In the Hit Amazon series “The Boys”, Antony Starr portrays Homelander, the leader of the top group of heroes known as the Seven.
Homelander is essentially the psychopath’s version of Superman or Captain America, a man that allows a plane full of innocent people to crash to their deaths without batting an eye.
Starr revealed in an interview with Metro Uk that he originally wasn’t super interested in the part. He thought that they’d never cast him, thinking that someone like Henry Cavill would be more likely to land the superhero role, revealing that that mentality almost cost him the role of a lifetime.
“My reps sent me the script and said this is one we should look at, I was busy, I was working pretty much every hour under god sent and they called me a week later and said, ‘Have you read it?’ I was like, ‘No, leave me alone I’m busy.’ So I didn’t look at it for a week and a half and then I saw it was a superhero thing and I thought they’re not going to pick me anyway, I’m not made for that. Henry Cavill’s 12 feet tall, built like a 12-foot brick s*** house and he’s wonderful, handsome, and charming-I’m not going to get that.
Then [my reps] were hassling so I sat in my dressing room, picked a spot on my iPad, and filmed this audition almost out of spite for my reps. Then it got to Eric [Kripke] and [my reps] said, ‘They loved it!’ Then I thought I’d better actually read [the script.] I read it and realized this is actually really good and worth putting some time and energy into.”
With Starr set to portray Homelander again during The Boys’ fourth season, it is hard to imagine how different the show would have been with someone else in the role.
