While superhero projects are everywhere, The Boys is on another level. The ultra gory series (which is streaming with an Amazon Prime subscription) is a NSFW romp full of blood, guts, and insane superpowers. Season 5's premiere started killing off major characters, but prior to that craziness of its final batch of episodes, the cast spoke to CinemaBlend about their favorite practical effects. And their answers were both hilarious and disgusting. Hey, that's the show's brand!
The Boys Season 5 is here, and the first three episodes have been expectedly wild. The cast spoke to CinemaBlend about the series, where a number of them spoke about which practical effect stands out to them. As you can see in the video above, Jack Quaid cited the whale from Season 2, which was memorably rode by The Deep during a chase sequence. As the Hunger Games alum put it:
I mean it's really hard for me, just in my experience topping the whale. Because the built a beached whale. It had an exterior and an interior. Hughie had to be in the whale with Butcher and Mother's Milk. The built a beating heart that was like slowly dying. And the pace was softening as we were doing the scene. That was one of the most amazing things in the world to me.
Points were made. Following the success of Season 1, The Boys really upped its ante in its sophomore season. That includes crafting a massive beached whale set piece for the cast to enter... complete with a beating heart. Quaid has seen a lot of blood and guts while playing Hughie throughout five seasons, but that's one (understandably) memorable moment.
One actor who has had seen plenty of blood and guts on The Boys is Homelander actor Antony Starr. He spoke to CinemaBlend about one of the most stomach-churning moments: killing Webweaver in Season 4. In his words:
A practical effect that we did, and I definitely wouldn't take it home, but in Season 4 I ripped Webweaver apart. We did that with a dummy and fake blood. It was all magnetized together, and it was so grotesque. I remember thinking when I did it 'The human body wouldn't rip like this.' You know, I got really technical.
That's definitely a great choice, but it's specific to Homelander. And I'll never forget watching him literally tear a man in two last season. Of course, there another common them for many of The Boys' cast: the show's penchant for superpowered penises. Ashley actress Colby Minifie cited the giant penis that was constructed for Season 3, when shrinking hero Termite enters his partner’s urethra. She recalled her memories of that set piece, telling us:
I would say the large penis head. The ten-foot-high penis head is probably the weirdest thing to see on set. But also you start to get desensitized. If you see The Deep's gills sitting in the hair and makeup trailer just randomly on a Tuesday, the penis head seems like 'Oh yeah. Just another thing on The Boys.'
They've all truly seen too much at this point. Five seasons in, there's been plenty of set pieces and practical effects that you'd never expect to see on any other show. But that's The Boys for you, and the giant penis head isn't the only time the male anatomy has been used to bonkers results.
Mother's Milk actor Laz Alonso has had a number of fights with the supe Love Sausage, who has a large prehensile penis that he uses as a weapon. The actor referenced showrunner/writer's enchant for this, saying:
I would say that ever since large penises were introduced to the subject matter of the show, Eric's creativity has run wild. And I have had the pleasure having it run wild on me and my neck. And this season, I would say, is no less in the category of wild running.
Firecracker actress Valorie Curry had her own uniquely The Boys memory of practical effects. Namely the way that her character breastfed Homelander in Season 4. As she told it:
I mean, I think the weirdest one would have to be the breastfeeding scene. Because that was such a, that scene was so achieved by perspective and sight lines. And when the moment of lactation occurs, it was a mic stand that was about like halfway between me and Antony with, like, a nozzle. And then there's a tub that goes all the way to the side room.
Isn't it fascinating to see how the sausage gets made? While The Boys is obviously a show that uses visual effects to bring its superpowers to life, there's also a ton being done practically. And it certainly sounds like the cast has memories they'll remember long before the show's tenure on the air is over.
New episodes of The Boys air Wednesdays as part of the 2026 TV schedule. There are only a handful of episodes left, so the stakes feel high. And smart money says there will be more memorable sequences that'll shock audiences along the way.
