The Kiwi transplant made a sadistic, narcissistic sociopath one of the most interesting villains on TV in 2019.
Now, he goes deeper.
Antony Starr has his own form of laser vision.
James Minchin/Amazon Studios
It’s like a viper’s penetrating stare, both beguiling and precise.
Then the cameras cut and it’s like this subtle terror attack never happened.
His birthday was just three days prior in October.
James Minchin/Amazon Studios
“I’ve never had a birthday on set.
Never had it,” he says.
“They filled my trailer with balloons.
There was no cake, which was probably good for my waistline, anyway.”
Starr is used to this headspace of oscillating between extremes.
He revels in it.
Now, asThe Boysreturns for season 2 this Friday, Starr goes much deeper into the dark depths.
“I can take bigger risks and I’m not the vehicle for the audience.
I don’t have that responsibility on my shoulders, so I can play a lot more.”
His audition had been like “putting on a blindfold,” he remembers.
So, Starr ad-libbed a few lines that made it to the final cut.
Yes, Homelander is definitely a psychopath with no regard for human life.
I’m trying to avoid that."
Season 2 is about “destabilization,” he notes.
Homelander is dealing with the consequences of his actions towards the end of season 1.
“The emotional consequences for him are really tough,” Starr explains.
“It’s really tough not having his wing-woman.
It was always tempestuous, but it was also a massive security, even in the discomfort.
He means breast milk.
That, Starr says, was him taking his first big risk: “I’d never acted before.
Or another TV gig where he says the online grid was not supportive of the show.
He wouldn’t say which, of course.
“Banshee, on the other hand, is something that still sticks with him.
Looking back, he finds a lot of similarities toThe Boys.
“There was a truck of cows that got blown up!
It’s in a lot of things that have a pulpy feel to it.”
It doesn’t go well.
When Starr first read that part in the scripts, he thought they were “going too far.”
Now, having actually filmed it, it’s one of his favorite moments from working on the show.
“The story is still being driven by the character’s needs.
The Boys are trying to get away and The Deep is trying to get back into the Seven.
“The only words that Eric said to me about season 3 were ‘homicidal maniac.’
But it’s hard for anyone to know when they could actually start filming.
The season 3 news, however, arrived in the midst of a global pandemic.
The industry at large is trying to return to business as usual, yet it’s anything but.
“I don’t want to go on a film set that isn’t safe,” Starr admits.
“No one does, obviously.
I don’t think anyone would say anything different, to be honest.
I think it’s about waiting for the right window to come up.
“But, for me anyway, the most important ingredient is fun.
That is putting it mildly.
