Emmy spotlight: Antony Starr (‘The Boys’) hits a home run as Homelander
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Released nearly a year ago, the third season of “The Boys” on Amazon Prime Video remains some of the best TV we’ve watched in the last 12 months. The anti-colorful comic book series follows Jack Quaid and Karl Urban as two operatives trying to take down superhero mega-company Vought International, who make up the superhero team known as the Seven. The Seven, in turn, are led by Antony Starr‘s Homelander.
Homelander is the antithesis of DC’s Superman or Marvel’s Captain America. He has all the power (and more) but none of their moral compass. He is an egomaniac who outrightly believes he is better than everyone else and he relishes the dark deeds and violence the show has become so known for. But New Zealander Starr, who previously headlined “American Gothic,” “Banshee,” and “Tricky Business,” transforms Homelander from what could have been a standard evil villain into one of the most magnetic and somewhat-tragic characters on TV. And critics agree.
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Matt Donato of IGN observed that this was Starr’s best turn yet as Homelander, writing: “Antony Starr continues his rampage towards what should be an Emmy nomination as Homelander charts egomaniacal highs when leading a Vought International takeover and split-personality lows when Mr. America berates himself in the mirror out of fear. We see Homelander afraid for the first time, and Starr’s glazed-over presence is immaculate.”
Emma Fraser of Daily Beast declared that she has long “long beaten the Emmy for Antony Starr drum.” She wrote: “Starr did his best work yet as narcissistic ‘hero’ Homelander. Let’s give the actor the accolades he deserves… Now that the Season 3 finale has aired, we can say pretty unequivocally that it is one of the best TV performances of the year. Now if only everyone else would recognize it and join the chorus.”
And Carrie Wittmer of Uproxx compared Starr’s performance to Bill Hader‘s in “Barry”: “Both give you enough to hate the guy, but enough to love watching them. It’s a perfect, Thanos-approved balance.” She noted: “Starr has developed the villain from a bad hero with an affinity for breast milk into a more tragic – but still terrifying – one. The character has evolved with Starr’s layered performance which is emotional but not forgiving. As Homelander’s weaknesses are exposed, including his lonely childhood and his desperate need for family and belonging, he becomes even more unhinged and violent.” She continued: “Antony Starr’s chilling but compelling performance implies there’s more to Homelander than we think, but at the same time he is exactly who we see. The performance is what holds the show together and is, weirdly, the show’s heart. Starr gives Homelander emotional depth but no excuses, either, and is so good that the show is impossible without him.”
As Homelander, Starr’s facial expressions are unparalleled — his face twitches and contorts with rage and power and there is a reason that so many stills of Homelander have been made into memes. His expressions tell entire stories within themselves. In particular, the closing scene of season three demonstrates Starr’s skill as an actor. After he kills a protesting civilian, Starr’s expression goes from anger to concern to doubt to surprise to bemusement to joy to righteous arrogance, all in the space of seconds. Starr can do so much with even the slightest of looks, much like Lena Headey did as Cersei in “Game of Thrones.”
PARA OF YOUR OPINION – REFERENCE SPECIFIC EPISODES/SCENES
If Starr was nominated for Best Drama Actor, it would be his first-ever Emmy nomination. He so deserves it but, currently, he is ranked outside of our predicted six nominees for Best Drama Actor: Paddy Considine (“House of the Dragon”), Jeff Bridges (“The Old Man”), Brian Cox (“Succession”), Pedro Pascal (“The Last of Us”), Jeremy Strong (“Succession”), and, in first place, Bob Odenkirk (“Better Call Saul”). However, there are also several other actors in this category who are ranked outside of our predicted six but are still placed ahead of Starr, including Diego Luna (“Andor”), Matthew Rhys (“Perry Mason”), and Harrison Ford (“1923”).
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