The Boysis known for its shocking gore and violence, but the show has also gradually gained a reputation for its memorable celebrity cameos. While there have beencelebrity cameos since the first episode inThe Boysseason 1, they have become more common and noticeable as the series progressed, particularly during seasons 3 and 4. This creates further anticipation for the celebrity cameos that may occur inThe Boysseason 5, which is the show’s final season.
While many celebrities have been part ofThe Boys' cast, including Simon Pegg and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, their appearances are not considered cameos as they play recurring characters who play pivotal roles in the series.A cameo requires the character to appear briefly or infrequently, even if it is just once, and to not have a major role. In this case, they are also played by a well-known celebrity, with the best being those that are surprising and that fit the tone of the show.
8Katie Couric
Appeared In Season 2, Episode 5, “We Gotta Go Now”
When the Deep (Chace Crawford) is trying to rehabilitate his image and get back intoThe Boys' Sevenin season 2, he is interviewed by Katie Couric. She has been a prominent media figure for decades and has conducted many memorable interviews, including with numerous presidents and world leaders. This makesCouric the perfect individual for a personal interview with a prominent superhero such as the Deepabout how he has grown from his past mistakes.
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Couric’s career was not built on simply asking easy questions, though, and this holds true inThe Boysas she begins delving into the Deep and his wife, Cassandra Schwartz (Katy Breier), about being members of the controversial organization known as the Church of the Collective. Another enticing layer of Couric’s cameo is that the episode where she appears is written byEllie Monahan, who is her daughter. While Couric’s appearance is done well, it is relatively safe, and not as outrageous as many of the other celebrity cameos inThe Boys.
7Jimmy Fallon
Appeared In Season 1, Episode 1, “The Name Of The Game”
Jimmy Fallon was among the first major celebrity cameos inThe Boys. In the first episode of the Prime Video series, the late-night show host interviews Translucent (Alex Hassell), a member of the Seven who can turn invisible, and who is the first supe that the Boys kill in the show. The interview plays on one of the televisions in the store where Hughie Campbell (Jack Quaid) works and helps communicate how the superheroes are treated like celebrities inThe Boys' universe.
While celebrity cameos can sometimes be contrived,Fallon’s appearance feels natural, as he interacts with Translucent in the same way that he interacts with most of his guests. He acknowledges Translucent’s recent accomplishment of stopping a home invasion before quickly pivoting to making fun of the fact that Translucent has to get naked for his invisibility powers to work. Fallon helps set the precedent for celebrity cameos inThe Boys, but like Couric, his appearance is safe and cannot rival some of the cameos that would happen later in the series.
6Seth Rogen
Appeared In Season 1, Episode 6, “The Innocents,” Season 2, Episode 1, “The Big Ride,” And Season 3, Episode 5, “The Last Time to Look On This World of Lies”
As a well-known actor and as one ofThe Boys' executive producers, Seth Rogen was in a unique position to cameo in the series. He first appears as himself in an interview for an upcoming movie with Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell), titledBlack Noir: Insurrection. During the interview,Rogen emphasizes how excited he is to star in his first Vought Cinematic Universe movie, with the VCU becoming a running joke used throughout the series to parody the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Rogen’s brand of crass and blunt humor fits perfectly with the tone ofThe Boys, enabling him to leave an impression every time he appears.
In season 3, Rogen plays Sir-Cums-A-Lot-779, who enjoys a private video chat with the Crimson Countess (Laurie Holden) before the arrival of Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) prematurely ends the session. Rogen’s brand of crass and blunt humor fits perfectly with the tone ofThe Boys, enabling him to leave an impression every time he appears.As fitting as Rogen’s cameos are, his involvement with the show makes his appearances less surprising, and therefore not as impactful as some of the other cameos.
5Patton Oswalt
Appeared In The Boys Season 2, Episode 2, “Proper Preparation And Planning” & Season 3, Episode 6, “Herogasm”
Patton Oswalt has arguably the strangest cameo inThe Boys. When the Deep has been thrown out of the Seven and is at an emotional low point, his gills begin talking to him in season 2, episode 2, “Proper Preparation and Planning.“The gills bring up past examples of the Deep’s toxic behaviorand highlight that the Deep humiliates women as a defense mechanism for feeling scared that women will laugh at him and the way his body looks due to the gills.
The Deep was forced to take a sabbatical from the Seven after Starlight came forward about him sexually assaulting her.
The Boyshas no shortage of bizarre scenes, but few are as odd as the Deep yelling at the gills in his stomach, to which he responds in Oswalt’s distinct voice. InThe Boysseason 3, episode 6, “Herogasm,“Oswalt returns to the series to play himself during the show’s parody of the infamous “Imagine” video that was made early on during the COVID-19 pandemic.Oswalt’s season 2 involvement creates the foundation for the Deep’s outlandish interactions with celebrity voice cameos, but Oswalt would be upstaged by a cameo in a future season.
4Charlize Theron
Appeared In Season 3, Episode 1, “Payback”
After Stormfront (Aya Cash) was publicly revealed to be a Nazi and was nearly killed duringThe Boysseason 2 ending, Vought had no choice but to replace her for theirDawn of the Sevenmovie. That replacement turned out to be Charlize Theron, who had been chosen to play a new version of Stormfront.Vought’s former rising star was now rewritten as the primary villainwho Homelander (Antony Starr) and the Seven needed to work together to defeat and save the world.
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When Theron’s cameo happened during theThe Boysseason 3 premiere, it was the best celebrity cameo yet in the series. It was genuinely shocking to see a major movie star, who was not involved in the series, appearing solely for a cameo. With Vought being the largest entertainment corporation inThe Boys' universe,it made sense that they would try to distract from the Stormfront controversy by replacing her with a celebrity of Theron’s caliber. However, since the season 3 premiere,The Boyshas managed to have even more surprising and memorable celebrity cameos compared to Theron.
Appeared In Season 3, Episode 6, “Herogasm”
During lockdown toward the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gal Gadot put together a video montage of celebrities singing the song “Imagine,” including Kristin Wiig, Jamie Dornan, James Marsden, Sarah Silverman, and Natalie Portman. The well-intentioned video came off as distasteful and was widely mocked and criticized. This led toThe Boysparodying the videowith the Deep bringing together a group of celebrities to sing “Imagine” in light of the"supervillain attacks"caused by Soldier Boy.
Seeing such a star-studded group of actors willing to make fun of celebrities' ultimately hollow demonstrations of solidarity was surprising on multiple levels.
The Boys' “Imagine” video featured Josh Gad, Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, Elizabeth Banks, Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, Aisha Tyler, and Rose Byrne. This on-the-nose parodyhad no qualms about blatantly mocking the real-world “Imagine” video. Seeing such a star-studded group of actors willing to make fun of celebrities' ultimately hollow demonstrations of solidarity was surprising on multiple levels. This was the peak of celebrity cameos in the first three seasons, but season 4 found two ways to surpass this high bar.
2Will Ferrell
Appeared In Season 4, Episode 2, “Life Among the Septics,” Season 4, Episode 4, “Wisdom of the Ages,” Season 4, Episode 5, “Beware the Jabberwock, My Son,” and Season 4, Episode 8, “Assassination Run”
When Vought decided to makeTraining A-Train, a fictional movie clearly inspired by the misguided nature of the 2009 movieThe Blind Side, the biggest question was who would play the coach and mentor of A-Train (Jessie T. Usher).The Boystopped Charlize Theron’s cameoby casting Will Ferrell as A-Train’s coach. Just asTraining A-Trainis an inauthentic depiction of A-Train’s life,this version of Ferrell is also inauthentic, as he is most concerned about delivering a performance that will give him an Academy Award win.
Ferrell’s cameo is genuinely surprising, and while this fictional version of him is not self-aware,the real Ferrell has no issue making fun of himself, which makes him fit in well withThe Boys' brand of comical satire. A traditionally dramatic actor would have been more likely to be chosen for this role, which makes it all the funnier that the usually comedic Ferrell is the one cast to play A-Train’s inspirational coach. As delightful as Ferrell’s celebrity cameo is, season 4 pulls off another one that is even more shocking.
1Tilda Swinton
Appeared In Season 4, Episode 1, “Department of Dirty Tricks,” Season 4, Episode 3, “We’ll Keep The Flag Flying Here,” Season 4, Episode 7, “The Insider”
The best celebrity cameo yet inThe Boysis Tilda Swintonvoicing the Deep’s octopus lover, Ambrosius. Swinton is an award-winning and widely acclaimed actor. She has starred in franchises before, including her role as the Ancient One in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and as the White Witch, Jadis, inThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. However, those characters still contain a great deal of gravitas and are formidable and prominent individuals in their respective fictional universes.
Ambrosius is not the Deep’s first aquatic lover.
Ambrosius, on the other hand, is an octopus in a romantic relationship with the Deep, and who does not frequently appear in season 4.It is hilarious that Swinton agreed to voice this character, and the strength of her voice performance enhances the storyline, making it genuinely heartbreaking and horrific when the Deep breaks her tank and listens to her die. This crowning achievement ofThe Boys' celebrity cameos so far, although the Prime Video series has one final season to try and outdo it.
The Boys
Cast
The Boys is a gritty and subversive take on the superhero genre, focusing on a group of vigilantes who confront powerful superheroes abusing their abilities, exploring themes of corruption and moral ambiguity in a world where heroes are not always what they seem.
