‘Atlanta’s Brian Tyree Henry Revealed to Be in ‘Joker’ Movie

The first trailer for DC’s Joker movie has sparked all kinds of debate over director Todd Phillips’ vision for the film; the performance of Joaquin Phoenix as this version of Joker in the days before his descent into madness; and all the comparisons to past Jokers like Heath Ledger. However, there are some other elements of the first trailer footage that has caught fans’ interest in a big way: such as some surprise cast members that many viewers didn’t even realize were in the film!

Case in point: Atlanta star Brian Tyree Henry!

Henry’s character is indeed not listed on IMDb – one of few characters that haven’t yet been named on the site. A quick hop over to Wikipedia may solve the mystery: Henry is listed as “a nurse,” which is pretty much what we see during the brief scene he’s featured in during the trailer. That moment sees Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck seemingly trying to check into Arkham State Hospital, with Henry being the nurse / orderly working gate. He and Fleck have an ominous exchange, with Henry throwing a shade look at Fleck, only to have the unnerving creep stare back at him with daggers, saying the word “What?” as both question – and dire warning.

Much of the Joker teaser is a slow-burn buildup of a human powder keg who is getting ready to explode – in a way that will change Fleck (and all of Gotham City) forever. In that sense, it’s hard not to feel a strong sense of dread for these side characters that Fleck encounters – be it Henry’s nurse, his Atlanta co-star Zazie Beets as Sophie Dumond, the single mom Fleck falls fore, or even Frances Conroy as his mentally afflicted mother, Penny Fleck. Seriously: all of them could experience the terror of the Joker before this film is done.

The DC Movie Universe continues with Shazam on April 5th, Joker on October 4th, Birds of Prey on February 7th, 2020, Wonder Woman 1984 on June 5th, 2020, and The Batman on June 25th, 2021.

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