I Legit Snorted Out My Drink During That Slap In Episode 3 Of Dope Thief, And Kate Mulgrew Talks About That Hilarious Moment With Brian Tyree Henry
Okay, now THAT was funny.
Minor SPOILERS for Dope Thief are ahead! If you're not caught up on the series, check out the first three episodes with an Apple TV+ subscription.
If you're like me and up to date with the 2025 TV schedule, you're watching the new Apple TV+ series Dope Thief. From there, you'd realize how incredible it was to see Kate Mulgrew and Brian Tyree Henry share the screen. One moment between them in Episode 3 – where Mulgrew's character, Theresa, slaps Henry's character, Ray – made me legit snort out my drink, and I knew I had to ask the actress about it.
The moment is born from Ray confessing what he has been doing with Manny the entire time – dressing up as a DEA agent to rob houses in order to get money and give some to her. Theresa slaps him barely without a second thought, and it makes me snort. When I asked the actress for behind-the-scenes about that moment, she said it was "wonderful" to act out and that it was because of the energy, she felt with Henry that they were able to make it work so flawlessly:
It was spontaneous. It's born out of this energy between Brian and myself, the chaos in the room and – not just the energy, but the size of the writing allows you to do anything you want as long as you're deeply immersed in the character and understand your partnership with the other actors, which I did implicitly…behind every dark curve was a little of that. 'Snap out of it.' It was wonderful to play. Wonderful. I had many of those moments. Loved it.
While Mulgrew and Henry had never shared the screen before, it didn't feel like that in the scene. The two perfectly capture the complicated relationship between Theresa and Ray as the parental figure in Ray's life and their complex dynamics. And, of course, it's pulled off by two master-class actors.
Apple TV Plus: 7-Day Free Trial
If you're craving the intensity of Dope Thief, we have you covered. New customers can stream Apple TV Plus for free for a whole week before paying $9.99 a month. In that time, you could watch all three episodes of the latest TV series, as well as Apple TV+ classics like Ted Lasso, Severance and more.
But truthfully, it's not that surprising. Henry is classically trained at the Yale School of Drama and has had plenty of excellent roles within the movie and TV industry. Most know him from one of the best FX dramas, Atlanta, but he's appeared in various other well-known projects, like Eternals, Class of '09 and Godzilla vs. Kong, to name a few.
Mulgrew is no different, with her career spanning back to the 1970s and her alma mater being NYU. I know her personally from her time in the Orange is the New Black cast, but many also know her from playing Kathryn Janeway in the Star Trek franchise, as well as roles in Ryan's Hope and The First Lady, among others. To have these two well-trained and seasoned actors in the same scene was an absolute delight, and of course it makes for great television.
I'm so down with Peter Craig's Dope Thief and the crazy adventure that these characters are going on. I know with these two taking the lead, any scene they are in will be legendary – but probably not as legendary as that slap. If you're looking to check out Dope Thief, new episodes premiere Fridays.
CINEMABLEND NEWSLETTER
Your Daily Blend of Entertainment News
A self-proclaimed nerd and lover of Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire, Alexandra Ramos is a Content Producer at CinemaBlend. She first started off working in December 2020 as a Freelance Writer after graduating from the Pennsylvania State University with a degree in Journalism and a minor in English. She primarily works in features for movies, TV, and sometimes video games. (Please don't debate her on The Last of Us 2, it was amazing!) She is also the main person who runs both our daily newsletter, The CinemaBlend Daily, and our ReelBlend newsletter.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.