Brian Tyree Henry of Fayetteville nominated for Oscar. Here are 4 ...
Brian Tyree Henry, who has Fayetteville ties, was announced on Tuesday as a nominee for Best Supporting Actor for the 95th Academy Awards.
Henry is being recognized for his role in “Causeway,” in which he plays James, a New Orleans auto mechanic who has experienced personal loss and becomes friends with Lynsey, a recuperating soldier played by Jennifer Lawrence.
More:Fayetteville native Brian Tyree Henry on 'Jimmy Kimmel,' bragging on E.E. Smith band
Here are the answers to four questions about Fayetteville’s Oscar nominee.
What are Henry’s Fayetteville ties?Henry is a graduate of E.E. Smith High School, where he performed in the E.E. Smith Performance Troupe, a singing and dancing group nicknamed the “Smith 16” and under the direction of music teacher Sharon McNair, who is now retired.
More:From 'Causeway' to 'Everything Everywhere,' here's where to stream these 15 Oscar-nominated movies now
In 1998, Henry, then 16, told The Fayetteville Observer he was “shaking and terrified,” his first time performing for an audience.
“Mrs. McNair said, ‘Go out there and give it your all. You know the routine.’”
More:Actor who grew up in Fayetteville stars in short film screening prior to the movie 'Nope'
Henry also played in the band, the Magnificent Marching Machine.
In 2016 he told Interview magazine: “I was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, which is where (rap artist) J. Cole is from. I went up to Washington D.C., where my mother moved, to stay with her, and then moved back to North Carolina to finish junior high and high school.”
What is his previous work before 'Causeway'?Henry played Alfred “Paper Boi” Miles in the FX hit show, “Atlanta,” a role for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. He was also the voice for Jefferson Davis — father of the main character Miles in the animated film, “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.”
He has had several movie, TV and stage roles and received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play for the Broadway revival “Lobby Hero.”
What else can you tell me about him?Henry told Interview magazine he was raised by a father who was retired military and a mother who was an educator. He is the only son in a family with four older sisters, who were all teenagers when he was born.
Of his mother, Henry said: “She was incredibly creative. I used to love going to her school during the summer and helping her decorate her classroom.”
Sadly, his mother, Willow Dean Kearse, died in a car accident in 2016.
Henry graduated Morehouse College, a historically Black school, where he got into acting his sophomore year. He received a master’s degree from the Yale School of Drama.
What has he said about his role in ‘Causeway?’Henry is already a winner for “Causeway.” He won a Best Supporting Actor Award at the Critics Choice Association Celebration of Black Cinema and Television.
He told Variety magazine earlier this month the role helped him lower defenses he had put up between himself and his characters.
“And it feels bizarre,” he told the magazine. “But it also feels necessary, because then there’s a care that goes into what people want for me, instead of what they want from me. It really touches me every day.”
Myron B. Pitts can be reached at [email protected] or 910-486-3559.
Facebook Twitter Email
