Brian Tyree Henry (born March 31, 1982) is an American actor. He rose to prominence for his role as Alfred "Paper Boi" Miles in the FX comedy-drama series Atlanta (2016–2022), for which he received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Throughout his career, Henry has received nominations for an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Tony Award.

On television, he is known for his performances in Boardwalk Empire, This Is Us and How to Get Away with Murder. Henry made his film breakthrough in 2018 with starring roles in Steve McQueen's heist film Widows, Barry Jenkins' romantic drama film If Beale Street Could Talk, and the animated superhero film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. He's since appeared in Child's Play (2019), Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), The Woman in the Window (2021), and Bullet Train (2022). He portrayed Phastos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Eternals (2021). In 2022, he starred in Causeway, which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

He has also appeared on stage, making his debut performance in the Shakespeare in the Park production of Romeo and Juliet (2007), and acting in various plays at the Public Theatre, before appearing in the original Broadway cast of The Book of Mormon (2011). In 2014 he appeared in the off-Broadway musical The Fortress of Solitude. For his performance in the 2018 Broadway revival of Kenneth Lonergan's play Lobby Hero, he received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.

Early life :

Henry was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina and raised partly in Washington, D.C. His father was in the military, and his mother, Willow Dean Kearse, was an educator. Henry attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia as a business major-turned-actor in the early 2000s, and received his master's degree from Yale School of Drama .