Rise to Fame
Before The Boys, Antony Starr was a household name in New Zealand and essentially unknown everywhere else. His dual role as twins in Outrageous Fortune (2005-2010) won him three Best Actor trophies at the NZ TV awards and kept him busy for six seasons. Then Banshee on Cinemax gave him his first American role, playing an ex-con impersonating a small-town sheriff, and built a cult following. He almost passed on the Homelander audition because he didn't think he looked like a superhero. Turned out that wasn't the job.
In the Spotlight
Variety ranked his Homelander among the 100 greatest TV performances of the 21st century. He won Critics' Choice awards in 2023 for both best superhero actor and best villain. The final season of The Boys wrapped filming in August 2025 and premieres April 8, 2026, which means he's been carrying the most unhinged villain on prestige TV for the better part of a decade. In March 2022, he got arrested in Spain for drunkenly assaulting a chef, received a 12-month suspended sentence, and paid more than £4,000 in compensation. He plays a man who believes the rules don't apply to him. That assessment wasn't entirely fictional.
Side Notes
The dual role in Outrageous Fortune is the technical footnote most people skip: six seasons as opposite-personality twins trained him in character differentiation that most TV actors never develop. He's been running variations on the same formula ever since. Lucas Hood was an ex-con impersonating a sheriff. Homelander is a fascist inside a superhero costume. His next role after The Boys is a mysterious surf-commune leader in Netflix's Breakers. Different genre, same trick.