- 2 hours ago
This is the the WIRED A̶u̶t̶o̶Complete Interview. WIRED turns on dark mode as we hand-pick the very best Antony Starr (Homelander) questions from the internet. Does Homelander genuinely think he’s a hero? Who is the most hated character from The Boys? What makes Homelander one of the greatest villains in television? Tune in to find out the answers to the internet’s best questions.
Category
🤖
TechTranscript
00:00I'm Antony Starr and this is the Wired Complete Interview.
00:10First question. Tommy Nook. Anyone else find themselves copying Homelander's mannerisms in a video?
00:21That's actually interesting. That was after a rally where I skip and I hallucinate my father.
00:28That moment of me going, pfft, has been my favorite meme. A lot of memes have come out of this
00:35character in this show. That's my favorite because people blew the cheeks up and it just became, it went everywhere
00:43and it's so funny.
00:44What a great mannerism role model Homelander is. That's the only thing you should copy that that character does.
00:53Kirby Brass. What's the most fucked up thing Homelander did?
00:57Wow. I think the most fucked up thing Homelander did is in season five, which I can't spoil, obviously. I
01:05can't wait for you to see that.
01:06But up to then, two things with planes. Waving to a little kid in a plane in episode one, the
01:12last scene, and then lasering the plane in half and letting the child and his father plunge to their demise.
01:18That was pretty bad. And then another plane in episode four, I think it was, season one, was leaving a
01:24whole plane load of passengers to die. Probably not great.
01:28People bring up pushing the son off the roof. I think that's good parenting. See, I just think that that's
01:37like old school fathering.
01:39When, you know, the kid falls over. Ah, yeah, your knee looks fine. There's no blood. Get on with it.
01:44Plus, he knew that the kid had superpowers. So he was going to be all right.
01:49So the kid learned a valuable lesson. And I also thought the little squeal that, that Ryan, the son Cameron
01:57made as he went off the roof.
01:59I think that's the hardest I laughed up to that point in the show.
02:03Calendar duel, 1487. Fear of heights. How do people with this phobia manage flying?
02:10Uh, I think the more you do something, the less afraid you get. Having said that, um, I've been flying
02:19a lot lately and I just flew in yesterday and there was a big bump and I, I grabbed the
02:25little old lady next to me.
02:27I literally grabbed her arm because I, I don't like heights and, uh, I thought I'd dealt with it, but
02:33I haven't.
02:33One of them shots, it was actually on, uh, GNV, the spinoff series. I had to fly in to the
02:39scene. Didn't think about it. Stunt guy goes, oh yeah, we're going to put you up on the ropes.
02:43These little like piano wire, thin wires that go onto the harness. I never thought about that's a long way
02:51off the ground. So they clipped me in, harnessed me up about 40 feet up, which was halfway.
02:56I started going, oh, this is not good. And I started swearing a lot.
03:04I think it was 85 feet at the top and I was freaking out. That was actually a moment that
03:09really enlightened me as to, like, I really do have a fear of heights that I didn't realize I had.
03:18Look, I'm still here. So I say go into it. If you can find ways to challenge that fear.
03:24The reason seeker asks, do you think there's any real humanity left in Homelander or is he just a rabid
03:33animal?
03:34Interesting choice of words. I think there is humanity left in him. And I think that is basically the character's
03:41main issue with himself.
03:43If we look at Homelander as an inverted Superman, his kryptonite has been his humanity. He's always wanted to be
03:51rid of, but unfortunately he can't because he is actually a man.
03:56I can't think of what a redemption arc would look like for this character. So I'm going to say he's
04:01like 50, 50 human and rabid animal.
04:03Hi, I love this asks, will the boys be next to join the list of controversial, some bad endings or
04:10provide a satisfying conclusion?
04:13Has any show ever provided an ending that satisfies everyone? I don't know that you can. I think, you know,
04:20because everyone's different and everyone wants different things.
04:23But something just finished, I won't say what, and nobody died. I was scratching my head at the end going,
04:31there's nowhere else to go. This is the end of the run. Kill some people.
04:36As our boss, Eric, has said, don't get attached to any characters on this show because everyone's head is potentially
04:43on the block.
04:45Jared MMS asks, does Homelander genuinely think he's a hero?
04:50Yeah. You know, I think it is heart of hearts. He knows that some of the things he does seem
05:00to have bad consequences, but I think in the moment as well, he just acts on impulse.
05:04I think he's so corrupted, you know, bad people don't walk around thinking they're bad people. They just walk around
05:10doing what they do because that's what they've learned to do to survive.
05:14So I think, yeah, he probably does think he's a hero, because since such a young age, he's just been
05:19brainwashed into thinking that he also would prefer to be a god, which is a little bit of a step
05:26up.
05:26The nice tetanba asks, this is perhaps my favorite shot of Homelander in the entire series. The emotion on his,
05:35my face makes you genuinely feel sorry for him. And it is a side we've never seen from him.
05:42This is when potential love of his life stormfront, she's blown up by Homelander's son. And this is him coming
05:50across her charred remains.
05:53Oh, well, first of all, I think is a very, it's a lovely shot. And I think the slow-mo
05:58does a lot to sell the impact.
06:01I would push back a little bit. There's actually moments through the show when we do see a lot of
06:08weakness. I think that's one of the things I love about the character is that we've been able to go
06:12there and really flesh it out to provide a reason for why he is what he is.
06:17But it doesn't necessarily engender empathy, but we do understand. And I think that makes it a much more compelling
06:26villain.
06:27No amphibian 6039. Any reason Hollywood psychopaths or villains drink milk. And there's me drinking milk. There's Hans Lauder, was
06:39it, from Inglorious Bastards. The infamous Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men.
06:45And then we've got Jean Reno from Leon and Malcolm McDowell and his droog accompaniment. Why do they drink milk?
06:53Good question.
06:54Well, first of all, I would argue as well that at least Jean Reno, even though he's a hitman in
07:00that movie, he becomes the protector of this abused young girl.
07:07So not necessarily a bad guy, but he's a very tough guy and he's a hitman. And I think, you
07:15know, it's the thing about opposites.
07:18You know, you've got the worst people with basically like such a childish little wholesome drink.
07:25I mean, that's what you're taught as a child, like glass of milk a day, you know, it's good for
07:29your bones, which I don't think it is.
07:31Um, just, just saying broccoli is better. I think it's that. I think it's like the worst people drinking the
07:38most innocent, like childish drink.
07:41And I think it just, it's a good mix of opposites.
07:45Under the wet stars.
07:47Antony starred does so much with his face.
07:50At every moment you can see the tiny nuances in Homelander's thoughts and feelings evolving as rapidly and fluidly as
07:56in reality with a clip.
08:02Yeah, that was just after I killed someone and got away with it.
08:05This has been said a lot and it's always, I'm always like, Oh, very grateful to, it's a lovely thing
08:09to say.
08:10I don't plan any of it. I, I'm an, I'm a nerd when it comes to the writing and the
08:15script and really working on the scenes, getting everything super down.
08:20So I know exactly what every line, every moment means, and then throw that all away. Cause that's all in
08:26there.
08:27And then just leave it to Beaver and leave it, leave it up to the moment and see what happens.
08:33Cause you're also, you're never alone. You're always reacting off someone else, right?
08:36Unless 90% of the time anyway. So it's all pretty spontaneous.
08:41And, uh, I think as long as you've got the thing, the thoughts going on, if you're thinking as the
08:46character, the, this does the rest.
08:49Optimistic doc. That was fucking diabolical. What was the scene that made you think, what the fuck?
08:56And let's watch Carl with the laser baby.
08:59What's your last son?
09:08That was fucking diabolical. What was the scene that made me think, what the, what the fuck?
09:13I actually went in season four firecracker had been taking hormones to produce breast milk.
09:19And she reveals that to me by squirting some in my face.
09:24And then in that moment, I realized what she's done for me.
09:27And the loyalty and devotion is something that really catches the character's heart.
09:31We played it like a love scene. You know, we both got a little misty and it was so delicate
09:37and nice.
09:37You did this for me. And it became so beautiful.
09:40And like a, like a lover's moment about the most ridiculous thing that we've shot in the show.
09:48And I remember after one take, just looking at Val going, what the fuck are we doing?
09:52That was the moment I was like, I could have been a lawyer, an accountant.
09:56I could have done anything. And now this is how I'm earning my money.
09:59Jada communication.
10:01Why do people even try to commit crimes in this universe?
10:04Good point. Really good point.
10:06Again, if they didn't, we wouldn't have much of a show.
10:08But I think it's human nature. Like people do bad things.
10:13So I think wherever you take people, there's going to be a mix and there's always going to be light
10:17and shade.
10:18And I'm glad they do because we literally wouldn't have a show again.
10:23Plenty Salary 97001. What is your favorite fight scene from the boys and why?
10:30I haven't had a lot, which is kind of great because I'm 50 years old and I don't like doing
10:34that shit anymore.
10:34It's really hard on the body. It would be when soldier boy and butcher try and take me out.
10:41That was great. That was really fun.
10:43Our stunt coordinator, John Koyama, he's now won two Emmys for the show and he's brilliant.
10:49It's tough because, you know, we're not a Marvel movie.
10:54We don't have the money that they have.
10:56So within that there's a lot of different constraints.
10:59So to be as creative as John is and create the sequences that he's created is just amazing.
11:10But it was just a really cool, fun fight, you know, with these great moments in between where my character
11:18doesn't realize that Butch's character has superpowers now.
11:20And it's like, what's wrong? What? What? You should be dead. And it's just really fun to do.
11:27And Jack Quaid, who has a temporary superpower of you can teleport, but in the teleportation process, he loses all
11:35clothes.
11:35So he just turns up naked everywhere. So he nakedly joins the fight.
11:39So there's this very typical strain of humor in this very serious moment, which is one of the hallmarks of
11:47the show.
11:47I'm going to mangle this name. Apologize.
11:51Who is the most hated character on the show?
11:55So we're seeing me. Go figure.
11:56Aya Cash that played Stormfront, that was the season two girlfriend of Homelander.
12:03The Deep, who's kind of an idiot.
12:07And A-Train, he's like a pro athlete, just trying to hold on to his career as he goes into
12:13decline.
12:14So the most hated character on the show, I think the lovely human being Aya Cash that played Stormfront.
12:21She got a lot of hate, which means one, she did a fantastic job.
12:24Two, the character was a season antagonist. So it was perfect.
12:29Three, she got blown up at the end and that's the best thing that could happen to a Nazi.
12:33So it's Ryguy24. Can we just talk about for a second how fucking spot on the casting of this TV
12:41show is?
12:42I actually agree. I think it's, I think it's been really well cast.
12:46Interestingly, they got two people from New Zealand to play a guy from England and a guy from America.
12:55So, thanks.
12:57Is there any casting where you're like, wow, this person brought something to the script that I didn't see in
13:01the script?
13:02Maybe Chase Crawford, who plays The Deep.
13:05Like, I didn't expect him to be quite so funny.
13:09Every time we're doing a scene, like, I can barely get through it when we're doing his coverage
13:13because he goes off script a lot and adds and subtracts and he's just hysterical.
13:21Aside from them being perfectly cast for their characters, everyone across the board,
13:26just a really great bunch of people.
13:28You know, when I came on, Eric said he had a no arsehole policy and it's 100% right.
13:33And so it's been really great. We've had five seasons over eight years.
13:38And as we go around doing the press for this last season, catching up with everyone
13:42and getting to say goodbye to each other and the show that's been such a big part of our lives,
13:49it's just been amazing.
13:50Secret to Asian man. New to the show, but why doesn't Homelander just kill the boys?
13:55Well, then we don't have a show.
13:56That would be like a five minute YouTube clip.
13:59They've come to blows a few times over the seasons.
14:04But you know, we're in season five, so who knows what will happen.
14:08But what I will say is nothing is going to be left of the imagination.
14:12So good shit to look forward to.
14:15Nightforce asks,
14:16I believe in the boys, Butcher is the real villain and Homelander is not a villain.
14:21Amen.
14:22What I would say is that if he's not the villain, he is a serial killer.
14:26I don't really think you could debate whether Homie is the bad guy or not.
14:31It's pretty clear Homelander is the bad guy and Butcher is not a great guy,
14:38but at least he's got his heart's in the right place and he's trying to do the right thing.
14:41Just the wrong way.
14:44QuirkyData3500.
14:45What makes Homelander one of the greatest villains in television?
14:49Oh, that's kind of you.
14:50I don't know if I can answer that because it's weird talking about yourself in that context.
14:55But what I would say is what makes him compelling.
14:57I think one of the things that we've tried to do since day one is not go for the moustache
15:03twirly villain,
15:04really tried to go into the backstory and explain why he is who he is and what he is.
15:12And I think people find that compelling.
15:15You know, it's a lot more complex than superheroes.
15:19I'm going to say used to be because I think audiences now expect a lot more from a villain.
15:26You know, my favorite villain.
15:27And keep mentioning Marvel.
15:30But my favorite villain of recent memory is Thanos.
15:36Because I think he was doing a horrific thing, but he had such a good philosophy behind it about like
15:42balancing the universe.
15:44And there's a little part of me that's like, he's got a pretty good point.
15:49You know, I don't think Homelander has anywhere near the same philosophy or intention.
15:59But, you know, the point being like, he's complex.
16:04You know, there's more to him than just the bad guy.
16:08And I think people respond to that.
16:12ImprovementThin235.
16:13What would be Homelander's ideal in fantasy world where he can truly do whatever the fuck he wants?
16:19Ooh.
16:22Well, the character, you know, has threatened from quite a long time ago that he'll just end the world and
16:28kill everyone.
16:29But then the one thing that he craves is love and adoration.
16:36So difficult to know where that would where that would sit.
16:42I don't think there is one.
16:43I really don't because because of that contradiction and who he is, again, like his humanity is his kryptonite.
16:53So he desperately needs people, but hates the humanity in himself.
17:01That's that's the dilemma for him is that he will never get what he wants because he can never accept
17:06his own truth.
17:07OK, guys, that's all the questions I got.
17:10I learned a lot and I hope you learned a little something, too.
Comments