As Congresswoman Victoria Neuman, Claudia Doumit‘s alter ego on The Boys has shaped an uneasy alliance with Homelander — however the actress might have been strolling alongside the supe contained in the halls of Vought Tower as a very totally different character.
Doumit — who labored with The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke on NBC’s Timeless — auditioned in Season 1 for the position of Vought Worldwide Director of Expertise Relations Ashley Barrett, a component that finally went to actress Colby Minifie.
“I initially got here in [to read] within the first season, didn’t do job, and when the casting got here for the second season, I simply bear in mind telling myself like, ‘Don’t fear about it. You most likely gained’t get it,’” Doumit tells TVLine. “I bear in mind simply setting actually low expectations for myself. So I used to be extremely comfortable once I obtained the gig as a result of Neuman is such an excellent character, and I’ve liked each minute of taking part in her. It simply labored out for one of the best that I didn’t get solid initially in that first season as a result of I believe Neuman is way extra my velocity.”
Plus, Doumit has nothing however love and reward for her castmate after shedding out on Ashley, exclaiming, “Colby Minifie crushes that position! She is ideal at taking part in Ashley.” And finally, the problem of portraying the mysterious Victoria — who was revealed on the finish of Season 2 to be a supe able to exploding heads — has confirmed to be extraordinarily rewarding for Doumit.
With the present third season set to wrap up this Friday, TVLine chatted with Doumit about Victoria’s agenda, whether or not she will be able to take out Homelander, and what to anticipate from the season finale.
TVLINE | Your Timeless costars Malcolm Barrett and Goran Višnjić have been on The Boys as nicely, however your characters didn’t actually overlap. Have been you disillusioned that you simply didn’t get to have extra, or any scenes, with them?
Oh my gosh, sure! I actually wished to work with them, however these worlds don’t actually collide, do they? However every time Malcolm got here as much as shoot in Toronto, we’d catch up. There’s no manner we may be in the identical metropolis and we don’t see one another. And Goran, we didn’t even see one another! Our schedules didn’t line up in any respect. So I used to be so upset about that. But when you concentrate on it, we type of labored collectively.
TVLINE | You probably did get the respect of attending to pop his head as Alastair. Was {that a} little bit of a delight for you after chasing his character Flynn round for 2 plus seasons on Timeless?
[Laughs] It’s the Timeless ending all of us wished, we have been ready for. [Laughs] I simply love that Kripke brings in people who he’s labored with on different tasks. I really like that he does that with every part he does. So it simply felt like a little bit of a household reunion. It was enjoyable.
TVLINE | When did you first discover out that Victoria Neuman was a supe and that she was liable for blowing up all these heads final season?
I had no concept that Neuman was a supe till I obtained the script for the episode. So I used to be taking part in this progressive Democrat who’s hellbent on taking down this evil company, and right here I’m considering she’s for the folks and she or he’s a hero of type, and actually she’s [a supe like] the remainder of them. So I didn’t know till I obtained the script. It was positively a “what the f–ok?” second, adopted by a lot pleasure, as a result of it’s the proper factor for that character. It was additionally nice as a result of I didn’t play any sneaky moments. I performed her with such purity, and I performed her in such a real manner in order that when that twist really does get revealed, it was actual. It was actual for the viewers, and it was actual for me because the actor. I completely liked it. It was a really chaotic however enjoyable shock.
TVLINE | We’ve realized a lot extra about her previous and her life this season, however she’s additionally much more of an enigma in some methods. It’s actually troublesome to pinpoint what she’s going to do or who she’s going to facet with in any given second. The place would you say her allegiances lie?
You may by no means actually pin her down. She is an extremely strategic character. She’s additionally fairly duplicitous, she’s extremely manipulative. So it’s really very exhausting to see the place her playing cards really lie. However this season, you see a particular shift in her allegiances. She makes some actually heartbreaking sacrifices of these closest to her. As you see, she’s teamed up with one of many one of many present’s most horrific characters [in Homelander] that you simply simply completely like to hate. Who is aware of the place it’s going to go, however I believe a team-up of Homelander and Neuman most likely wouldn’t finish nicely.
TVLINE | She has this actually distinctive superpower. Is she highly effective sufficient to take down Homelander?
We’ve had discussions about this. There’s a quick glimpse that you simply get in Season 3, the place Homelander is rapidly in her room, and I believe he says one thing alongside the strains of, “You’re considering of popping my melon proper now, aren’t you?” after which he goes, “Go forward, give it a strive. See if it really works.” I believe in that second, she most likely is assessing whether or not or not she will be able to kill Homelander, and I don’t assume it will be so simple as any of her different kills. I believe she is aware of that, and I believe she’s doing what she does finest in that scenario, which is taking part in the gradual sport and taking part in by technique. She’s very a lot that type of a personality. So she most likely has an inkling of how that might go down, and possibly the scenario would simply should be higher aligned for her. She’s a wise lady, she’s clever character. She is aware of when she’s in place, and she or he is aware of when she must struggle. So I believe she’s possibly seeing what the chances are along with her and Homelander. Maintain your mates shut and maintain your enemies nearer, and that’ll simply give her an opportunity to research Homelander’s weaknesses.
TVLINE | Within the final episode, Victoria handed Homelander a chunk of paper, and there’s this trace of a transaction that she needs from him. What are you able to tease about how that’s going to play out within the finale?
Oh, I do know precisely what’s on that piece of paper! [Laughs] It’s a really robust card Neuman has up her sleeve. … She alters her method based mostly on the interplay she’s having, based mostly on the character that she’s having a dialog with. Exterior of Edgar and out of doors of her daughter, outdoors of these people who she loves and trusts — I imply, it doesn’t finish nicely for Edgar, actually — however each interplay Neuman has, she is assessing what she will be able to achieve from that individual and she or he is seeing what their wishes are. She’s seeing what their needs and desires are and the way that may finally profit her. She’s at all times seeing how the individual throughout from her can profit her wants and get her forward. She’s clearly executed that with Homelander as nicely, and she or he simply occurs to have gotten her fingers on one thing that Homelander desperately wants or needs, and that that transaction is the start of that very messy allyship between these two characters. I believe additionally Homelander is type of Neuman’s final go-to since you see in Episode 6 that she’s additionally beforehand approached Starlight to group up, and she or he gave Starlight a really totally different pitch. She got here from the guts for that one, however she is aware of what Homelander needs.
TVLINE | How would you describe the season finale?
There’s positively a surprising second. There’s a heartbreaking second that I, because the actor, didn’t learn about till we have been filming just like the second half of the season, and it was such a tragic reveal!
