Jensen Ackles on 'The Boys' Season 5: Working With Antony Starr Was 'a Roller Coaster Ride'
Prime Video's The Boys returns for its fifth and final season on April 8, and if the last four seasons are any indication, Homelander is about to get worse ... before he gets, well, worse. Nohing should surprise viewers now, and yet, the show continues to find the twists, turns, and shattered ceilings to do so.
With the end of one of television's most talked-about shows just days away, Men's Journal sat down exclusively with Antony Starr and Jensen Ackles to talk about what it actually takes to sustain performances like those of Homelander and Soldier Boy.
The most revealing answer of the conversation came when we asked Starr about a character he played a decade ago.
MJ: Lucas Hood in Banshee had this raw physical intensity. Homelander is terrifying in the exact opposite way — calm until he suddenly isn't. Was that restraint something you consciously built into the character?
AS: Everything with the character at some level has been thought out, it has been conscious. And then it all becomes very unconscious. I try and do everything before I get to set so that we can just go wherever the bouncing ball goes. So yes, it was a conscious choice at some level, but not conscious in the moment.
Jensen Ackles has had a front row seat to what that process produces, and it hasn't always been a comfortable place to sit.
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JA: Working with Ant is such a unique pleasure in that it's like an acting class. He's so prepared, but at the same time he has so many amazing ideas, and there's not really two takes that are the same. You really have to pay attention when you're in a scene with him, because he's going to try things, he's going to change things. I was just hanging on to a roller coaster ride, having the time of my life.
There was one scene in Season 5 — a dialogue-heavy exchange involving the full cast — that pushed that experience to its limit. Ackles shot his coverage first, felt good about it, and then watched the camera turn around.
JA: He just turned it up to a 12. I became an audience member watching this man put out a fantastic performance. And then I started thinking — what's my line? I have a line coming up. Does what I said on my coverage even match that? I love working with this guy. He keeps me on my toes and I learned a lot.
Where Does Homelander's Story Go From Here?
As the show heads into its final season, the natural question is whether the character could survive beyond it. Starr's answer doubles as a philosophy.
MJ: Would a Homelander spinoff work?
AS: I don't think it works. It's like if you get too much Jaws — it's just a fish movie, it's not scary anymore. The limited availability of quote-unquote bad guys gives them a bit more spice when they are on screen.
For Ackles, what comes next is a little more tangible. He points to Vought Rising — the upcoming prequel series for The Boys, which he is starring in. "It sounds like it's going to be freaking awesome," Starr says, mentioning that even though his time with Homelander is closing out, he'll continue tuning in to watch the remaining stories unfold. And so will we.
The Boys Season 5 premieres April 8 on Prime Video.