The following contains spoilers for The Boys Season 3, now streaming on Prime Video.
The Boys stars Erin Moriarty and Jensen Ackles explained how shooting the superhero series' infamous "Herogasm" episode took its toll on both the cast and crew.
Per Variety, during a Prime Video FYC panel, the two stars discussed their experiences filming "Herogasm for The Boys Season 3. "It was like walking into an orgy house," Moriarty said. She further described how the set was plagued by a variety of adult toys then. "There were things and shapes that I thought, 'These would pierce an organ, most people wouldn't survive them.' But of course, they exist," the actor continued. "I don't understand, but I learned a lot." Ackles later claimed that Moriarty "looked like [she] had just come out of war" while filming "Herogasm."
What Jensen Ackles Recalls From Herogasm
As for Ackles himself, the Soldier Boy actor explained how crew members behind the cameras were not spared from the grueling experience either. "When I saw our camera operator outside, he was just staring at the ground," Ackles recounted. "I went up and said, 'Hey Liam, what's up, how's it going up there?' And he said, 'I've seen some shit man.' He was traumatized, and they did not prep me either." Ackles said the set began to "smell like old sex after a while," and admitted that nothing could have prepared him for the shoot. He continued, "There's some shit that I shot that didn't even make the final cut and I'm like, 'Really, you made me do that, you knew you weren't gonna use it, but you made me do that anyway?'"
Inspired by the titular tie-in miniseries for the original The Boys comics created by writer Garth Ennis and artist Darick Robertson, "Herogasm" remains one of the most infamous episodes of Prime Video's television adaptation. As its name implies, the episode involves a superhero orgy and features some of the most graphic scenes of the entire show. However, unlike the Herogasm comic miniseries, the episode also shows fans a major, choreographed standoff between Ackles' Soldier Boy, Homelander (Antony Starr), Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) and Hughie Campbell (Jack Quaid).
The Boys Showrunner on Why Herogasm Needed to Be an Event
The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke previously discussed how he envisioned "Herogasm," stating that the notorious episode needed to be a major event for The Boys Season 3. He explained how he wanted Herogasm to leave a strong impression on fans without relying solely on its graphic content. "It's every bit as shocking as [fans] are expecting it to be, but not at all in the way they think it's going to be," Kripke said in May 2023. "And that was really intentional; I enjoyed having something that had that much event in it."
All three seasons of The Boys are available to stream on Prime Video. Filming on The Boys Season 4 has wrapped, but when it will release is unknown as of writing. Before then though, The Boys college-themed spinoff, Gen V, is expected to premiere on Prime Video in Fall 2023.
Source: Variety