The Boys may be entering new territory after four seasons of anarchy, bloodshed, and wayward supes. Jessie T. Usher, the actor playing A-Train, the speedster, claims that filming Season 5 was much different from the previous seasons.
In a recent interview (via DiscussingFilm), Usher remarked that it was almost like doing a new show going back to set. Even though he’s still playing A-Train, the tone, atmosphere, and character dynamics have changed a lot. This change might make sense to fans who have witnessed A-Train transforming into a selfish celebrity superhero and then struggling to deal with the aftermath of his deeds.
Usher also alluded that The Boys Season 5 will introduce A-Train to situations he has never encountered. These difficulties can alter his interaction with other people as well as his perception of himself. The finale will be a refreshing experience, even for the performers who have been involved in the show since its beginning, given what Usher said.
A-Train in a whole new environment in The Boys Season 5
The largest change Jesse T. Usher experienced during the filming of The Boys Season 5 of The Boys was the atmosphere of the set. He said that now it feels as though it is a totally different world for A-Train, although the character remains the same.
Usher claims that the sets have been different, the overall tone has changed. Characters also speak to one another in a much different way and also the type of information A-Train seeks are different. In the previous seasons A-Train was primarily concerned with fame, power, and retention of his position among the Seven.
Now, he appears to be engaging in discussions and events he would have not been interested in formerly. Due to these changes, Usher joked that it is as though he was acting in a weird spinoff. The same story, but the dynamics around A-Train are now new and unfamiliar. Jesse T. Usher stated,
“I feel like I’m playing the same character but I’m on a different show. The sets are different, the environment is so different, the interaction, the conversation is different, and also I feel like just the way that A-Train is talking to the other characters and the information that he’s looking to get from the other characters is just something that he never really cared about it ever been enveloped in before. So, now it just sort of feels like, it almost feels like I’m in a weird spinoff kind of thing. A-Train leaves the Seven and joins like a you know, he joins the Boys, but it doesn’t feel like I’m, it doesn’t feel like, yeah, I’m on the same Boys that I have been for the past 4 seasons.”
This change can be deliberate since the series takes a turn towards the last chapter, which gives the story a chance to develop characters like A-Train in a more profound and unpredictable manner.
From superstar athlete to just “a dude”
One of the most amusing insights into The Boys‘ upcoming fifth season from star Jessie T. Usher, does not relate to the season’s plot twists but to shoes. From the very beginning of the series, A-Train was shown to be an extensively advertised, high-quality athlete who wore fashionable shoes designed to make him fast.
However, according to Usher, all of this has changed in Season 5. The actor revealed that in the fifth season, A-Train will wear more casual shoes than before, such as winter Vans. While the change might appear insignificant, it actually impacted Usher’s acting approach. Jessie T. Usher said,
“Now it’s like I’m in a totally different thing; maybe it’s the shoes, I don’t know….Yeah, he’s running in these like winterized version of these like Vans now….And now I’m in like a casual shoe and it just feels different. Like I felt like I was an athlete forever and now he’s like a person, he’s just like a dude.”
As one can see, a small alteration in the character’s appearance hints at something significant that awaits viewers in the new season. Perhaps, when all the fame, advertising, and superhuman traits disappear, A-Train will start thinking about what he wants to do with his life. And that could show fans a completely new side of the character.
For more such insights on The Boys Season 5, keep following SoapCentral.
Edited by Sohini Biswas