While we all love superhero movies and stories, The Boys is a refreshing take on the genre because it explores some of the issues with idolizing superheroes in an interesting way.
If you can’t get enough of the series, then you’ll love learning about what went into creating it.
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Here are 10+ behind-the-scenes secrets about The Boys that most fans don’t know.
1. The scene with the whale took a week to film.
In season two, there’s a scene where Karl Urban’s character crashes into a whale.
It actually took an entire week to film this sequence, and the filming was done on Lake Ontario. The final version also featured CGI as well as practical effects.
2. It took five months to create the whale.
Making a giant whale that doesn’t entirely rely on CGI is going to take some time.
It reportedly took about five months to create Lucy the whale, and the prop was made from silicon and Styrofoam.
The whale even had a hidden backdoor.
Because the whale creation was so large, the crew needed a way to be able to film the reactions of the actors as they got covered in fake whale guts.
The VFX supervisor for the series told Entertainment Weekly that, “If you watch the scenes closely with Hughie inside the whale, you’re gonna see this little thing pulsing behind him. That’s VFX.”
3. Hughie was based off of Simon Pegg.
Before it was a television series, The Boys was a comic. When creating the story, the character of Hughie was created to look like Simon Pegg who is known for playing Scotty in Star Trek.
Pegg even ended up joining the cast but as Hughie’s father.
4. The show isn’t filmed in New York.
Just like with many other movies and television series out there, The Boys might be set in New York but it doesn’t film there.
It’s actually filmed in Toronto which is a common city to make television in, and it’s a city that’s often used to represent New York on-screen.
5. Erin Moriarty really did sing in the season two premiere.
The actress, who plays Starlight, said in an interview that she was introduced to performing when she started singing, but this later turned into acting.
So, she really was singing the “Never Truly Vanish” song in episode one of season two.
6. The Homelander suit is attached to a cooling system between takes.
The superhero outfit that Antony Starr wears when playing Homelander is super tight, so to keep him from overheating they use a cooling system in between shooting.
This is also something that some Marvel actors have used while they were filming.
7. Sage Grove Center is a real abandoned hospital.
In episode six of season two, most of the scenes occur at Sage Grove Center, a fictional place for the film. But, it’s actually an abandoned hospital that is located near Toronto, Canada.
The cast and crew actually stayed at a hotel while filming these scenes.
8. The creator also made *Supernatural.*
Fans of the series might notice a few similarities between the two series, but not everyone realizes that the creator Eric Kripke also was the creator of Supernatural.
And to make everything even better, Jensen Ackles is joining the cast for season three!
There’s another *Supernatural* actor in the series.
Most fans probably know that Jensen Ackles will be taking the role of Soldier Boy in season three, but not everyone realizes that another Supernatural actor was in season two.
Jim Beaver , who played Bobby Singer in Supernatural , plays a government official in The Boys.
9. Erin Moriarty talked about the difficulties of her suit when using the restroom.
Erin Moriarty has a very tight and small superhero outfit that her character wears. This makes taking the suit off to go to the bathroom a long process.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight she said, “I’m like, wired up and the process of taking it on and putting it off — it’s left me in positions where, let’s just say, I’ve gone back to set and there have been articles of my costume that are a little wet. It happens.”
10. Karen Fukuhara worked with a sign language expert.
To develop Kimiki’s sign language that the character uses to communicate with her brother, the actress worked with a sign language expert.
The other interesting thing about this form of sign language is that it was created just for the show, so it doesn’t directly correspond to American Sign Language or any other sign language.
11. Jack Quaid made a playlist for his character.
Jack Quaid said in an interview that he actually creates a playlist for each role he takes in order to get into character. This is definitely a clever way to do so.
The playlist for his character, Hughie, includes James Taylor and Billy Joel songs.
12. Some of the actors were covered in fake blood for two weeks.
The Boys has some gory scenes occasionally, and actor Laz Alonzo who plays Mother’s Milk said in an interview that he and some of the other actors were covered in fake blood for two weeks.
The process of applying fake blood also took two hours!
13. Wearing the suits can be difficult to get used to.
Erin Moriarty has expressed that wearing her costume is not something that is easy to adjust to.
She told Insider that the process “is a matter of patience”. She also said, “I’ve kind of accepted the fact that it will never be easier — and for it to get easier is hopeful and wishful thinking.”
