Antony Starr on Homelander’s Actions and Audience Reactions: “Ultimately, we’re not trying to garner sympathy or empathy for the character”

“The Boys” is one of the world’s most popular superhero series, and its fourth season recently concluded with a thrilling eight-episode run. Despite mixed initial reviews, the show gained momentum, earning a Certified Fresh rating and a large audience, as confirmed by Amazon and Nielsen. However, the season’s increasing political themes led to some discontent, resulting in review-bombing from unhappy fans. The showrunners, however, seemed unfazed by the backlash.

Season 4 ended on July 18, 2024, with the final episode, “Season Four Finale” (originally titled “Assassination Run”). The finale set up a grim future where Homelander becomes commander-in-chief, poised to shape America according to his dark vision—a truly terrifying prospect.

Many fans and commentators shared their opinions online, but the creators of the project have also weighed in on the future of “The Boys” after this shocking season finale. In an interview with Vulture magazine, Antony Starr, who portrays Homelander in the series, discussed his character and the impact of his actions on his perspective.

Antony Starr sat down with Vulture magazine to discuss the impact of the fourth season, particularly the finale. He delved into his character, Homelander, and how his actions reflect the reactions the writers and producers aimed to elicit from the audience. Here is what he said:

Eric has talked about how this show has always been about Trump, but you’ve said you never wanted him to be a “mustache-twirling villain.” This season, we get a lot of Homelander’s abusive backstory. For you as an actor, is there a contradiction between this character being an authoritarian fascist on one hand and, on the other, someone who went through some of the worst things a person can go through?

Ultimately, we’re not trying to garner sympathy or empathy for the character. It’s not an excuse for the behavior. But there’s something of an inevitability if you damage someone that much when they’re young. Take Homelander out of it; the adult that is going to come out of that, unless they have a very fortuitous run with therapy and some serious reconditioning by loving people, is going to end up a certain way.

The thing with Homelander is — and I think everyone does this in real life — we wear masks. Hopefully you learn to be yourself 90 percent of the time, but we all put on different versions of ourselves in different situations. Homelander has been raised to be a Vought-sponsored product. But the man within that is just a coiled mask of insecurity. It’s a real contradiction, the way he behaves in public versus private. That’s one of the things I love about the show: We get to see a lot of that private time.

I think Eric always looked, a little more than me, at the character as something that mimics Trump, and I agree with that. But I wanted to make him as three-dimensional as we can without departing from the obvious fact that he is the villain of the show. The weird thing has been how some people have idolized him and seen him as some kind of leader for their own cause in the real world, which is a little disturbing. But I think they realize this season that he’s not.

Source: Vulture

This analysis of Homelander is both precise and grounded, coming from the actor who has portrayed him for years. Antony Starr’s insights are valuable, and we fully agree with his assessment: Homelander is not a character who deserves redemption, and the show never intended to take him in that direction, which is a strong choice.

This concludes our report, but stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes insights. Keep following us for additional updates!

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