AfterHBO’sBarryfeatured Guillermo del Toro as a gangster, series star and showrunner Bill Hader explained why the Oscar-winning director appeared on the show.
Barry’s fourth and final season had del Toro make a surprise cameo in its third episode, “You’re charming,” as a Chechen gangster named Toro who specializes in setting up assassinations. Toro came to help NoHo Hank set up an assassination attempt on Barry Berkman after Hank found out Barry was working with the government to get himself out of prison and into the Witness Protection program.
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Hader explained what it was like to have del Toro onBarrywhile talking withDeadline. “He did a great job, and he brought his cane, which was great. He had two different takes on the character, and they were both really interesting.” Hader added how del Toro’s cameo came to be on the show. “How it came about, actually, was he said, ‘I’d love to be in your show,’ and I went, ‘Oh, yeah.’ Then, I wrote a part for him and said, ‘Hey, man. I wrote a part for you. The character’s named Toro.’ And I think he was a bit surprised. He went, ‘Really?’ And I go, ‘Yeah!’ And he texted me back, ‘Are you serious?’ [Laughs] And I was like, ‘Yes, you asked me to. I did it.’ And he said, ‘Oh, well when do you shoot? When is it?’ He got kind of excited.”
Del Toro was not the only one to make a cameo in that episode. SNL alum Fred Armisen showed up as the hitman assigned to kill Barry as he met with the feds, only to fail miserably once the gadget he was supposed to use to kill him blew up his hand. Those two cameos brought a twist to the new season that not many saw coming -Barry has now escaped prison.
Both del Toro’s and Armisen’s cameos were not simply “Look who we got to be on the show!” cameos. Their inclusion into the show’s last season sets up the stage for what appears to be an epic finale. Episode by episode, the stakes keep changing.During theBarryseason 4 premiere, it seemed like Barry would be in prison for the rest of his life, only to change his mind when he believed Sally still wanted to be in his life. Now he has escaped prison, likely with revenge on his mind knowing that Chechens tried to kill him.
What matters most is that the show’s conclusion lands with the audience. Since the show started, the audience has gone back and forth on whether Barry Berkman truly deserves a happy ending. Barry could only do so much to cover up his double life until he was eventually exposed for what he did.EndingBarrywith season 4may be abrupt, but so much has happened that something has to give. Who knows where the story will be when it reaches its finale compared to where we are now?
Barrywill air new episodes on HBO and stream its new episodes on HBO Max on Sundays.
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