Antony Starr Answers The Internet's Best Questions

I'm Anthony Starr

and this is The Wired Complete interview.

[upbeat bass music]

First question, Tommy Nook.

Anyone else find themselves

copying Homelander's mannerisms?

And a video.

[crowd cheering] [breathing heavily]

That's actually interesting.

That was after a rally where I skip

and I hallucinate my father.

That moment of me going [breathing heavily]

has been my favorite meme that I've,

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 that character does.

Kirbybrasse. What's the most up thing Homelander did?

[sighs] Wow.

I think the most fucked 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 leaving a whole plane loaded of passengers to die.

Probably not great.

People bring up pushing the son off the roof.

[child screaming] [body thudding]

I think that's good parenting.

See I just think that 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 gonna be all right.

So, the kid learned a valuable listen.

And I also thought the little squeal that Ryan,

the son, Cameron, made.

[squeals]

As he went off the roof?

I think that's the hardest I laughed

up to that point in the show.

CalendarDuel1487.

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, 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 'cause I don't like heights.

And I thought I'd dealt with it, but I haven't.

One of the shots.

It was actually on Gen V, the spinoff series.

I had to fly in to the scene.

Didn't think about it.

Stunt guy goes,

Oh yeah, we're gonna put you up on the ropes.

These little like piano wire thin wires

that go on onto the harness.

I never thought about, that's a long way off the ground.

So, they clipped me and harnessed me about 40 feet up,

which was halfway I started going, Oh. This is not good.

And I started swearing a lot.

Ha ha. Fuck off.

I think it was 85 feet at the top and I was freaking out.

That was actually a moment that really.

Fuck off.

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 for you.

TheReasonSeeker asks,

Do you think there's any real humanity left in Homelander

or is he just a rabid 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 gonna say he's like 50/50 human and rabid animal.

hiilovethis 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, 'cause 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

'cause everyone's head is potentially on the block.

JarodMMS 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.

TheNiceTnetennba 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 sight 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.

NoAmphibians6039.

Any reason Hollywood psychopaths or villains drink milk?

And there's me drinking milk.

There's Hans Landa was it? From Inglorious Bastards.

The infamous Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men.

And then we've got John 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,

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 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, it's good for your bones.

Which I don't think it is.

Just saying. Broccoli's better.

I think it's that, I think it's like the worst people

drinking the most innocent childish drink.

And I think it just, it's a good mix of opposites.

Underthewetstars.

Anthony Starr does 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.

[crowd cheering and applauding]

Yeah, that was just after I killed someone

and got away with it.

All right.

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 when it comes to the writing and the script,

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 'cause that's all in there.

And then, just leave it to Beaver.

And leave it up to the moment and see what happens.

'Cause 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 I think as long as you've got the thoughts going on,

if you're thinking as the character,

this does the rest.

Optimistic_doc. That was Fucking Diabolical.

What was the scene that made you think, What the Fuck?

And let's watch Karl with the laser baby.

Watch and learn, son.

[gunfire popping]

[glass breaking] [laser zapping]

That was fucking diabolical.

What was the scene that made me think what the fuck?

Actually when in Season 4, Firecracker,

had 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 realized what she's done for me.

And the loyalty and devotion

is something that really catches the characters' 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 and go,

What the fuck 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.

JadedCommunication.

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 gonna be a mix

and there's always gonna be light and shade.

And I'm glad they do

because we literally wouldn't have a show again.

Plenty-Salary9711.

What is your favorite fight scene

from The Boys and why?

I haven't had a lot, which is kinda great

'cause I'm 50 years old

and I don't like doing that shit 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 we're not a Marvel movie.

We don't have the money that they have.

So within that, there's a lot of different constraints.

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 he's like, What's wrong? What? What?

You should be dead.

And it was just really fun to do.

And Jack Quaid who has a temporary superpower

of in 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 gonna mangle this name, apologize. Irohitjaglan.

Who is the most hated character on the show?

So, we're seeing 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.

He's like a pro athlete just trying to hold onto 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 Storm Front.

She got a lot of hate,

which means one, she did a fantastic job.

Two, the character was a 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.

ItsRyGuy24.

Can we just talk about for a second how fucking spot on

the casting of this TV show is?

I actually agree.

I think it's,

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.

[Producer] Is there any casting where you were 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 and like,

I can barely get through it when we're doing his coverage

because he goes off script a lot and ads and subtracts.

And he's just hysterical.

Aside from them being perfectly cast for the characters,

everyone across the board,

just a really great bunch of people.

You know, when I came on,

Eric said he had a no asshole 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.

SecretWasianMan.

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 five-minute YouTube clip.

They've come to blows a few times over the seasons.

But you know, we're in Season 5,

so who knows what will happen.

But what I will say

is nothing is gonna be left to the imagination.

So, good shit 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's the bad guy

and Butcher is not a great guy, but at least he's got,

his heart's in the right place

and he's trying to do the right thing just the wrong way.

QuirkyData3500.

What makes Homelander

one of the greatest villains in television?

Aw, that's kind of you.

I don't 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 we've tried to do since day one

is not go for the mustache twirly villain.

Really try 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 superheroes.

I'm gonna say used to be because I think audiences

now expect a lot more from a villain, you know?

My favorite villain, and I keep mentioning Marvel.

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 philosophy or intention.

But you know, the 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.

ImprovementThin235.

What would be Homelander's ideal fantasy world

where he can truly do whatever the fuck he wants?

Ooh.

Well, the character 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 sit.

I don't think there is one. I really don't.

Because of that contradiction and who he is.

Again, his humanity is his kryptonite.

So, he desperately needs people

but hates the humanity in himself.

That's the dilemma for him

is that he will never get what he wants

'cause 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.

[gentle techno music]