Samuel L. Jackson's The Boys Cameo Explained By Creator Eric Kripke
by Ryan Scott · /FilmThis article contains spoilers for "The Boys" Season 5.
"The Boys" is coming to an end. The series finale of Prime Video's beloved, dark superhero show is upon us, but, as one might expect, "The Boys" had a few surprises in store for fans before all's said and done. That included, among other things, a cameo from the one and only Samuel L. Jackson. Yes Jackson, an actor who absolutely should have won a non-honorary Oscar by now, has lent his talents to the bloodiest comic book show on television.
If The Deep's shark friend Xander sounded familiar in "The Boys" Season 5, that's because the shark was voiced by Jackson. Indeed, the man behind Mace Windu in "Star Wars" and Nick Fury in "The Avengers" took some time out of his busy schedule to provide the voice of a shark. It was nothing if not a surprise to viewers.
How, exactly, did the creatives behind "The Boys" convince an actor of Jackson's caliber to lend his talents to this sort of silly gag? Showrunner Erik Kripke spoke with Polygon about it after the whole thing went down, and, according to him, it really was as simple as asking:
"We wanted a really distinct voice, and who has a more distinct voice in Hollywood than Sam Jackson? So, we just went to his agent. He was our first choice, and we were like, 'Does he want to do this?' It was really just taking a flyer. But then it came back, 'Oh yeah, he likes the show and, totally, he'll do it.' Boy, that's a bucket list moment, man, of Sam Jackson reading your dialogue."
Samuel L. Jackson doing The Boys lines up with his choices as an actor
For those who may need a refresher, Xander appears in Season 5, Episode 7, "The Frenchman, the Female, and the Man Called Mother's Milk," and threatens The Deep (Chace Crawford) after he blows up an underwater pipeline. Previously, the Aquaman-esque character had ridden Xander while chasing A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) prior to his death. When Xander speaks to The Deep, it's Samuel L. Jackson's very distinct voice that he (and the audience) hears.
"A lot of the cameos we bring into the show are because Seth Rogen or [executive producer] Evan Goldberg have a relationship with them and can make a call," Erik Kripke explained in the same interview. "I lean on them a lot for that stuff."
In this case, it involved just throwing a hail mary. Yet, it worked. As surprising as it might be on the surface, it does seem to line up with a lot of how Jackson seems to be approaching his career in his later years. Jackson has said he's happier playing Mace Windu or Nick Fury than winning an Oscar. He's much more interested in being happy and having fun. He liked "The Boys" as a show and, for him, it was evidently entertaining to be a part of it. It certainly doesn't hurt that the role probably required very little of his time.
This is just one small part of what has been a busy final run of episodes for the show. In addition to setting up the "Vought Rising" spin-off series, "The Boys" Season 5 has been forced to indirectly reckon with the cancellation of the spin-off "Gen V," as that show won't return for a third season.
"The Boys" is streaming now on Prime Video.