Top 10 ‘Barry’ Characters — Ranked!

After four seasons, Max’s hit television series Barry has concluded with a shocking yet satisfying final chapter.

The dramedy, co-created by Alec Berg and Bill Hader, follows Barry Berkman, a Marine turned hitman who joins an acting class after he is assigned to kill one of the students. Over the course of the show, we are introduced to some incredibly funny, complex beings as the gripping premise becomes progressively darker.

This list does contain spoilers for the entire series, so if you haven’t finished Barry, turn back now!

We may be unable to relate to all the characters, but their unique personalities make them entertaining to watch. So, let’s see how all the characters stack up against one another. We’ve ranked the top ten most entertaining characters.

10. Goran

Though Goran only features in nine episodes of Barry, he remains an unforgettable character. When we are introduced to him in Season 1, he is the leader of the Chechen mob and hires Barry to kill Ryan, the man his wife is having an affair with.

What’s so comedic about Goran is that he’s in such a position of power but is clueless when it comes to a life of crime. To make matters even funnier, he thinks he’s a lot smarter than the rest of the gang.

Oftentimes Goran gets talked out of situations, or put into more threatening ones while listening to bad advice from Fuches, and continues to dig himself and the Chechen mob into a deeper hole.

His best moments are alongside NoHo Hank as the two continue to botch the plans they come up with to intimidate their enemies. Even when Fuches is tied up in Goran’s garage and an easy target, they still somehow manage to mess things up.

9. Natalie Greer

Most individuals on Barry are self-involved, so it’s nice to have a genuine character like Natalie to balance out the series. The former acting class student is funny and courageous and tends to live in Sally’s shadow when it comes to the casting of Gene’s plays.

When unable to relate to situations, she remains calm, non-judgmental and gives people the benefit of the doubt. After hearing that Barry killed people while serving in the military, Natalie is one of the few to consider the guilt and internalized trauma he’s facing. In addition, she brushes aside his angry outbursts and maintains that he’s harmless.

The best scene between Natalie and Sally is when Sally learns that Natalie stole her idea for a show and screams at her in the elevator. Still, Natalie has a trick up her sleeve as she records the incident and then releases it to the press, which majorly impacts Sally’s career.

We can’t help but cheer Natalie on as the moment illustrates that she’s no longer willing to deal with Sally’s toxic behavior and teaches her a well-deserved lesson.

In the end, Natalie finally achieves what she had always hoped for and deserves with her television show.

8. Jim Moss

Though Jim doesn’t make an appearance on Barry until the third season, his presence packs a punch. After the events that lead him to believe Barry is involved in his daughter Janice’s murder, he sets out to bring the hitman down with Gene.

Jim is such a good character because he is intimidating without resorting to violence, and we never know what his next move will be. One of the most powerful moments of the series is when he confronts Gene about why he’s protecting Barry in a terrifying yet excellently executed interrogation in Jim’s garage.

Season 4 further showcases his brilliance, as his offscreen conversation with Vanity Fair reporter Lon O’Neil results in the media professional abandoning all English and speaking nothing but German after spending time with Jim.

If anybody needed someone to help them solve a murder or reveal a person’s whereabouts, Jim would be an excellent go-to!

7. Janice Moss

It feels like an eternity since we were introduced to LAPD Detective Janice Moss in Season 1, and though her presence is short-lived, she is one of the most pivotal characters of the series.

Her love story with Gene is a joy to watch, as she spends the first few episodes rejecting his advances, only to fall head over heels for him thereafter. The banter alongside her coworkers is extremely entertaining, and her infectious personality, as a determined, intelligent career-driven woman, adds to the greatness of her character.

In a world full of darkness and crime pure souls are hard to come by, but Janice is one of the few to keep her moral compass intact.

She is also the first to discover that Barry leads a double life, in a tense, yet epic season finale showdown. Though the confrontation with the hitman results in her premature death, she is still one of the most memorable, and important characters to feature on the show.

6. Cristobal Sifuentes

Previous Bolivian mob leader Cristobal is by far one of the more endearing characters to feature on Barry. He’s a hardworking, determined businessman who is also highly strong-willed.

When the Chechens mail the Bolivians a bullet to intimidate them, he admires their courage and praises them instead of showing fear. Cristobal is friendly, reasonable and even keeps his cool when confronting Goran about the Chechens storming the Bolivian stash house.

His best scenes are with NoHo Hank, as their love story progresses over the series, and we learn that Cristobal has a wife and kids in Bolivia but has been keeping his sexuality hidden from his family.

Season 4 has us grabbing for the tissues when Cristobal finds out that Hank has been lying to him, and had all the men working for them killed. In one of the most moving scenes of the series, Cristobal breaks up with Hank and is then murdered.

Cristobal’s death is one of the most shocking and heartbreaking moments of Barry.

5. Sally Reed

Sally is one of the most complex of all Barry’s main characters. In Season 1, we are introduced to a self-centered individual, who doesn’t care much for those around her, and dreams of making it big as an actress.

However, once she unveils what she has been battling under the surface due to her abusive relationship with her ex-husband, we sympathize with her. Sally also has a lot of depth to her, and Sarah Goldberg reflects her traits and trauma so well.

Somehow along the way, she finds solace in her relationship with Barry. Their acting scenes alongside one another create some memorable laughs, as well as intimacy in their relationship as they get to know one another.

However, when biker gang member Shane attacks Sally, and she has no choice but to kill him, she and Barry finally show their true selves.

Sally declaring to Barry that he makes her feel safe and deciding to run away with him after he escapes prison further reflects how much the past has impacted her life and her desire to be loved by someone who understands and accepts her.

In the end, Sally has one of the most satisfying endings. Finally, she lives a normal life with John, where the pair no longer have to hide. Rejecting her coworker also proves she has found inner peace as well as independence, and she doesn’t need anyone else to provide her with happiness.

4. Gene Cousineau

Gene is a mixed bag. There are moments over the series where he’s lovable, charming, and kind, especially when wooing his former flame Janice and acting as a caring father figure to Barry. In addition, the unconventional approaches he uses to push his students toward growth in their acting careers certainly show his humorous side.

One thing for sure is that Gene is by far the most impacted by Barry’s actions over the run of the show. First, the hitman kills the love of his life in cold blood at his cabin. Then, he is framed for her murder and manipulated by Barry to keep the crime hush-hush.

Henry Winkler portraying a manipulated, broken man is gut-wrenching and hard to watch, but the harrowing scenes make for top-tier television.

After working alongside Janice’s father, Jim Moss, in a setup that lands Barry behind bars, Gene’s egotistical tendencies and hunger for fame resurface, making him a rather unlikeable character.

This is what seals his fate in a tragic yet fitting conclusion when he is jailed not only for Barry’s murder but also Janice’s.

3. Monroe Fuches

Having any positive feelings toward Fuches poses a challenge. As Barry’s handler and mentor, he’s not only responsible for creating a monster but refuses to let go when the former Marine attempts to take the moral high ground and step away from life as a hitman.

Fuches manipulation and codependency further complicate their dynamic, and though he sells himself as an uncle-like figure to Barry, the roles feel reversed as he struggles to function in his absence.

That said, the duo’s complex relationship is one of the most entertaining subplots of the series, and Barry Season 2 Episode 5, “ronny/lily,” is arguably the funniest episode. The moments Fuches embraces his falsified title of Chechen assassin, “The Raven,” are also some of his most comedic scenes.

In the end, there is some form of redemption for Fuches when he saves John. Still, the fact he has so much responsibility when it comes to Barry’s actions, but escapes his confrontation with Hank and gets to restart his life after causing so much damage is bittersweet.

He’s a character we love to hate, and thrives in the entertainment value department.

2. Barry Berkman

Our titular character is one multifaceted being and, in many ways, a victim himself. After accidentally shooting the wrong man while in the military and being discharged from the Marines, long-time family friend and uncle-figure Fuches leads Barry into a life of crime as a hitman.

Throughout the series, Barry’s journey takes us on a rollercoaster ride as we experience his turmoil. His scenes are tense, disturbing, and at times, laugh-out-loud funny. One minute we see a menacing killing machine, and the next, a vulnerable, lost soul who wants nothing more than to exit the business.

Barry seeks validation from those around him regarding being a good person to ease his internal demons and his fixation on whether he’s evil. There’s so much emotion behind his suffering, all helmed by the fantastic Hader.

Each moment he’s on-screen is thrilling, and we don’t know what to expect from the hitman next. But unfortunately, no matter how hard Barry tries to change, he continues down a dark path far from redemption.

Barry’s quick death during Barry Season 4 Episode 8, “Wow,” and being laid to rest as a hero not only plays into the irony of the situation but also gives him somewhat of a happy ending.

1. NoHo Hank

You may be shocked to see NoHo Hank rank above the show’s leading hitman, but when it comes to entertainment value, the Chechen takes the cake.

Some of the series’ biggest laughs are provided by Anthony Carrigan’s polite, well-natured mobster, and though the wrong side of the law, he quickly becomes one of the most beloved characters.

NoHo’s admiration for Barry’s assassin skills is a hilarious watch, not to mention his continued one-sided devotion to their friendship, even when he’s thrown under the bus.

The best part of Noho Hank’s story is his adorable crush and later business/romantic relationship with Cristobal. During Season 3, he even travels to Bolivia to save him from his ferocious wife after she learns of his sexuality and the pair’s secret affair.

It’s wild to envision the show without NoHo Hank as part of the series, as he was initially supposed to be killed off on Barry Season 1 Episode 1, “Chapter One: Make Your Mark.” Can you imagine a world without this super nice guy? I think not!

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Who do you think is the most entertaining Barry character? Do you agree with our rankings? Let us know in the comments below!

All four seasons of Barry are available to stream on Max.

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