Antony Starr Deserves Award Recognition for His Work on ‘The Boys’
The funny thing about awards ceremonies is that the people who deserve to win hardly ever win. As is the case with this year’s Emmys. Similar to the Oscars, the Emmys aren’t really actually a great indicator of what is and isn’t good in the realm of television and movies.
One show that has gained a lot of popularity in recent years is Amazon’s The Boys. Based on the comic series by Garth Ennis, The Boys is a gory, gut-wrenching and often hilarious takedown of superheroes and corporate America. The show is littered with amazing performances but there’s one who stands above the: Antony Starr as Homelander.
Homelander is essentially just evil Superman but the character is so much more than that thanks to Starr’s performance. He’s able to play a charismatic superhero who is also an unhinged psychopath, and it’s completely believable. Starr wasn’t a household name before The Boys. I had no idea who he was. While’s he’s excellent in season one, he’s even better in season two. Not only does he sell the loud moments, but he also sells the quiet ones.
Despite giving a truly remarkable performance in every episode, the Emmys don’t appear to be impressed with him, which is indicative of this year’s nominations. An argument could be made that Starr is the lead in season two but he would most likely fall in the best supporting actor category. Here’s who got nominated this year:
Michael K. Williams, Lovecraft Country
Bradley Whitford, The Handmaid’s Tale
Max Minghella, The Handmaid’s Tale
O-T Fagbenle, The Handmaid’s Tale
John Lithgow, Perry Mason
Tobias Menzies, The Crown
Giancarlo Esposito, The Mandalorian
Chris Sullivan, This Is Us
Out of all these shows, I’ve only seen Esposito in The Mandalorian, who happens to also have a small role in The Boys. I can say with great confidence that Starr is infinitely better as Homelander than Esposito is as Moff Gideon. Don’t get me wrong, Esposito is a great actor but his performance in The Mandalorian is a little too hammy for my taste.
It’s been a couple of months since Starr got snubbed and fans weren’t happy.
Still thinking about Antony Starr’s missing Emmy nom… @TheBoysTV pic.twitter.com/K6Gx6RpcyH
— John M (@milljm9) August 2, 2021
to be honest, the emmy that antony starr didn't even get nominated for means nothing to me pic.twitter.com/JBlkiJxQcB
— almi (@batswyne) July 13, 2021
I didn’t like The Boys, and I don’t get why it has a nomination for Best Drama Series, but, seriously, Antony Starr did really deserve a nomination! #Emmys #TheBoys pic.twitter.com/bO4Lmcmze0
— Biagio (@BiagioLv) July 30, 2021
antony starr emmy snub….. pic.twitter.com/laYC8gY1Os
— mik (@CINENEUVE) July 13, 2021
At the end of the day, award wins don’t really mean much as anybody with a functioning brain knows that Starr is award-worthy as Homelander. It’s just odd that The Boys got nominated for best drama series but neither Starr nor Karl Urban got any love for their acting. This just illustrates further how far gone our awards systems are. Regardless, he has thoroughly impressed many people and could get his due in the future.
