‘The Boys’ Star Antony Starr Almost Passed on Role of Homelander
It’s hard to envision ‘The Boys’ without Antony Starr portraying Homelander, yet the actor nearly missed out on auditioning for the role that transformed his career. Starr recently shared that he almost skipped the opportunity because he felt he didn’t fit the superhero mold.
Before becoming one of television’s most chilling characters, Starr had reservations about his place in the comic book adaptation realm. He compared himself to actors like Henry Cavill, known for his role as Superman, and felt he lacked the conventional superhero appearance.
Starr admitted that he hesitated to submit an audition tape for ‘The Boys’ for a considerable time. “I kept avoiding it until I finally put a tape down, almost out of spite.”
Eventually, he recorded his audition casually during a break. “I went to my trailer, at lunchtime, and got my iPad out and just literally spat an audition out.”
However, Starr still doubted his chances of landing the role. Upon learning the project revolved around superheroes, he immediately questioned his suitability.
“They’re not going to pick me anyway, I’m not made for that. Henry Cavill’s 12 feet tall, built like a 12-foot brick s**t house, and he’s wonderful, handsome and charming. I’m not going to get that.”
That uncertainty vanished when Starr secured the role of Homelander, a character who would become one of the most iconic villains in contemporary television.
Since ‘The Boys’ debuted in 2019, Starr’s portrayal has been lauded for its unique blend of fear, insecurity, arrogance, and unpredictability. Rather than depicting him as a straightforward evil superhero, Starr crafted a character who could be terrifying one moment and unexpectedly vulnerable the next.
Homelander became synonymous with ‘The Boys’ and a key reason the series attracted such a massive audience. The character’s disingenuous smile, unsettling confidence, and erratic behavior made him one of the most discussed TV villains in recent memory.
The series recently concluded after five seasons, with Homelander receiving an ending that was far from the heroic conclusion typically expected of a superhero. According to showrunner Eric Kripke in an interview with Rolling Stone, he consulted with Starr before the actor even read the Season 5 script, knowing how much Starr cared for the character.
Kripke explained that Homelander’s final moments were never intended to be a glorious defeat. Instead, the character was meant to face a humiliating downfall after years of inflicting pain and destruction.
“I told Starr that Homelander’s death wouldn’t be epic or victorious,” Kripke stated. The villain would instead “go out the most pathetic way possible.”
According to Kripke, Starr grasped why the character required that ending. After years of violence and cruelty, Homelander’s last moments revealed the person behind the powerful facade he had constructed.
The actor even contributed to enhancing the desperation of the scene. Kripke revealed that one of Homelander’s most uncomfortable lines in the finale originated from Starr himself, as the actor wanted to convey just how broken the character had become.
While fans had mixed feelings about Homelander’s conclusion, Starr’s influence on the series is undeniable. He transformed a comic book villain into a multifaceted character that audiences loved to hate.
Antony Starr may have once doubted his suitability for a superhero role, but his performance as Homelander proved otherwise. Rather than becoming just another typical superpowered character, he crafted a villain who will likely remain one of the defining performances in the superhero genre for years to come.
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