“Leave me alone”: Antony Starr Never Wanted The Boys Role, Sabotaged His Own Audition “Out of Spite”
Antony Starr’s portrayal of the vile and wicked Homelander in Amazon Prime Video’s The Boys has been loved by viewers and critics alike. Playing an anti-hero and making the character likable is no easy feat. Starr has had no problem doing this with Homelander.
Starr plays his character with great skill and convention. This is why it may surprise many that he never wanted the role in the first place. He went as far as sabotaging his audition to avoid getting the part. The reason behind this is certainly interesting.
Antony Starr Was Not Keen on Auditioning for The Boys
When the live-action adaptation of Garth Ennis’s sick and twisted tale of a group of criminal superheroes was in the works, Amazon reached out to New Zealand actor Antony Starr to play a prominent role in the series. It is strange to imagine anyone but Starr playing the fan favorite, Homelander. But this is how Starr had wanted things to be.
In an interview with Metro, the actor revealed that when he was offered the opportunity to audition for the role of Homelander, he did not want to do it. The reason for that, he clarified, was because he was overworked at the time. He said:
“My reps sent me the script through 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.’”
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Moreover, the actor stated that he didn’t think “the superhero thing” was for him. He recalled saying: “I saw it was a superhero thing and I thought they were not going to pick me anyway, I’m not made for that.”
Starr already had too much on his plate and did not want to make things too overwhelming for himself. He did not want the character so badly that even when he was coaxed into auditioning for the role, he tried sabotaging the audition.
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Antony Starr Sabotaged His Audition Out of Spite
Despite not wanting to play the role, Starr ended up on a much higher level on the ladder of fame because of The Boys. Unbeknownst to the wonders fate holds for him, Starr was adamant about not even auditioning for the role. But his team was not relenting and made him shoot a video for his audition. He did not get through the script properly and did not perform his best on it on purpose. As he told Metro:
“They 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.”
However, Starr confesses that he was not prepared for the response that he got.
“Then it got to Eric and [my reps] said, ‘They loved it!’ which was surprising. Then I thought I’d better actually read it. I read it and realized this is actually really good and worth putting some energy into. I got the behind-the-scenes guys to record my screen test in a basement that looks like the Blair Witch would get you. Before I knew it I was donning spandex.”
Clearly, that was one life-changing read for Starr considering the amount of attention he has received over the years for his remarkable work in The Boys.
The Boys season 4 will be released on Prime Video in 2024.
