The Boys cast panel on Friday at 11:30AM in the Hyatt Centennial II-IV ballroom got off to a late and slightly rocky start when guest Laurie Holden came out without her co-star Laz Alonso. The word was that Laz was on his way but seemed to be lost somewhere in the building. Still, Moderator Thomas Parham wasn’t going to let the opportunity to talk to the Crimson Countess go to waste.
Holden talked a couple of times about how before she was cast, she didn’t really know anything about the show, but when her partner found out that she was going up for a role, they insisted that she had to do it, adding that it is the best show on television. Holden watched a couple of episodes for the tone, but didn’t really understand what it was at first. Then, the further she got into it, she got “the wacky and wonderful of it.”
The super-powered characters (or supes) in The Boys are caricatures of the heroes we put on pedestals. Instead of Captain America, you get the sociopathic Homelander. Instead of the Scarlet Witch, you get the Crimson Countess, who just wants to do her job and save some chimpanzees but can’t get away from the crimes and betrayal she’s committed in the past. Holden said she is kind of a cross between Tiger King’s Carole Baskin, and Judy Garland. When we first meet the Countess, she is performing at the show’s equivalent of Disney World. The show is a pointed commentary on society, corporate control, and hero worship. As Holden put it, it’s a commentary on “powerful people getting away with things.”
Holden, on the other hand, spends time working on a truly heroic mission, which is to help victims of human trafficking. Her work has been focused mostly on rescuing children from the most horrific circumstances, though Holden was careful about how graphically she described the situations because of the children in the room.
One of the things Holden said she enjoyed about working on The Boys was that there was “no such thing as too much on that show.” She went on to talk about the particulars of a scene, but as with most things The Boys, they can’t be put into print.
Most of Holden’s work prior to filming was getting fitted for her supe-suit. She said that she relocated temporarily to Los Angeles because she was constantly going in for fittings and scans and photographs for her costume. In the end, though, all of that effort was worth it because the suit was sexy and comfortable and made exactly to her body. She said it was so comfortable that she could take a nap in it, though she did also describe it as a “saran wrap of leather.” She said she wished she could have kept it.
A lot of Crimson Countess’s story is tied to Soldier Boy, played by newcomer to the series Jensen Ackles. Holden said her first day working with him was when he [SPOILER] kills the Crimson Countess. She said it was a very emotional scene for two people to do on their first day when they don’t know each other. Holden added that Ackles is one of the best-looking men she’s ever seen. She said she sees the women on Twitter who go crazy for Ackles, but that “you’re really betting on the right horse. He’s a good man and he’s kind… it is so wonderful when you meet kind people that are there to do good work. And there’s a trust because they’re good people. It allows you to do your best work because there’s a trust of comradery.”
Holden spoke with the Daily Dragon for a minute after the panel about the couple of times that she hinted we might get to see more of the Crimson Countess. All she could say about that was, “Anything is possible in The Boys universe.” With how over the top the show is, I also wondered if there was anything that was too far for her, and she gave an immediate, “No.” She added that she loved playing the Crimson Countess with all of her flaws and that it was hands-down one of the most fun roles she’d ever played.
The Boys Seasons 1-3 are available on streaming with Amazon Prime.
