Antony Starr, Chace Crawford weigh in on superheroes behaving badly

The Boys (from left): Karen Fukuhara, Tomer Capone, Laz Alonso, Erin Moriarty and Jack Quaid —PHOTOS BY JASPER SAVAGE/ PRIME VIDEO

Since its pilot season in 2019, Prime Video’s fan favorite series “The Boys” has been winning universal acclaim for refusing to take the path of least resistance.

After all, in an entertainment landscape that often puts its larger-than-life superheroes on a pedestal, this violent and darkly comedic show—which launches its fourth season on Thursday (June 13)—has easily managed to turn the genre on its head.

In this alternate reality, developed by showrunner Eric Kripke from Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s comic book series, a team of vigilantes called The Boys, headed by former special forces operative Billy Butcher (Karl Urban), is out to hold the world’s mightiest superheroes, collectively known as The Seven and headed by the invincible Homelander (Antony Starr), accountable for their abusive, megalomaniacal behavior and penchant for self-entitlement.

Susan Heyward as Sister Sage (left) and Valorie Curry as Firecracker

Season 4, in a nutshell, sees the world on the brink of chaos, much like what we see in the news these days. Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) is closer than ever to the Oval Office and under the muscly thumb of Homelander, who is consolidating his power.

Butcher, with only six months to live, has lost Becca’s son, Ryan (Cameron Crovetti), as well as his job as The Boys’ leader. With stakes that are higher than ever, they have to find a way to work together and save the world before it’s too late.

Now more than ever, The Boys intend to stop the corrupt superheroes and expose the truth about Vought, the multibillion-dollar conglomerate that manages the superheroes and covers up their dirty secrets.

Of course there has been a busy list of character arrivals and “departures” since Season 1 began, but for the most part, The Boys are made up of Butcher, Hughie Campbell (Jack Quaid), Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso), Kimiko Miyashiro (Karen Fukuhara) and Frenchie (Tomer Capone).

Jack Quaid (left) and Erin Moriarty

On the other side of the moral divide are the so-called Supes who have been keeping Homelander company at Vought International, namely Starlight (Erin Moriarty), Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott), A-Train (Jessie T. Usher), Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell) and the dreamy but freaky The Deep (Chace Crawford).

Amid the characters’ shifting allegiances, the OG superhero Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) was introduced in Season 3 not only to ruffle feathers, but also to put a chink in Homelander’s armor.

Meanwhile, done with playing dirty, Starlight a.k.a. Annie January quits The Seven and teams up with The Boys to fight Soldier Boy. We’ll also be seeing Sister Sage (Susan Heyward) and Firecracker (Valorie Curry) in action this season.

Antony Starr as Highlander (left) and Cameron Crovetti as Ryan in the fourth season of “The Boys”

Raves

The series has consistently been winning raves from critics—with 85 percent, 97 percent and 98 percent approval ratings on Rotten Tomatoes for its previous seasons, respectively. And, based on the screeners we’ve seen so far, Season 4 is just as shocking, disturbing and edge-of-your-seat compelling.

When Inquirer Entertainment spoke to Antony and Chace for this exclusive two-on-one interview last week, we asked the dashing duo to which they could attribute “The Boys’” consistent and continued success.

Antony, clad in a short-sleeved white polo shirt and looking handsome but almost unrecognizable with a beard, said that their Prime Video show has been giving the audience something different and distinct.

“When Season 1 came out [in 2019], it was right in the middle of [all those superhero films],” the 48-year-old Australian Film Institute Award winner noted. “There were the DC movies, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe was really blowing up at that point with ‘The Avengers’ and its superstar lineup.

Nathan Mitchell as Black Noir (left) and Chace Crawford as The Deep

‘Complete reversal’

“It was just a time when viewers were flooded—and the industry saturated—with superhero content. But we provided something unique, like it was a complete reversal in a way, which upended the tropes and that whole universe, and people really enjoyed that. They were hungry to see something a little different, and I think that has just continued till now.” Turning to Chace for his own take on the issue, Antony added with a chuckle, “Yes, he agrees.”

While Antony and Chace’s characters sometimes find themselves in tense do-or-die situations on-screen, with Homelander often bullying The Deep into doing his self-esteem-crushing bidding, the actors told us that they actually adore one another.

When we asked them what they like about their nasty characters and each other, Chace looked at us and said, “About The Deep and Homelander…?”

We answered, “Yes, because they’re not necessarily role models, and you can’t dislike your own character, right?”

Chace, wearing an olive green sweater that beautifully complemented his striking blue eyes, exclaimed, “I love them (laughs)! I think they deserve their own show or spinoff.”

With a winking grin, Antony turned to us and said, “Let me ask you this: What do you like about Barack Obama and Joe Biden during their presidency?”

Beside him, Chace’s eyes widened and began laughing out loud.

Antony continued, “…Because that’s how I look at us. That’s how I look at Homelander and The Deep.”

Erin Moriarty as Starlight aka Annie January

Cutting in, Chace said, “Me being the President…?”

Antony answered, “Him (points to Chace) being Obama (laughs)!”

Turning serious, Chace then said, “OK, this has gone way off the rails (laughs). I mean, listen, I’m biased…I personally love working with Antony. He obviously brings a ton to his character, so it’s the moments that we find ourselves working with each other on set that I truly enjoy. I get most excited when I’m working with Antony.”

“I calm him down a lot, like now,” Antony said, laughing.

Referencing his character’s obsequious behavior toward Homelander, Chace explained, “I mean, The Deep is driven by his sycophancy for Homelander. He’s always trying to please him, always trying to show you why he’s good enough and why he deserves to stay in The Seven and be its No. 2 guy.

“Unfortunately, that sort of informs all of his decision-making, so he does what Homelander commands him to do. With that being said, I do love seeing them in their scenes together. It’s great watching them.”

Antony agreed, “Me, too. I mean, it’s actually one of my favorite relationships in the show. Of course, every character forges a different relationship with everyone else, right? But, this is my favorite relationship… I love working on it in the show because the dynamic between us is just so absurd!”

Chace said, “That’s true.”

Antony continued, “And anything can happen [between these two] literally. So, it’s really enjoyable to see that unfold.”

Since the show has been around for three seasons going on four now, we asked them what they thought will set Season 4 apart from the previous three.

“That’s a great question,” Chace quipped.

Weighing in Antony said, “Structurally, Season 4 is different from the other seasons because in Season 3, we had Annie or Starlight leaving The Seven, so that mixes things up a lot…”

“And that changes so much of the dynamics among the characters,” Chace asserted.

Antony further pointed out, “Yeah, that really separates things a lot and puts both camps in very interesting positions. As a result of that, we got the chance to explore and go much deeper in finding out what goes on in Homelander’s mind—or at least down his little rabbit hole.

“This time around, I get to take both red and blue pills and see how far that rabbit hole goes. And it’s just been a lot of fun exploring that.”