By the time Anthony Carrigan’s Emmy-nominated run on Barry concluded in 2023, he’d already reaffirmed his independent and blockbuster ambitions to his reps.
The Massachusetts native wasted no time turning those desires into reality, beginning with A24’s Death of a Unicorn and followed by James Gunn’s Superman. The former, which marks the feature directorial debut of writer-director Alex Scharfman, is the latest of many examples in which the indie powerhouse has attracted top-tier talent for its interesting, unconventional choices and taste. The comedic creature feature boasts yet another decorated cast, as Carrigan stands shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega, Will Poulter, Téa Leoni and Richard E. Grant.
Carrigan plays Griff, the aggrieved butler to the Sackler-esque pharma family, the Leopolds, who invite their lawyer, Elliot Kintner (Rudd), and his daughter Ridley (Ortega), for a retreat at their mountainside lodge. Along the way, the Kintners accidentally run over a unicorn, and the Leopolds seize on an opportunity to exploit its horn for medicinal and financial gain.
Griff internalizes much of his frustration with his employers before eventually letting loose, but the part allowed Carrigan the chance to dive deeper into physical and silent comedy.
“It seems like it’s simple, but you really do need to create this body language that is telling a story. So I watched a lot of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin,” Carrigan tells The Hollywood Reporter.
As for July’s Superman, Carrigan plays Rex Mason/Metamorpho, who, per the comics, can transmute himself into chemical compounds of his choosing. When asked if Superman will balance action, drama and comedy in the same effortless way that Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy did, Carrigan offers a different interpretation of the film’s tone.
“I am hesitant to liken it to Guardians, but I do think that [Superman] has the same heart and intelligence. That’s James’ trademark. But I think it’s going to be its own thing entirely,” Carrigan says. “The process of working on it was such a special one, and the whole cast was on board with bringing something really special to it. So, hopefully, that’s conveyed on screen.”
Below, during a recent conversation with THR, Carrigan also looks back on the conclusion of Barry and the tonal shift of his beloved Chechen mobster, NoHo Hank.
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I rewatched a bit of Barry last night, and I happened to hear NoHo Hank say the line, “I understand Cristobal and I are [a] total unicorn situation.” So I thought that was a nice link to the present.
(Laughs.) That’s really funny. I forgot about that line. Maybe it’s worth a rewatch just for that alone. God, I really do miss that show, though. It was such a great experience, and it opened the doors for so many things moving forward, Death of a Unicorn being one of them
In this case, did the A24 label and a title like Death of a Unicorn do a lot of the convincing?
Well, obviously, all things unicorn just really capture my interest. I’ll probably sign up for any “unicorn situation.” Honestly, the script itself was the thing that really piqued my interest. It was so good and so much fun to read. It’s a really good sign if I go from reading a script to then just watching the movie unfold while the pages are turning, and that’s exactly what happened. So I was pretty instantaneously hooked, and I wanted to be a part of this project.
Whether it’s grade school or any walk of life, there’s always a “cool kids” table. Does A24 feel like the industry’s cool kids table right now?
It certainly is very cool. It’s amazing to have a production house that is able to succeed on a large level by bringing independent films to the forefront. It’s my hope, especially in this really turbulent time in the industry, that there’s more of a renaissance of championing and celebrating independent film. Ultimately, the old models aren’t working, and I think that studios like A24 will continue to bring their A-game.
Unicorn’s inciting incident is when Elliot (Paul Rudd) and
Ridley Kintner (Jenna Ortega) hit a unicorn with their rental car en
route to the Leopold family lodge. It actually reminded me of when my high
school basketball team’s bus hit a Clydesdale horse on the way back from a road
game late at night.
Death of a Unicorn opens in movie theaters on March 28.
