TV Interview!

Interview with Eric Kripke, Karl Urban, Chace Crawford, Claudia Doumit, Antony Starr and Erin Moriarty of “The Boys” on Prime Video by Suzanne 6/1/22

This is one of my favorite shows, even though it’s exceedingly violent and gory. I just love the characters, the story and the humor. I was very happy to be included in this year’s press day for the show. They didn’t allow us to record the video, unfortunately. Also, I was not able to ask Starr and Moriarity a question because the other journalists asked questions that were way too long. We were told to only ask one question, with no followup, but they didn’t follow the rules. We’re very limited in time. It’s such a shame, but I’ve included their questions here, at least. I heard that many journalists were asking some very bawdy questions about certain sex scenes in the show! It was pretty funny…You will understand more when you see the whole Season 3!

Showrunner Eric Kripke and star Karl Urban (Billy)

Suzanne: Oh, hi. Eric, one thing I’ve noticed with a lot of action shows is that it seems that they have to keep upping the ante every season on action and violence to keep the fans happy. Is this a pressure that you feel, or do you put pressure on yourself instead?

Eric: I actually don’t… we never tried to play the game of topping ourselves because I think it never leads to a really creatively, rich or fertile direction because you’re only thinking about steps and not about the characters. So what I always say in the [writers’] room is [that] the mandate is, “Don’t try to go bigger, try to go deeper.” And, “What’s a new aspect of all of these characters that we haven’t seen yet?” That every season has to get you even closer to the core of who they are. And that’s really challenging because you got to come up with new– you got to keep finding stuff that’s even deeper than the thing you did the season before. But if you… once you find that, then you say, okay, what’s the best way to dramatize that in this insane world that the show takes place in, and then that just kind of inevitably leads to these bananas moments. I really, swear to God, I don’t try to have it be bigger. I think the deeper you go into these characters and the more, you know, extreme their emotions are… just when you dramatize them, it just results in these, like, bat shit moments.

Suzanne: Like giving Karl’s character super powers?

Eric: Right. For example.

Karl: The explosive opening sequence was really born out of one of the worst allergy attacks, uh, you’ve ever had, right? [Laughs]

Eric: Right.

Suzanne: Well, thank you very much.

Karl: Thank you.

Henry: Thank you both for your time today. Amazing season. I love the show. I just want to start off by asking Eric, how long have you been waiting for Jensen Ackles to be available after you worked with him on “Supernatural?” It feels like this has been a placeholder character for him because of how you’ve worked with him in the past and how you know he’s going to do. And to Karl, we talked about going deeper and not bigger. What was it like to go find that the deeper you go into Billy Butcher, you sort of see a character that is getting… we started getting more comparisons to Homelander and how much of a threat and danger he is to those around him? And what have you felt about exposing that character in that way.

Karl: Okay. That was a great question. Um, yeah, I mean, in terms of elements about Homeland and Butcher, which have a similarity about them… in my opinion, the biggest similarity between them is the fact that they are both driven to destroy each other, and they are… neither of them are happy with the status quo. Uh, and on that issue alone, I think there is common ground, but fundamentally they’re quite different characters. And, uh, you know, think that, yes, Butcher has done some highly questionable things, and obviously Homelander has, too, but to my mind…I don’t even see that there are opposite sides of the same coin. I think they really both have so many different, wonderful shades with them, and then some of them overlap.

Eric: To answer your Jennson question. Uh, how long have I been waiting? About 15 years. Look, obviously, I love Jensen, and I’m not sure if you’ve heard or not, but I worked with him for a minute. So, when you do that many seasons of a TV show, you put them through every possible emotional permutation, you know, and one of the things I love about Jensen is how adept he is at every single thing you throw at him. He can be emotional, he can be scary, he can be funny, he can be charming, he can be sweet. Because of that, it allowed me to put all of those colors into Soldier Boy. Because [with] Soldier Boy, we needed him to be all of those things. And so it’s fun. It always takes you a minute as the writers and the actors are kind of feeling each other out to really start writing, like, “Oh, okay.” It starts to meld into one beautiful thing. I think that’s what we’re doing with all “The Boys” characters right now. So it was nice to have a new character show up, and for me to immediately be able to do that instead of having to go through that same process of discovery.

Monica: I’m going to just go right in. So, Karl, Butcher hates supes, obviously, but you’re slowly, you know, taking the temp V. So is he becoming something that he’s ultimately going to end up hating, or is he even aware of it as the season goes on? And then for Eric… music has been a huge part of the show. This will all come out later, but the musical episode was fantastic, so I wanted to ask about the constant use of Billy Joel. And if you have other musical things that you plan on doing, maybe a musical episode? And then, will Soldier Boy be back for next season?

Karl: Wow. A lot going on there.

Eric: Yeah.

Monica: I threw it all out! (Laughs)

Karl: Yeah, So, the moral dilemma for Butcher this season is, “Are you willing to turn yourself into the monster in order to defeat the monster?” And in Butcher’s case, the frustration that he feels has become so palpable, the danger that he senses in terms of Homelander getting closer to discovering the location of Ryan, and his general frustration with the lack of traction that he’s getting in taking down The Seven in conventional ways means that he decides to take that step and the wonderful thing about the way that it’s written is that Butcher is actually quite self-aware along the way. And he has, you know, a wonderful conversation with M.M., where he is, you know, pretty candid about that. He’s under no illusions as to exactly who he is. And then, he also has a great conversation with somebody else where he discusses the nature of power and what it does to people. So I think that it’s very cleverly written, and Butcher is a hundred percent aware that he’s making a very morally bankrupt choice. But he decides to do it anyway. And in true, “Boys” fashion, when you make the right choice, you get rewarded. And when you make the wrong choice, you get punished. And you know, every character in the show this season is really kind of faced with a precipice, and they have to decide whether they’re going to leap or not.

Eric: Yeah, just to.. (and then I’ll talk about the music thing) One thing that’s interesting that Karl touched on that we all talk about is: for as crazy and cynical as “The Boys” is, we take a lot of care to make sure it takes place in a moral universe. And you can tell who will win or lose this season based on the decisions they’re making. And is it a morally solid decision, or is it a morally bankrupt decision? And you can go through almost every season, for sure, and when they make the wrong choice, they tend to lose the season. And when they make the right choice, they tend to win it.

Eric: Um, in terms of the music…

Karl: And we’ll say, that is why Butcher has never won a season

(Both laugh)

Eric: It’s hard for Butcher to win a season.

Karl: Yeah, yeah. In terms of the music…

Eric: He’ll win at the end. Um, you know, in terms of like where the Billy Joel came from… where it really came from was [this: in] season one, we really scored all the needle drops from Butcher’s point of view. So it was all, like, a lot of punk rock. And then [in] season two, we thought, just to mix it up, we would score all the needle drops from Huey’s point of view…and Huey really loves yacht rock; that’s his thing. So Billy Joel was kind of a perfect, uh, indicator. And then each Billy Joel song really represents the emotions that he was going through that season. So it became this bizarre rock opera of Huey steps that we really loved. And in terms of the musical number this season… I’m just a huge fan of Hollywood musicals. Like, I love them, like, they’re so brilliantly done, and I’ve just been hungry to get a number in. I don’t think we’ll be able to do a whole musical episode because “The Boys” is just not that stylized of a show. It takes pains to take place in our version of reality; but to be able to like, just have a completely candy-colored, innocent sweetness in the middle of our, you know, bloody little milkshake was just a treat. And you can’t watch that sequence without a big smile on your face.

Karl: Entire musical episodes usually happen in season eight or nine when the writers are completely dried up of ideas.

Eric: We hope to be long gone [by then]. That’s a wrap around when Butcher moves to Hawaii and adopts a precocious child, and we’re going to get out before that.

Sophia: Karl, Eric, it’s such a pleasure to speak with both of you. Thank you for taking the time. So I just want to ask both of you the same question, just phrased differently. Eric, obviously we have a season four, which I’m so excited for, but do you have any sort of end in mind? Not that I want it to end any time soon, but do you have anything for it? And then Carl, is there anything you’d like to do with your character before the show comes to an end?

Eric: Yes. We’re thinking about it all building towards a thing, but also, I was in many interviews saying that “Supernatural” wraps out in five years. Um, So, there’s literally no other person in television history, more wrong about the length of their show…

Karl: (Laughs)

Eric: Literally, like this isn’t even hyperbole, like… I’m the most wrong that anyone’s ever been about how long a show goes. So I have learned my lesson and I do not publicly say how long I think the show should go. We’ll see how it.

Karl: I, too, have learned my lesson never to articulate any desires about what my character should or shouldn’t do in a show.

Eric: (Laughs)

Karl: Because as soon as an actor articulates it, it will never happen.

Eric: Or it’ll happen in such a horrible way…

Karl: Exactly.

Eric: He’ll regret having ever brought up.

Karl: Even furthermore, ma’am, I will not tell Krip what I do not want to do because that is a hundred percent guaranteed to make it into the show.

Eric: Can I tell you something? Someone said to me, during one of these interviews today, “You know, I was just interviewing Erin, and she really pointed out she hasn’t been covered in blood yet.”

Karl: (Laughs)

Eric: And I was like, that was a mistake. Yeah.

(Both laugh)

Karl: Laz* made the same mistake.

Eric: Yeah, he really did.

[*Laz Alonso, who plays M.M.]

As we said our goodbyes, I not only thanked them for the interview but for including one of my favorite actors because he has a great small part this season. I can’t say who that is, sorry!

Chace Crawford (Kevin AKA The Deep) and Claudia Doumit (Victoria Neuman)

Moderator: Hello, everyone. Just a friendly reminder to keep your mics muted, unless you’re asking a question. And Suzanne, you can take the next one.

Suzanne: Hi! You both… your characters are not what we would really call “good people,” but you also, well… Chase, you have a lot of– you’re, sort of the comic relief a lot of times, but, um, you both make us feel sympathy for your character at times. And how do you go about that, and is it difficult?

Claudia: I mean, I think it’s really easy to say the word “villains” in places like, bad or good. And I think these characters… I’m just always wary of saying that because–

Chase: Right. Life isn’t like that. The world’s not like that.

Claudia: No, and these are people and they’re going through many different things. Um, what a vague answer, Claudia that you’re giving right now…

Suzanne: [Laughs]

Chace: [Laughs]

Claudia: I’m going to possibly, uh…

Chace: I’ll say it like it is, I mean, the characters don’t judge themselves. Right? So you have to see it from their point of view. But for the show in the writing, I feel like it’s in there. Like they allow us to do these really, uh, interesting, weird things… To me, for me it would be like… one of the things that season one, at the end, we sort of– Eric calls it the Britney moment where he like is drunk and breaks down and shaves his head. It is such a weird thing, but you see, and as an audience– he’s by himself, you see this like kind of breakdown moments…just really interesting ’cause that’s kind of how he really, really is. And he’s sort of sheds that veneer, but he’s also, you know, just very deeply, it’s.. (I keep doing it) DEEPly insecure–

Claudia: DEEPly!

Chace: And he needs to be validated. So, yeah. So, can you be both of those things? Can you be an asshole and assault someone like he did in one episode and also try to save a dolphin, and have, like, a weird romantic relationship. It’s like so bizarre. And like, they deal with the tonal shifts so well, but I don’t really think, you know, it’s all gray. It’s not really…

Claudia: And they really dive into the gray on this show, and I think that’s important because human beings. Aren’t just like that… they’re three dimensional characters, and it’s a character-driven show. Like, sure, there’s explosions, and giant dicks, Herogasm and everything. But, it’s also, these characters are so rich…the writer’s room are fantastic at really making sure that that is the case. And I think that’s what makes it so entertaining to watch, too.

Chace: Right.

Claudia: Yeah.

Chace: And people can, yeah. They sort of… I want to say they can relate to that. No, I mean, but like it does give it a more well-rounded human dynamic of just, like the normal superhero arc of like, do this. And they’re only showing one side, but, uh, it’s fun to play.

Claudia: Because that’s what people, also, human beings are like. They are just intricately rich. And I think we as humans live in that gray area, more so than just, like, black and white.

Chace: Right.

Claudia: Yeah.

Suzanne: Thank you!

I’ve deleted the rest of this and left out the audio due to spoilers. It will be put up later.

Antony Starr (Homelander) and Erin Moriarty (Annie AKA Starlight)

Here’s the transcript; I’m still editing it

Hi, welcome everyone. Thanks for Jane. Um, just reminders. You please keep yourself muted when it’s not your turn to ask a question, I’m going to quickly slate that this is for round table number four and Sophia, you can go ahead and start us off. Thanks. Hi Anthony. Aaron. Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today.

Uh, so you have soda with the nerds of color. Huge congrats on the new season. Thank you course. So first off I wanted to ask, you know, Homeland are definitely focuses on the far, right? And Starlight is more of the liberal front that they’re supposed to show this United front together. What can you tell me about the narrative that this story is trying to tell and basically make a parody over?

I mean, mine’s not difficult to figure out as Caroline, you know, isn’t, there’s always been an element. Uh, that guy in Homeland and Nevermore. So, I mean, never more so than a season three. I mean, we, we literally, we’re literally taking things that he’s said and, and seeing, you know, what would happen if I killed someone, you know, what would happen?

And, uh, it’s a. It’s a lot of fun and there’s a boardroom scene as well, like directly relates to a sick circle that we saw on the telly and that.

Oh, the one hand, I think it’s, I think it’s great that we can sort of parody it and, uh, lovingly poke fun at it. Uh, on the other hand, I think it’s tragic that. There’s so much material available at the moment to satirize and, um, and choose for, you know, we’re spoiled for choice, uh, at the moment. So as far as, especially as far as my side is concerned.

Yeah, yeah, no, I agree. And I think Starlight comes in and tries to shake things up because things are so corrupt in so many of the aspects of thought are so antiquated and. Sexist. And even the feminist press junket they had in the last season was so exhibitive and obligatory. So I think she tries to shake things up.

And I think the issue is, you know, again, another parallel which, um, draws from the real world is an antiquated system. How much can you change? Things get really locked into place and it’s so difficult and she tries her best, but. I, I think it reflects a lot of antiquated policies and things going on that we stopped that happened today and that we’ve not evolved.

Um, according to the times, so

Monica. Hi guys, how are you at my entertainment? And sounds onset podcasts check with you guys. Um, so you guys did a fantastic job this season. I’m going to ask them for the questions, but we’ll put it out later. Okay. So I want to ask for both of you the arcs. Yes. You guys are kind of on the opposite sides, but I don’t know if it was related and I’ll talk to Eric about it to the world in terms of.

Okay. I didn’t think that the boys could get any crazier and this is like next level crazy. So I wanted to know one, if. That that was influenced by like the world’s events to kind of heighten your characters up. And then second for, um, you know, Anthony for you. Um, a lot of your reassurance comes from yourself, like you’re your own character from Outlander.

So I wanted to know how you play off of that. And then Erin, you get a lot from your support team. So how you play off of that to get your strengths for each other. When you, sorry, go ahead. Well, I think I actually think in this season, I, I agree with you. I think this is, but this is something of an emancipation for Homeland or of like, you know, similarly the characters both find their voice in this season and realize that them speaking their truth will, will get them what they want in terms of fan base, uh, and the recognition and the attention that they want.

But homie’s always been basically a marketing. Packaged product. Uh, that’s always. Help sometimes literally by a mommy figure or someone supporting him or, you know, and he’s finally broken free of that. And it gets fed up and actually decides to take things on, on his own. And, um, you know, with that comes a lot more exposure.

So there’s no in cleaning up after or in front of him. And he makes a lot more mess for himself and he has to clean it up. He has to deal with it. So, uh, as to, as to. The show getting bigger and more expensive. I mean, you, I think it’s about on par, uh, I think right off the bat seeing, uh, Huey’s girlfriend explode in slow motion as a speeding bullet, man went through her.

Um, You know, I think that was a sign of things to come and I don’t think we’ve really done that much. I don’t think we deviated from that. Cause I just think it’s more of the same to me. Yeah. Yeah. And then, and then in terms of Starlights support team, sorry, will you ask that question again? Will you. Sure.

So like where does she, I would say where she gets her strength from and she has a support the report team. And are you talking about the Starlight kind of the Alliance that is building like, almost like a political team behind her, is that, and that’s where she seems to find her strength and where she, I mean, I think, I think.

I think she’s, she’s found her. I think the strength that she’s found has kind of been an intrinsic thing. I think it’s been intrinsically motivated through, um, what she’s been through and what she’s learned from, and the grit she’s developed. I think this support team, I think we might see more of, and I think it might be a source of.

Support and validation for her and help her in her effort to expose that. But I do think that that her, her growing strength, this season confidence, et cetera, her voice, um, and her ultimate decision to be honest is, is an intrinsically motivated evolution. That’s just been. Developed over the past couple of seasons and as a result of integrated lessons.

Thank you guys so much. Thank you.

Um, did you say my name? I, I almost heard it. I didn’t. Yes, Henry. Okay. Thank you. Sorry. Um, and to me, or lovely to chat with you today. Thank you for your time. Love the new season. Um, so my first question, uh, we’ll break it out like this. Um, so to Aaron, what was it? And to both of you, what was it like to be in the, the filming of the hero chasm episode, which was the most different?

It felt like out of any episode of the series, but also to Anthony. Um, it felt like home ender when he was shouting about how it’s safe to go outside and safe to go to the rallies. It almost like a surrogate for going outside, living your life during COVID. I was wondering when you’re filming a show, On set and it felt like the boy was one of the shows that was returning to the set.

What was it like for you both to have the sort of. Knowledge that you’re doing the safest things you possibly can. We, we, we assume and believe while you’re also having this character. Who’s like projecting like, oh, it’s safe outside. Don’t worry about, yeah. I mean, the irony wasn’t lost. Uh, we were in the longest lockdown in human history up in Toronto.

So, so it didn’t, it didn’t go unnoticed saying one thing, doing another in real life. But like, I mean, what if my guy is a. He’s never really doing the right thing is he he’s always doing the wrong thing. I never, I mean, according to himself, it’s always the right thing. There’s very few people or characters actually that do anything.

Um, because I think it’s the wrong thing is, you know, they, they they’re doing what they believe is the right thing. So it’s always fun to, to say. Do the stupid things that he says and does, um, as far as here, orgasm, I’m going to cough it over to my friend here because I didn’t have a lot to do with it.

And I can only say I’m very grateful not to have been there. Yeah. It was a lot of time spent in a space, in a house full of naked people, simulating various types of sex. Um, And in a house filled with sex toys and sex swings. And I learned a lot about different things and I saw a lot of things I can’t un-see, but I actually, I knew it was going to be insane.

So I just embraced it and laughed a lot and just kind of had a fun time. But on the fifth day I had filled my quota of naked bodies for the week. Um, and, um, I will not be joining nudist colonies, a nudist colony anytime soon, because that’s just, you know, it’s, it’s, it’s a little, it’s a lot of genitalia in five days.

It’s a lot of, you know, even there was even a butthole shot. So it just was all a lot. I saw a lot, I saw a lot, um, and it was hilarious, fun, excessive, uh, but it’s going to be a great idea.

Great. Thank you all so much for joining us. That’s all the time we have for this round table. Thank you. Thank you. That was biblical. On the fifth day, I reached my quota of naked a lie.

MORE INFO:

About

It’s been a year of calm. Homelander’s subdued. Butcher works for the government, supervised by Hughie of all people. But both men itch to turn this peace and quiet into blood and bone. So when The Boys learn of a mysterious Anti-Supe weapon, it sends them crashing into the Seven, starting a war, and chasing the legend of the first Superhero: Soldier Boy.

The Boys is a fun and irreverent take on what happens when superheroes—who are as popular as celebrities, as influential as politicians, and as revered as gods—abuse their superpowers rather than use them for good. Intent on stopping the corrupt superheroes, The Boys, a group of vigilantes, continue their heroic quest to expose the truth about The Seven and Vought—the multibillion-dollar conglomerate that manages the superheroes and covers up their dirty secrets. It’s the seemingly powerless against the super powerful.

Season Three of The Boys stars Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Dominique McElligott, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Tomer Capone, Karen Fukuhara, Nathan Mitchell, Colby Minifie, Claudia Doumit, and Jensen Ackles.

The Boys is based on The New York Times best-selling comic by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, who also serve as executive producers, and developed by executive producer and showrunner Eric Kripke. Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty, Phil Sgriccia, Craig Rosenberg, Ken F. Levin, Jason Netter, Paul Grellong, David Reed, Meredith Glynn, and Michaela Starr also serve as executive producers. The Boys is produced by Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television Studios, with Kripke Enterprises, Original Film, and Point Grey Pictures.

Proofread and Edited by Brenda

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