Sometimes, a single answer says everything, and Antony Starr just delivered one of those moments when breaking down his character in ‘The Boys‘.
Starr did not choose something obvious and flashy when questioned about Homelander’s favorite movie. Rather, he selected ‘Taxi Driver’, and in the process, he perhaps encapsulated the whole psyche of the Supe in a single chilling analogy.
The Homelander-Travis Bickle Connection Is Too Close To The Truth
Starr referred to the attitude of Travis Bickle, a man who considers himself a victim of the world, even though his actions are very dangerous. According to Starr, Homelander operates the same way. He is not the villain in his own mind. To him, he is the one who has been wronged, misunderstood, and pushed too far.
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“Taxi Driver, because I think Willender is the perpetual victim. He thinks he’s, you know, the most hard-done-by man in the world, and so did Travis Bickle,” he told JustWatch. And that is what makes the comparison strike so hard. Homelander is not only strong, he is emotionally distorted. Similar to Bickle, he constructs a story in which he is the victim, despite his own extreme actions.
That lack of connection between self-image and reality is what makes him so disturbing to watch. Starr’s answer does not simply sound clever. It feels right. The type of insight that makes you remember how well an actor can know his or her character.
‘The Boys’ Star Karl Urban Delivers a Classic Butcher-Style Answer
In the meantime, Karl Urban followed a totally different path when discussing Billy Butcher. His pick? ‘Spice World’. Yes, really. Urban jokingly went a step further to suggest that Butcher would be a secret Spice Girls fan, even mentioning Jensen Ackles in the process. “It’s something with Jensen Ackles in it. Yeah, what is that movie, by the way? Spice World. Sure, 100% Spice World, because Butch loves the Spice Girls,” he joked.
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It is a comic contrast to the extreme psychological breakdown by Starr. Yet, it suits Butcher in a strange, unaccountable manner. Butcher has always been a multi-layered person because, despite all the grit, anger, and vengeance, there has always been a layer beneath. It is the humor, the contradictions, that make him human.
These responses combine to make ‘The Boys’ a successful show. One of the characters is a very disturbed man who believes that he is the hero. The other is a violent antihero who may possess a soft spot somewhere deep within. And somehow, it is that combination of darkness and absurdity that keeps fans hooked.
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