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I'm Anthony Starr and this is the Wired complete interview. First question, Tommy Nook, anyone else find themselves copying Homelander's mannerisms in a video? That's actually interesting. That was after a rally where I skip and I [snorts] hallucinate my father. That moment of me going has been my favorite meme that have A lot of memes have come out of this character in this show. That's my favorite because people blew the cheeks up and it just became it went everywhere and it's so funny.
What a great mannerism role model Homelander is. That's the only thing you should copy that character does. Kirby Brass, what's the most up thing Homelander did? Wow. I think the most up thing Homelander did is in season 5, which I can't spoil, obviously. I can't wait for you to see that, but up to then, two things with planes, waving to a little kid in a plane in episode 1, the last scene, and then lasering the plane in half and letting the child and his father plunge to their demise. That was pretty bad. And then another plane in episode 4, I think it was, season 1, was uh leaving a whole plane load of passengers to die.
Probably not great. People bring up pushing the son off the roof. [screaming] I think that's good parenting. See, I just think that's like old school fathering. When, you know, the kid falls over, ah yeah your knee looks fine, there's no blood, get on with it. Plus, he knew that the kid had superpowers. So, he was going to be all right. So, the kid learned a valuable lesson. And I also thought the little squeal that Ryan, the son, Cameron made as he went off the roof, I think that's the hardest I laughed up to that point in the show. Callender Jewel 1487, fear of heights. How do people with this phobia manage flying? Ah.
I think the more you do something, the less afraid you get. Having said that, um I've been flying a lot lately and I just flew in yesterday and there was a big bump and I grabbed the little old lady next to me. I literally grabbed her arm cuz I don't like heights. And uh I thought I'd dealt with it, but I haven't. One of the shots, it was actually on Gen V, the spin-off series. I had to fly in to the scene. Didn't think about it. Stunt guy goes, "Oh yeah, we're going to put you up on the ropes, these little like piano wire thin wires that go onto the harness. I never thought about that's a long way off the
ground. So, they clip me in, harness me up about 40 ft up, which was halfway. I started going, "Ooh, this is not good." and I started swearing a lot. I think it was 85 ft at the top and I was freaking out. That was actually a moment that really enlightened me as to like I really do have a fear of heights that I didn't realize I had. Look, I'm still here. So, I say go into it. If you can, find ways to challenge that fear. The reasons asks, do you think there's any real humanity left in Homelander or is he just a rabbit animal? Interesting choice of words. I think there is humanity left in him and I think that is basically the character's
main issue with himself. If we look at Homelander as an inverted Superman, his kryptonite has been his humanity that he's always wanted to be rid of, but unfortunately, he can't because he is actually a man. I can't think of what a redemption arc would look like for this character. So, I'm going to say he's like 50/50 human and rabbit animal. Hi, I love this asks, will The Boys be next to join the list of controversial some bad endings or provide a satisfying conclusion? Has any show ever provided an ending that satisfies everyone? I don't know that you can. I think you know, cuz everyone's different and everyone wants different things, but something just finished. I won't say what and nobody died. I was scratching
my head at the end going, there's nowhere else to go. This is the end of the run. Kill some people. As our boss, Eric, has said, don't get attached to any characters on this show cuz everyone's head is potentially on the block. Jared MMS asks, does Homelander genuinely think he's a hero? Yeah, you know, I think in his heart of hearts he knows that some of the things he does seem to have bad consequences, but I think in the moment as well he just acts on impulse. I think he's so corrupted. You know, bad people don't walk around thinking they're bad people. They just walk around doing what they do because that's what they've learned to do to survive. So, I think yeah, he probably
does think he's a hero because since such a young age he's just been brainwashed into thinking that. He also would prefer to be a god, which is a little bit of a step up. The nice Tittenbar asks, this is perhaps my favorite shot of Homelander in the entire series. The emotion on his my face makes you genuinely feel sorry for him and it is a side we've never seen from him. This is when potential love of his life, Stormfront, she's blown up by Homelander's son. And this is him coming across her charred remains. Aw. Well, first of all, I think it's a very it's a lovely shot and I think the slow-mo does a lot to
sell the impact. I would push back a little bit. There's actually moments through the show when we do see a lot of weakness. I think that's one of the things I love about the character is that we've been able to go there and really flesh it out to provide a reason for why he is what he is, but it doesn't necessarily engender empathy, but we do understand and I think that makes it a much more compelling villain. No Amphibians 6039, any reason Hollywood psychopaths or villains drink milk? And there's me drinking milk. There's Hans Landa, was it, from Inglourious Basterds, the infamous Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men, and then we've
got Jean Reno from Leon, and Malcolm McDowell and his droog accompaniment. Why do they drink milk? Good question. Well, first of all, I would argue as well that at least Jean Reno, even though he's a hitman in that movie, uh he becomes the protector of this abused young girl. So, not necessarily a bad guy. But, he's a very tough guy and he's a hitman and I think, you know, it's like it's it's the thing about opposites. You know, you've got the worst people with basically like such a childish little wholesome drink. I mean, that's what you're taught as a child, like glass of milk a day, you know, that's good for your bones, which I don't think it is. Um just
just saying broccoli's better. I think it's that. I think it's like the worst people drinking the most innocent like childish drink and I think it just it's a good mix of opposites. Under the Wet Stars, Anthony Starr does so much with his face. At every moment you can see the tiny nuances in Homelander's thoughts and feelings evolving as rapidly and fluidly as in reality with a clip. Yeah, that was just after I killed someone and got away with it. This has been said a lot and it's always I'm always like, oh, very grateful to It's a lovely thing to say. I don't plan any of it. I'm a nerd and really working on the scenes, getting
everything super down so I know exactly what every line, every moment means and then throw that all away cuz that's all in there. And then just leave it to beaver and leave it up to the moment and see what happens. Cuz you're also you're never alone, you're always reacting off someone else, right? Unless 90% of the time anyway. So, it's all pretty spontaneous and uh I think as long as you've got the think the thoughts going on, if you're thinking as the character, the this does the rest. Optimistic Doc, that was diabolical. What was the scene that made you think, what the And let's watch Carl with the laser baby.
What you lost? That was diabolical. What was the scene that made me think, what the Actually, when in season 4, Firecracker, I'd been taking hormones to produce breast milk and she reveals that to me by squirting some in my face and then in that moment I realize what she's done for me and the loyalty and devotion is something that really catches the character's heart. We played it like a love scene. You know, we both got a little misty and it was so delicate and nice, you did this for me, and it became so beautiful and like a lover's moment about the most ridiculous thing that we've shot in the show and I remember after one take just looking at Val going, what the are we doing? That was the moment I was like, I could
have been a lawyer, an accountant. I could have done anything and now this is how I'm earning my money. Jada Communication, why do people even try to commit crimes in this universe? Good point. Really good point. Again, if they didn't, we wouldn't have much of a show, but I think it's human nature. Like, people do bad things. So, I think wherever you take people, there's going to be a mix, and there's always going to be light and shade, and I'm glad they do because we literally wouldn't have a show again. Plenty celery 97001.
What is your favorite fight scene from The Boys and why? I haven't had a lot, which is kind of great cuz I'm 50 years old, and I don't like doing that anymore. It's really hard on the body. It would be when Soldier Boy and Butcher try and take me out. That was great. That was really fun. Our stunt coordinator, John Koyama, he's now won two Emmys for the show, and he's brilliant. It's tough because, you know, we're not a Marvel movie. We don't have the money that they have, so within that, there are there's a lot of different constraints. So, so to be as creative as John is, and create the sequences that he has created is just amazing. But, it was just a
really cool, fun fight, you know, with these great moments in between where my character doesn't realize that Butcher's character has superpowers now, and it's like, "What's wrong? What? You should be dead." And it's just really fun to do. And Jack Quaid, who has a temporary superpower of he can teleport, but in the teleportation process, he loses all clothes, so he just turns up naked everywhere. So, he nakedly joins the fight. So, there's this very typical strain of humor in this very serious moment, which is one of the hallmarks of the show. I'm going to mangle this name. Apologize. Irohi Jaglan, who is the most hated character on the show? You've ever seen me? Go figure. Aya Cash that played
Stormfront, that was the season 2 girlfriend of Homelander. The Deep, who's kind of an idiot, and A-Train, who's like a pro athlete just trying to hold on to his career as he goes into decline. So, the most hated character on the show, I think the lovely human being Aya Cash that played Stormfront, she got a lot of hate, which means one, she did a fantastic job. Two, the character was season antagonist, so it was perfect. Three, she got blown up at the end, and that's the best thing that could happen to a Nazi, so It's RyGuy24. Can we just talk about for a second how spot-on the casting of this TV show is? I actually agree. I think it's um I think it's been really well cast.
Interestingly, they got two people from New Zealand to play a guy from England and a guy from America, so thanks. Is there any casting where you're like, "Wow, this person brought something to the script that I didn't see in the script?" Maybe Chace Crawford, who plays the Deep. Like, I didn't expect him to be quite so funny. Every time we're doing a scene, like, I can barely get through it when we're doing his coverage because he goes off script a lot and adds and subtracts, and he's just hysterical. Aside from them being perfectly cast for their characters, everyone across the board is just a really great bunch of people. You know, when I came on, Eric Kripke had a no policy, and it's 100% right. And
so, it's been really great. We've had five seasons over eight years, and as we go around doing the press for this last season, catching up with everyone and getting to say goodbye to each other and the show that's been such a big part of our lives has just been amazing. Secret Asian Man, new to the show, but why doesn't Homelander just kill The Boys? Well, then we don't have a show. That would be like a 5-minute YouTube clip. They've come to blows a few times over the seasons, um but, you know, we're in season 5, so who knows what will happen. But, what I will say is nothing is going to be left to the imagination, so good to look forward to.
Nightforce asks, "I believe in The Boys, Butcher is the real villain, and Homelander is not a villain." Amen. What I would say is that if he's not the villain, he is a serial killer. I don't really think you could debate whether Homie's the bad guy or not. It's pretty clear Homelander is the bad guy, and Butcher's not a great guy, but at least he's got his heart in the right place, and he's trying to do the right thing, just the wrong way. Quirky data 3500, what makes Homelander one of the greatest villains in television? Oh, that's kind of you. I don't know if I can answer that because it's weird talking about yourself in that context. But, what I would say is what makes him compelling, I think one of the things
that [snorts] we've tried to do since day one is not go for the mustache-twirly villain. Really tried to go into the backstory and explain why he is who he is and what he is, and I think people find that compelling, you know? It's a lot more complex than a superheroes, I'm going to say used to be because I think audiences now expect a lot more from a villain. You know, my favorite villain, and I see keep me mentioning Marvel. Uh but, my favorite villain of recent memory is Thanos because I think he was doing a horrific thing, but he had such a good philosophy behind it about like balancing the universe, and there's a little part of me that's like, "He's got a pretty good point, you
know?" I don't think Homelander has anywhere near the same um philosophy or intention, but, you know, the point being like he's complex, you know? There's more to him than just the bad guy, and I think people respond to that. Improvement thin235, what would be Homelander's ideal and fantasy world where he can truly do whatever the he wants? Ooh. Well, the character, you know, has threatened from quite a long time ago that he'll just end the world and kill everyone, but then the one thing that he craves is love and adoration, so difficult to know where that would where sit. I don't think there is one. I really don't because um because of that contradiction in who he is. Again, like, his humanity is his kryptonite, so he desperately needs
people, but hates the humanity in himself. That's that's the dilemma for him is that he will never get what he wants because he can never accept his own truth. Okay, guys, that's all the questions I got. I learned a lot, and I hope you learned a little something, too.
