As we count down the hours to the fifth and final season of The Boys, we recently caught up with stars Karen Fukuhara ("Kimiko Miyashiro/The Female") and Jessie T. Usher ("Reggie Franklin/A-Train") to break down what to expect from tomorrow's show-stopping premiere.
Kimiko has long been the heart and soul of The Boys and we spoke to Fukuhara about the new challenge of playing her this season, especially now that she can speak, and the critical role she's going to have to play as they all work to defeat Homelander. Then, Usher breaks down A-Train's most badass sequence of the entire series, something that feels very Days of Future Past-esque.
The season five main cast features Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Tomer Capone, Karen Fukuhara, Nathan Mitchell, Colby Minifie, Cameron Crovetti, Susan Heyward, Valorie Curry, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jensen Ackles, and Daveed Diggs.
The Boys return with a two-part premiere on April 8!
Watch our full interview below and/or keep scrolling to read the full transcription. Plus, remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more exclusive content!
ROHAN: Karen, now that Kimiko can talk (and she can talk a lot), what was the most unexpected added wrinkle playing her and getting to show off more of her personality?
KAREN: I think it was a big challenge, because it was almost like finding a new part of the character, a whole different personality of hers, if you will. And I had a lot of chats with Eric about how we wanted her to sound, and where she's coming from and all of that, and, you know, even though she's been speaking through sign language, she hasn't been able to say any of Kripke's funny lines before, and so, I think that humorous side of her is able to come out more this season.
ROHAN: Jessie, this season, you get to be part of one of the most badass sequences in the entire series, very Days of Future Past, can you break down filming that sequence and how long it took to pull off?
JESSIE: Man, yeah. I mean, it happens in fifty different pieces, you know, the technical aspect of doing what A-Train does is always really interesting, and I feel like it just gets more and more complicated as the seasons went on. I felt like, you know, the visual effects team discovered that they can do more as we started to play with the character a little bit. And, you know, now we're playing with the physics of his running and what he's able to do, and we're pushing the limits on what we can see, as far as being in the world of A-Train, and I thought that that was really cool, you know what I mean? I thought that it was really interesting.
They brought in some really cool cameras and stuff, and they just captured me doing, like my regular thing, but we do it in in four and five different pieces, and then sort of glue it together so that we can have people in the same scene as me, I'm not just running around by myself and then, having, you know, everyone else act when I'm not there sort of thing.
And then, now we have a big, like you said, now we have this huge sequence with A-Train where we get to see him arrive and depart and maneuver in ways that we've never really seen before. We’ve just seen the blur, but now, we're in his speed, in his time, and it's really interesting to shoot. I didn't expect it to be that technical, but honestly, I was back and forth doing that particular sequence ten times, like eight to ten times. We did so many different versions, you know, inside the studio, out in the street, it's just a lot that goes into it.
KAREN: Let me tell you, A-Train shows his true colors and his true power this season, and if we had him from season one, this would have been a lot easier.
JESSIE: *laughs* Yeah!
KAREN: We needed you A-Train! And finally, we have you on Team The Boys.
JESSIE: I think it's funny that we see what he's capable of now, and then, you're just sort of reminded of all the times that he didn't use his power.
KAREN: Yes! I’m like wait a second, we made it through season one or two or three or four, and now he uses it!
JESSIE: Hey, man, self preservation, you know, he would rather just leave and relax than to help people and put himself at risk.
KAREN: We needed the drama!
JESSIE: You needed the drama! We needed the drama!
ROHAN: Karen, you play arguably the most badass character on the show, like hands down Kimiko is awesome. I’d also say most fans view Kimiko as the "heart" of The Boys. What has been the most rewarding part of playing her for you as we barrel toward the endgame?
KAREN: I've had a really, really fun time as an actor, learning so many skills, and I think she's one of the only characters that had, that was able to sing and dance and do stunts and do sign language, all of those things I had to work on, you know, off-set. And I'm just really thankful, because who would have thunk that, you know, the one mute character would get a musical sequence that, you know, the small Asian girl is gonna get the dildo fight sequence. Who would have thunk it? Not I.
JESSIE: It wasn't on my bingo card.
KAREN: It wasn't on my bingo card, but it is like the most brilliant idea. And, yeah, I've had such a good time doing all of those things throughout the years.
Check out more of our The Boys season five interviews:
The Boys Season 5 will premiere the first two episodes on Wednesday, April 8th, followed by weekly episodes, leading up to the epic series finale on Wednesday, May 20th.
In the fifth and final season, it’s Homelander’s world, completely subject to his erratic, egomaniacal whims. Hughie, Mother’s Milk, and Frenchie are imprisoned in a “Freedom Camp.” Annie struggles to mount a resistance against the overwhelming Supe force. Kimiko is nowhere to be found. But when Butcher reappears, ready and willing to use a virus that will wipe all Supes off the map, he sets in motion a chain of events that will forever change the world and everyone in it. It’s the climax, people. Big stuff’s gonna happen.