Top Stories

'Barry' Actor Anthony Carrigan Says He Was Told to Quit Acting Over Alopecia

'Barry' Actor Anthony Carrigan Says He Was Told to Quit Acting Over Alopecia

Anthony Carrigan is opening up about his alopecia diagnosis.

When he was 3-years-old, the 39-year-old Barry actor was diagnosed with alopecia areata, a disease that cases hair loss.

In his early 20s, Anthony revealed the “most terrifying outcome” of the disease – being rejected from acting jobs because of his appearance.

Click inside to read more…

“There was a moment where my alopecia had progressed so much so that I had lost pretty much half [of] my scalp, both my eyebrows [and] all my eyelashes,” Anthony shared with People. “It really threw everyone that I was working with, and no one knew what to do with me.”

Anthony went on to say that as people were “scratching their heads” as to whether or not he could still have a career in acting, he said that he lost his confidence.

“I was told by a number of people, you’re not going to be able to do this. You’re not attractive anymore. You will fail if you try to do this,” Anthony recalled. “And I’m one of those people that if you told me that I can’t do something, I will. Period.”

Those reactions from people made Anthony want to act even more and prove all of them wrong.

“What was left was just this kind of burning passion to do it anyway — to make it happen anyway,” Anthony said.

As he grew up and continued to pursue acting, Anthony said that he had to come to terms with his alopecia, which he admits wasn’t any easy process.

“Talking about it was very therapeutic for me. And even talking about it now, I’m strangely very grateful for this experience and how much it taught me about radical self-acceptance,” Anthony said. “It made me a better actor too, because I wasn’t hiding anymore. I wasn’t hiding under wigs, or makeup, or this projected self confidence, and instead what was replaced was real confidence.”

While alopecia isn’t life-threatening, Anthony calls it “life-altering.”

“We’re told, you know, accept yourself, be who you are,” Anthony said. “But we’re also in a society that’s constantly telling us to change. And my take on it is: you want to feel good about yourself, and that has very little to do with what you look like. It has everything to do with expressing who you are.”

If you missed it, HBO recently announced some very exciting news about Barry!

Just Jared on Facebook
anthony carrigan told to quit acting over alopecia 01
anthony carrigan told to quit acting over alopecia 02
anthony carrigan told to quit acting over alopecia 03
anthony carrigan told to quit acting over alopecia 04
anthony carrigan told to quit acting over alopecia 05
anthony carrigan told to quit acting over alopecia 06
anthony carrigan told to quit acting over alopecia 07
anthony carrigan told to quit acting over alopecia 08
anthony carrigan told to quit acting over alopecia 09

Photos: Getty Images
Posted to: Anthony Carrigan