Antony Starr received universal acclaim for his role as Homelander in the Amazon Prime video series The Boys. While the latest season saw the all-powerful superhero at his most vulnerable yet, one episode in particular seemed to have received positive responses to his performance.
The character is often compared with former President and current Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump. Homelander in the show has similarly drawn crowds to his support with his speeches, and has polarized the politics explored in the show. However, Starr distanced himself from politics after a recent episode effectively mirrored reality.
Antony Starr Breaks Silence Regarding The Boys’ Similarity To Donald Trump’s Assassination Attempt
The Amazon Prime Video series The Boys has often commented on American politics and its divisive nature in recent years. The show has satirized the country’s corporate and celebrity culture along with its polarizing politics through characters such as Homelander and Starlight.
The season 4 finale of the show reportedly began with a disclaimer that the events of the episode were not inspired by recent events. Released days after former President Donald Trump’s attempted assassination in Butler, Pennsylvania, The Boys saw a foiled attempt at the assassination of a President (via USA Today).
While the show was not directly influenced by the event as it was filmed much earlier, Antony Starr seemingly distanced himself from comparisons of Homelander to Trump. The actor claimed that he simply performs what is written in the show. He said to Vulture,
I’m just one of the actors. I don’t have a hand in the writing. Do I have political opinions? Of course, I do. But it’s not my job to voice those as a performer on the show. I’m there to service the character and try to be as honest as I can. With a character like this, it’s pretty difficult because he’s clearly insane.
Starr’s Homelander has often been compared to Trump, including by the series creator Erik Kripke, who reportedly intended the Supe to be an allegory for Trump and his political influence.
Antony Starr Wanted Homelander To Be A Three-Dimensional Villain And Not Someone To Sympathize With
While Antony Starr’s Homelander is clearly the antagonist of the series, he also has a powerful back story that includes his troubled childhood and lack of a strong parental figure. The Supe is raised in a lab and experimented on to test the limits of his abilities to transform him into the most powerful superhero in existence.
However, his mental health takes a deep dive into the abyss due to his ego and insane powers. He causes huge amounts of destruction and manipulates the masses into submission through his political schemes and speeches.
While creator Erik Kripke compared his influence on the masses to Donald Trump, Starr mentioned that he wanted Homelander to be a three-dimensional villain. He said,
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 extent of his torture and its effects on him is revealed in this season’s fourth episode, which sees Homelander return to the lab in which he was raised, and a lot of gore.
The Boys is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
