Arnold Schwarzenegger has most definitely left a mark on the film industry. Having had an incredibly successful career, being not only a bodybuilder but also an actor, filmmaker, businessman, and politician. Though he gained recognition through his many bodybuilding competitions, since then, he has become known through roles like appearing in The Terminator, Predator, and Conan the Barbarian.
It is safe to assume that Schwarzenegger would be able to bag any role he is interested in now, with the success that he has achieved. The same, however, cannot be said for his son, Patrick Schwarzenegger who auditioned for an extremely competitive role, only to get cast in a different role in the franchise.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Son Auditioned For Homelander
There is absolutely no doubt that Homelander is one of the most memorable characters in all of cinema history. Before hitting the small screen in Amazon Prime Video’s The Boys, he was a fictional entity on paper, lying within the intricate universe of the comic book series of the same name. Despite this, he had one of the most nerve-wracking personalities, possessing a presence that made the audience concerned for the safety of everyone in the room with him.
Being such a distinct and unique character, it is only natural that the casting process for him would be extremely long and thorough, with the casting agents trying to make sure that they cast the right person for the role who can embody the leader of The Seven in the right way. This is why it isn’t surprising that the series auditioned many different actors before settling on Anthony Starr. One of the many actors among these was Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Son, Patrick Schwarzenegger.
This Wasn’t The End Of It
Ironically enough, though Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Son Patrick Schwarzenegger, did not end up getting the role of Homelander, he did end up bagging a role in the spin-off series of The Boys, titled Gen V. The actor plays the role of Luke Riordan, better known as The Golden Boy in the spin-off. Interestingly enough, however, Schwarzenegger ended up getting this role due to his initial, unsuccessful audition.
“They were just like, ‘It’s about this. This is the character. This is what’s going to happen in this,’” Schwarzenegger said. “I was like, ‘OK, it’s “The Boys.” I know it’s going to be something crazy but it’s an amazing show.’ … And then when I started reading [the scripts] on set, I was like, ‘Oh boy, this is going to be, yeah, this will be fun and interesting.’”
According to Variety, the producers of this series had Schwarzenegger in mind after his audition and approached him for this role when the series started to be made. The actor revealed that he was told a brief of what the series was going to be about, however, he was not given an actual script until he was officially cast in the role. This isn’t anything unique as many superhero projects are known for being extremely secretive.
Source: Variety
