The Boys' Showrunner Confirms What We Suspected About Homelander
It certainly is the age of comic book movies, with superheroes and supervillains alike being some of the biggest box office draws in the world. It makes sense then that Hollywood studios are always on the lookout for the next big superhero franchise to put in front of millions of eyeballs. Perhaps one of the more unique examples of this is "The Boys," a superhero show airing on Amazon. The series puts a dark spin on the superhero genre and it's set in a world where superpowered individuals often abuse their powers for personal gain, fame, and other nefarious reasons.
One of these so-called superheroes is Homelander, played by Antony Starr, a man with Superman-like abilities who on second glance appears to really be a sadistic monster who doesn't actually care about protecting people or being a superhero. A dark character like Homelander certainly makes sense within the world of "The Boys," and he adds a nice level of conflict. However, showrunner Eric Kripke has recently opened up about Homelander and the show in general, and he's confirmed something about the character that many fans may have already suspected.
Eric Kripke says Antony Starr believes Homelander is misunderstood
During an interview with Deadline, "The Boys" showrunner Eric Kripke talked about Antony Starr's belief that Homelander is simply misunderstood as a character by viewers. In fact, according to Kripke, Starr has gone so far as to say that Homelander is not a villain. At first, Kripke believed that Starr was saying this in a joking way. However, he soon realized this was not the case. "And that's what makes a great actor great," Kripke said about Starr's belief, adding, "that it doesn't even occur to him that they're the bad guy, because they're so deep inside, making that character human."
Finding the humanity in a character definitely seems to be a major part of a lot of actors' processes, as it presumably makes for a more compelling performance. This is all the more apparent with actors who engage in method acting where they fully become their character, sometimes even when there is no camera rolling. It's unclear if Starr goes this far, but it's encouraging to know that he takes his performance as Homelander seriously. It'll be interesting to see how the character develops even further when "The Boys" Season 3 premieres on June 3, 2022.