anyone would write a character — let alone a Black man — facing these struggles and facing these obstacles. It excited me.”
New episodes of “Dope Thief” premiere on Apple TV+ Fridays.
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