The Boys actor Antony Starr has rejected claims that his character in the show, Homelander, is a satirical take on Donald Trump, calling the comparisons “low-hanging fruit”.
The Amazon Prime show, which has become one of the most successful series the studio has ever produced, is a parody of the superhero genre, painting the so-called “supes” as often repulsive and immoral characters.
A large portion of the show revolves around the villainous Homelander, a pastiche of Superman, who has a rabid fanbase, that supports his every move, no matter how despicable. Homelander also happens to sport a haircut which isn’t dissimilar to Donald Trump’s.
However, Starr doesn’t quite agree with the comparisons, calling them “strange”.
“Of course, people could make the comparison, and they did. So it was quite strange getting dragged into a conversation I didn’t necessarily sign on to be a part of”, Starr told Entertainment Weekly.
“I didn’t want the character to be a moustache-twirling villain. It had to be a real person built from the ground up. The other thing is, I really don’t like using the word ‘psychopath.’ I think it’s such a reductive term,” he added.
The Boys’ showrunner Eric Kripke did acknowledge the comparisons, admitting that they made him “nervous”.
He said: “We’re making this fun-house mirror of what’s going on in culture as much as any show since Veep or The West Wing. It makes me nervous to be in similar company, but we are!”
“People hate the character, love to hate the character, and then there’s this weird thing where they empathise with the character,” Starr adds.
“It’s really interesting meeting fans, which I do quite a lot. They do really feel like, ‘What the f---? What’s wrong with me? I love Homelander, but he’s so bad.’ I take that as a signal that we’re going in the right direction, that it’s a bit more challenging for people than just spoon-feeding them.”
In June, Kripke announced that the show would come to an end after five seasons, writing on X that he was “thrilled to bring the story to a gory, epic, moist climax.”
All four seasons of The Boys are out now on Prime Video.
