The Boys caused a sensation in this fourth season and, amid a tense political climate following the attack on Donald Trump, actor Antony Starr revealed that a character from the famous series may have been inspired by the politician.
Starr, who has played Homelander for four seasons, expressed his shock and concern upon discovering that some people have even idolized the superhero, whom the showrunner, Eric Kripke, deliberately linked to Donald Trump, the former president of the United States.
“I believe Eric has always viewed, perhaps more than I have, the character as something that reflects Trump, and I agree with that. But I wanted to make him as three-dimensional as possible without straying from the obvious fact that he is the villain of the show. The strange thing was how some people idolized him and saw him as a kind of leader for their own cause in the real world, which is a bit disturbing. But I think that in this season they realize that he is not,” Starr confessed in an interview with Vulture.
The series, known for its political satire and its raw depiction of corrupt superheroes, has not held back in showcasing the darker aspects of Homelander, its protagonist and main heroic figure in the antagonistic team ‘The Seven’. Throughout the seasons, the character has committed atrocious acts, from getting involved with a Nazi to allowing a plane full of people to crash, and more recently, to burning parts of one of his former pursuers and encouraging other superheroes to commit a brutal murder.
The actor also highlighted that, although he does not share the character’s political views nor influences the writing of the script, he is dedicated to portraying Homelander in the most honest way possible, capturing both his grotesque moments and his rare instances of vulnerability.