| Birth Name: | Barry Joseph Henley |
| Birth Date: | September 15, 1954 |
| Birth Place: | New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Yearsactive: | 1988–present |
Barry Shabaka Henley (born Barry Joseph Henley; September 15, 1954) is an American character actor. Henley has appeared as a regular in a number of television series, has numerous film credits, and is a fixture in films by director Michael Mann,[1] having worked with the director three times. Since 2019, he has co-starred in the CBS sitcom Bob Hearts Abishola.
His stage name, Shabaka, is taken from a Pharaoh from Egypt's 25th dynasty, who ruled from 721 to 707 BC.
Henley was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. His mother was a dance teacher, and he often tagged along to watch recitals. During his childhood his family moved to San Francisco, and he attended the San Francisco Polytechnic High School, where he was taught by Johnny Land. Henley's first true audition came at age 17 when he heard that the Encore Theatre was looking for a certain type. He was given the script but did not think he was a good fit for the part and determined not to read it. But, Henley has said, "On the bus from 45th and Quintara to Mason and Geary, it hit me...You know what, I guess this guy wants me to memorize this stuff. So I memorized it on the bus." He spent the next several years acting on stage before moving to the screen. His early stage work included appearances with the San Francisco Mime Troupe, and a performance as "Factwino."[2] [3]
Henley made his first appearance at the age of 37 in the unsold television pilot Clippers.
In Ali, Henley played Herbert Muhammad. In Collateral, he portrayed a sensitive jazz musician living on borrowed time. He played Buddy in the 1998 film How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Pokerface in the 1999 film Life. In 2004 he appeared in Steven Spielberg's The Terminal, playing an airport U.S. Customs Officer. He portrayed Crockett and Tubbs' boss Lieutenant Martin Castillo in the movie version of Miami Vice in 2006. He also appeared in the 2016 film Paterson.
Henley appeared in the television series Robbery Homicide Division and Barbershop. From 2009 to 2010 he played FBI Agent Vreede in the television series FlashForward. In 2010 Henley played Dr. Olson in the season 3 Lie to Me episode "Veronica". In 2011 he appeared as the murderer in the Body of Proof episode "Letting Go" and in 2012 he reunited with Michael Mann for the TV series Luck, playing a parole officer. In 2015 he played a police detective in the Breaking Bad spin-off series Better Call Saul.
In 2019, Henley joined the cast of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise, as Marcus Benson.[4]
Henley was a regular cast member on the CBS TV sitcom Bob Hearts Abishola, appearing as Abishola's Uncle Tunde.
As a stage actor, Henley's honors include the Drama Desk, Obie, and Olivier Awards. He was also a member of the West Coast Black Repertory Theatre and the San Francisco Mime Troupe.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Fear of a Black Hat | Geoffrey Lennox | ||
| What's Love Got to Do with It | El Paso Doctor | |||
| The Thing Called Love | Reverend Raymond | |||
| 1994 | The Scout | McDermott | ||
| 1995 | Destiny Turns on the Radio | Dravec | ||
| Lord of Illusions | Dr. Toffler | |||
| Devil in a Blue Dress | Woodcutter | |||
| 1998 | Fallen | Uniformed Cop | ||
| Bulworth | Man at Frankie's | |||
| How Stella Got Her Groove Back | Buddy | |||
| Rush Hour | Bobby | |||
| Patch Adams | Emmet | |||
| 1999 | Life | Pokerface | ||
| 2001 | Ali | Jabir Herbert Muhammad | ||
| 2004 | The Terminal | Officer Thurman | ||
| Collateral | Daniel | |||
| 2005 | Four Brothers | Councilman Douglas | ||
| Shackles | Virgil | Direct-to-video | ||
| 2006 | Miami Vice | Castillo | ||
| 2009 | Horsemen | Tuck | ||
| State of Play | Gene Stavitz | |||
| Streets of Blood | Captain Friendly | Direct-to-video | ||
| 2010 | The Dry Land | Col. Stephen Evans | ||
| Virginia | Willie | |||
| 2011 | The Big Year | Dr. Neil Kramer | ||
| 2012 | Stolen | Reginald | ||
| 2013 | Water & Power | Preacher Broyard | ||
| Carrie | Principal Morton | |||
| 2016 | Paterson | Doc | ||
| 2017 | Mad Families | Pops | ||
| Lucky | Joe | |||
| 2018 | Office Uprising | Clarence | ||
| A Star Is Born | Little Feet | |||
| 2019 | Dolemite Is My Name | Demond |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991-1992 | The Royal Family | Willis Tillis | Recurring role, 8 episodes | |
| 1992-1994 | Roc | Ernie | Recurring role, 7 episodes | |
| 1993 | Johnny Bago | Detective Venezia | 2 episodes | |
| 1994 | ER | Detective | 1 episode | |
| 1995 | Married... with Children | Charlie | 1 episode | |
| 1995 | Horrible Looking Giant #1 (voice) | 1 episode | ||
| 1995 | The Client | Linton Bell | 1 episode | |
| 1995; 2004 | NYPD Blue | Roger Billings/Archie Day | 3 episodes | |
| 1996 | Malcolm & Eddie | Mr. Derian | 1 episode | |
| 1996 | Sparks | Stan Lawrence | 1 episode | |
| 1997 | Duckman | Additional voices | 1 episode | |
| 1998 | Brooklyn South | Mr. Anders | 1 episode | |
| 2000 | The Steve Harvey Show | Tom Cunningham | 1 episode | |
| 2000 | City of Angels | Delmar Forchette | 1 episode | |
| 2001 | Oz | Lieutenant Schmand | 1 episode | |
| 2001 | Crossing Jordan | Omar Maltese | 1 episode | |
| 2002 | Providence | Mr. Adams | 1 episode | |
| 2002-2003 | Robbery Homicide Division | Sgt. Albert Simms | Main role, 13 episodes | |
| 2004 | Asante Odufemi | 1 episode | ||
| 2005 | Lackawanna Blues | Shakey Winfield | Television film | |
| 2005 | Grey's Anatomy | Mr. Patterson | 1 episode | |
| 2005-2006 | Close to Home | Detective Lou Drummer | Recurring role, 9 episodes | |
| 2005-2006 | Barbershop | Eddie | Main role, 10 episodes | |
| 2006 | Numbers | Coach Grady | 1 episode | |
| 2007 | Hustle | Thomas Jackson | 1 episode | |
| 2007 | Heroes | Detective Bryan Fuller | 4 episodes | |
| 2009-2010 | FlashForward | Agent Shelly Vreede | Recurring role, 13 episodes | |
| 2010 | The Good Guys | Dr. Vincent Olson | 1 episode | |
| 2010 | Lie to Me | Al Chapman | 1 episode | |
| 2012 | Fairly Legal | Agent Donovan | 1 episode | |
| 2012 | Luck | Parole Officer | 4 episodes | |
| 2012 | Veep | Fast Food Executive | 1 episode | |
| 2013 | Shameless | Judge Glen Aufseeser | Episode: "A Long Way from Home" | |
| 2013 | Remember Sunday | Baptiste | Television film | |
| 2013 | The Crazy Ones | Pete | 1 episode | |
| 2015 | Better Call Saul | Detective Sanders | 3 episodes | |
| 2015 | Extant | Senator Gabel | 1 episode | |
| 2015 | Black-ish | T Jackson | 1 episode | |
| 2015 | Unforgettable | Leo Hackett | 1 episode | |
| 2016 | Baton Rouge Detective Todd Lamont | 1 episode | ||
| 2017 | Elementary | Wendell Hecht | 1 episode | |
| 2017 | NCIS | Earl Goddard | 1 episode | |
| 2017 | Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television | Captain Jackson #3 / Female Captain Jackson #8 | 2 episodes | |
| 2017–2018 | Bosch | Terry Drake | Recurring role, 7 episodes | |
| 2019 | Station 19 | Oscar Delgado | 1 episode | |
| 2019 | Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | Dr. Marcus Benson | Recurring role, 5 episodes | |
| 2019–2024 | Bob Hearts Abishola | Babatunde "Tunde" Olatunji | Main role, 80 episodes (season 1–4) Recurring role, 6 episodes (season 5) | |
| 2019 | Black Jesus | Judge Horation Homey | 1 episode |