The Boys

By starrymag | July 7, 2019

By: Ashlee Dell’Arciprete

 

 

Elisabeth Shue

 

Q: Please discuss your role in the series.

 

A: I take care of all the superheroes. I’m their agent. I do everything for them. Homelander [Antony Starr] is one of the very important superheroes in the show. He is the reason why I am so powerful because he was an up-and-coming superhero and I was an up-and-coming agent and I kind of rode his coattails to the top. What’s fun about my character is the two of us have a really interesting relationship all the way through the series. It’s really fun!

 

Q: What was it like working with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg?

 

A: They’re such good filmmakers and more importantly they’re great writers. They have a wonderful sense of humor, as we all know, and I think that the show benefited them and their sense of humor. It really has so many laughs in the midst of all the crazy action and some dark moments. The thing that keeps its fun is their sense of humor.

 

Q: Seth is also known for his dark humor. I imagine there is a lot of that in this series as well.

 

A: Yes, definitely. But it is PG-13 so there’s an innocence to it. Thirteen-year-olds will be fine!

 

Q: Films and television series about superheroes are at a rise right now especially with Marvel. Where do you see “The Boys” fitting into this space?

 

A: So much funnier! I think it’s more along the lines of Deadpool and I definitely see it growing a fanbase as well, for sure.

 

 

 

Jack Quaid

 

Q: Tell us a little bit about your character.

 

A: His name is Hughie Campbell. He is naïve, but good-natured, a little sheltered kid from Queens who works in an electronic store and his life gets thrust into these insane circumstances due to collateral damage from a superhero. And then he has to join this shadowy organization called The Boys, figure out a way to take them down. And it’s just been a completely wild ride and I’ve just been so lucky and I feel so lucky to inhabit this character and be in the show.

 

Q: What made the experience of working on this show unique?

 

A: Well, I’ve never really done anything with superheroes before and, obviously, I’ve always been a huge fan of superheroes. I remember growing up reading issues of various Marvel franchises. I remember I read Spider-Man, the original X-Men comics, all that stuff. It was really cool to get the role and then immediately start reading the comics, and researching, and trying to do my best by the comic book fans. That’s been such a cool part of acting, that I’m so lucky to have been able to do.

 

 Q: Did you have to work a lot with FX?

 

A: Yes. That was great. I’ve had a little experience with visual effects. One of my first movies was The Hunger Games. Basically, the visual effects with that was to make it look like I could throw a spear well at all. But with this, it was a lot more in depth. What I loved about the show was it really kept these amazing character moments, despite all the bombastic stuff, and all the visual trickery. But we kept these really great character moments, and it’s a character driven show. I think it’s going to surprise a lot of people, but in a really good way, while keeping all of the insane what-the-f**k moments.

 

 

 

Colby Minifie

 

Q: Please tell me about your character in the series.

 

A: Of course! So, I play Ashley who is the publicist, the PR person, for all of the superheroes. So, yeah, she’s like a badass. [laughs] She has a lot she has to deal with and I like her for that.

 

Q: What have been some of the most memorable moments so far? I imagine the action sequences are fun to film.

 

A: Well, I think for me the most memorable stuff all stemmed from the energy on set and the way that Eric Kripke, the showrunner, trusted us with his work. The energy on the set was always like, whatever idea that you have that you want to add into the show, let’s talk about it. There was freedom, there was trust, there was like excitement for what we as artists could bring to the table. And that to me was like the nucleus for all of the good work that happened and the best moments. So, yeah, I’ve never really felt so taken care of.

 

Q: This series is an adaptation from the comic books as we have seen from other superhero films and series in the past. However, do you think that “The Boys” is able to stand on its own in comparison?

 

A: I think it’s really able to stand on its own. I really haven’t seen anything like this and I haven’t been this excited about a superhero show like this, I mean it’s really, it’s really pretty cool. I really don’t know any other shows that have been like this.

 

Q: There’s also a lot of comedy in this as well. Was this type of role something new to you?

 

A: Oh yeah, oh yeah! It’s SO funny and so f**ked up!! [laughs]

 

Q: I’m sure being that this show was created by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg had a big factor in the comedy.

 

A: Oh yeah, for sure, definitely. For me, I was back and forth quite a lot between New York and Toronto where we filmed it. So, they were on set at the time that I wasn’t there, but yeah I’m sure working with them in the future will be really fun.

 

 

 

Nathan Mitchell

 

Q: What’s it like playing a superhero?

A: It’s a dream come true. I grew up loving superheroes. I remember when I would skip class in high school and go to the library and real DC comic superhero books like there was an encyclopedia of DC comics and me and my friends would sit bean bags and read them and think to be a superhero, man. You know, you look at DC and Marvel and those big shows and they have all these superstar actors and you think, “Oh, that would be nice to happen but it may not,” and then it does and you’re like oh okay.

 

Q: What was it like working with such a big and great cast?

A: It was such a beautiful experience. Everybody on this cast was great, not only the cast but the production, the crew and everybody operated like a family. It’s this big ensemble and everyone has each others’ back and it was a very supportive environment and everybody brings their A-game. It was a phenomenal group of people to work with and a phenomenal story to tell. So, I’m super happy and I love my character and I love this story.

 

 

 

 

“The Boys” held its World Premiere at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival and premieres on July 26, 2019 to Amazon Prime Video.

View the rest of our red carpet coverage from the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival here!