‘I Have Very Little Shame’: The Boys’ Eric Kripke Talks About How Quickly He Writes Hollywood Stars Into Cameo Roles
Spoilers for the first few episodes of The Boys Season 4 ahead! If you still need to catch up, you can watch all five episodes with an Amazon Prime subscription, and make sure to catch new episodes every Thursday as part of the 2024 TV schedule.
When it comes to one of the most popular original shows on Amazon Prime, The Boys, you might be surprised at how many cameos this show has genuinely had. For four seasons, we have seen stars rotate in and out of the series in minor cameo roles, including Season 4. And now, showrunner Eric Kripke basically said that he's willing to find a part for any star that wants to appear on the show.
The Boys Season 4 has finally begun premiering episodes on Amazon Prime weekly after a two-year hiatus. There are plenty of moments and scenes that we can discuss, such as that harrowing hospital scene with Hughie Sr. or even that crazy and wild clone fight that I literally cannot erase from my memory. But one scene that I love the most is the random cameo from Will Ferrell, where he plays a fictionalized version of himself for an A-Train movie.
Cameos and random guest stars in The Boys have been consistent since the first season. Some that you might recognize include Anna Cusack as Starlight's mother, Christian Keyes as A-Train's brother, Laurie Holden as Crimson Countess, and many others – and Kripke revealed in an interview with CinemaBlend's Sean O'Connell that he really has "very little shame" when it comes to casting celebrities in cameos on the show nowadays, as people ask him for parts on the show:
I mean, more and more now. In the early days it was more like, 'What can we do to get away from you?' And now I would say (that) heading into season five, for the first time, we've gotten, you know, Seth Rogen or his partner Evan Goldberg will shoot me an email and say, 'We were just talking to, you know, huge star X, and they want in. Can we get them in?' And we're obviously… I have very little shame. So, of course, I'll find a part to get them in the show.
While some guest roles and cameos have turned into bigger parts in the show, such as Simon Pegg as Hughie's father and Nicola Correia-Damude as Queen Maeve's ex-girlfriend, Elena, it's always a delightful surprise to see a random cameo or guest star appear out of nowhere – like Will Ferrell – that reminds you just how much impact the show has.
It's also fun when you realize just how many people Kripke, Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg all know from their multiple years of working together. Heck, even casting Jeffrey Dean Morgan in Season 4 of The Boys or Jensen Ackles in Season 3 was because they had all previously worked with Kripke on another show – Supernatural, one of the best shows on the CW and a series that lasted for many seasons.
At this point, it's only a matter of time before we see Jared Padalecki in a cameo role, and the anticipation is palpable. Heck, I can only imagine what other celebrities we could see from connections with Goldberg and Rogan, too.
Until then, I'll patiently wait for The Boys Season 5, eagerly anticipating the next celebrity cameo – and have no shame in whatever it is either.
