Who Plays Paper Boi the Rapper on 'Atlanta'?

Mild spoilers from tonight’sAtlantapremiere out front .

Brian Tyree Henry throw Atlanta ( the position ) close to his heart . Though originally from Fayetteville , North Carolina , the 34 - class - one-time assist Morehouse College as a business major - turned - role player in the early 2000s . He fell for the city , its community , and its originative push when he was there . Fittingly , a few class and a couple dramatic art degree later , he ’s turn back to Georgia ’s Das Kapital to flaunt his latest , and biggest , character : Alfred Miles , a.k.a . Paper Boi .

" Alfred is petty as fuck and so am I and I love it , " Henry toldBillboardlast week . He ’s one of the central characters you ’ll add up to know on Donald Glover ’s new FX serial , Atlanta , which chronicle two cousins ' feat to come after in the music industry . Alfred ’s an ATL doorknocker on the ascension who shares a name with hishit course , " theme Boi,“because , yeah , he really wants that theme ( boi ) . Henry owns the part , cracking joke , summoning the cool , and punctuating his scenes with a thirst for winner . You might watch the first couple episodes and think , Damn , who is this guy ? He ’s really great!He is , and you may have already known him without everknowing him . Here ’s a look at where this standout actor came from :

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He was part ofTheBook of Mormon’s original cast

Henry was the first General Butt - Fucking Naked , the homicidal despot who menace the villagers Elders Price and Cunningham seek to proselytize . Early reviews called him " spry " and " control . " ( on-key ! )

On stage , Henry has also appear in yield ofRomeo and Juliet , Othello , andThe Fortress of Solitude ; and co - asterisk inThe Brothers Size , part of a trilogy of plays penned by Tarell Alvin McCraney . That last feat earned him a Helen Hayes Best Actor nomination . " Mr. Henry is the standout , alternating between aggrieved anger , ticklish exposure and jubilant playfulness,“The New York Timeswroteof hisBrothersshowing . " It ’s the variety of performance that sweeps you away . "

You might also know him fromBoardwalk Empire…

Henry ’s small - screenland vocation set about withLaw & Order ’s Season 20 episode"Dignity,“ironically ( you ’ll see why below ) as a chalk - wielding security safety who ’s very practiced at his line of work . That was back in 2009 . One of his more substantial purpose in late memory came four class by and by viaBoardwalk Empire , on which he played Winston , a.k.a . " Scrapper , " the nephew of Michael K. Williams ’s older mentor , Oscar . His Winston was young , loyal , and fearless – secure to snap up a shotgun if that ’s what it took to protect and avenge his sept . ( Watch himhere , or check out a compilation above . )

… orThe Good Wife

Henry ’s TV résumé also include abbreviated involvement withThe Knickand David Milch ’s nixedLast of the Ninthpilot . More notably , the worker nabbed a sizable spot as a military widower on CBS’sThe Good Wifein 2010 . In Season 2’s"Double Jeopardy"episode , Julianna Margulies and Josh Charles fight to shew that his character , Randall Simmons , did n’t slay his wife . Henry ’s supporting turn is aroused as hell , filled with unfeigned grief , despair , and relief . ( find out it here . )

And he was just in a Luis Guzmán movie

Henry ’s heavy - filmdom introduction came last year withPuerto Ricans in Paris . He ’s almost gone before you comment him in Ian Edelman ’s fish - out - of - water comedy , but his interaction with a bleak mamba ( not Kobe , the real affair ) ease one of the pic ’s best jest . You ’ll see him notch his next feature article credit rating inMatt Ruskin ’s forthcoming drama , an untitled biopic aboutColin Warner ’s wrongful condemnation . Henry’sAtlantaco - star , Keith Stanfield , plays Warner .

P.S.: have you been watchingVice Principals?

Thanks in part to a college adviser , who nudge Henry forth from plans to pursue a security job IRL and toward Yale ’s MFA drama programme , viewers now have Paper Boi ’s less - than - glamorous gyp to look forwards to on Tuesday nights .

" I ’ve never been interested in seeing people make it . That shit ’s boring to me , " Glover , Henry ’s costar , toldBusiness Insider at a recent Television Critics Association circuit . " Most the great unwashed who hold up in everyday spirit – whitened hoi polloi , Formosan people , Mexican people – they ’re live on their life , and they ’re trying to eat . I was more interested in that . "

practiced news program : Atlantaisn’t boring . More good intelligence : if you wish watching Henry trying to make it on FX , you may also check him out – as the slippery ex - hubby of Dr. Belinda Brown – on the rear end remnant ofHBO’sVice Principals . He might not be top - billed there , but you will get to see him pelt Danny McBride with large objective .