Rosemarie DeWitt was surprised by the role of Hughie Mom in season 4

(This story contains spoilers from episode five, season four of The boys“Beware the JabberwockMy son.”)

From the first episode of The boysAudiences knew that life would be tough for the nerdy and somewhat awkward child protagonist Hughie Campbell (played by Jack Quaid).

Loyal fans of the Amazon Prime series know that Hughie’s girlfriend was accidentally killed by a supe in the very first episode, and many know the story of Hughie’s mother abandoning him and his father, Hughie Sr. (Simon Pegg), when the future vigilante was only 6 years old.

But it would take four seasons of the hit anti-superhero series created by Eric Kripke before audiences would actually meet Hughie’s mother, Daphne, played by Rosemarie DeWitt. Daphne appears in season four after it’s discovered that Hughie Sr. suffered a medical incident and fell into a coma. But instead of giving his son power of attorney, Hughie’s father gives it to his ex-wife who abandoned him and their son years ago (the two parents secretly reconnected as friends, but never told their son). Hughie is furious, to say the least.

Hughie wants his mother gone, but he also wants to know why she left him years ago. At the same time, the only parent who cared for him is now in a vegetative state on life support. Hughie doesn’t want to say goodbye. He tells A-Train (Jessie T. Usher), who killed his first girlfriend in season one, that he’ll forgive him if he steals Compound-V from the Trump-like Homelander’s (Antony Starr) home at Vought International. Hughie will inject it into his father to save his life. A-Train keeps his word.

The boys viewers discover that Daphne abandoned Hughie because she suffered from deep depression and had once attempted suicide while caring for her son. She sees that Hughie has Compound-V, but is hesitant to give it to her father. To prove her devotion to her son, she injects Hughie Sr. with the drug. And as the saying goes, “things only get worse before they get better!” » Suffice to say that things are getting worse.

The Hollywood Reporter I recently caught up with DeWitt to talk about his entry into the bloody, super-powered world of The boys; get in tune with her character, a mother who abandoned her young child; and finding ways to cope with some of the scariest and most serious scenes so far with episode five of season four.

How did you discover the role of Daphne Campbell, Hughie’s mother?

I was so lucky that I literally got a call to see if I could do it and if I would do it. And I was like, are you kidding me! This is the last show in the world that I ever expected to be on, and then your mind goes crazy with all the fantasies of what you would do on the show. It was a really satisfying arc. And it was a really good experience working with Simon (Pegg) and Jack (Quaid). They’re both great actors and great people, and I can’t believe how hard they work on this show; the hours that they put in, just because the show is so big. And some of it is outside in Toronto in the winter, which was fun!

Did you know anything about The boys before, or the comic strip?

I knew about it from the world and it was a cultural phenomenon, and I didn’t really think it was a show for me. And then I started getting into it. And then my husband got totally hooked. Then I started doing more research at this point. It’s so compelling! And bingeing, and just watching and watching and watching.

How did you think about approaching your character as Hughie’s mother? Did you come up with your own ideas, knowing that she abandoned her child when he was 6, or did they lay the groundwork?

They just give you the scripts and you make them your own. I’m old enough now to understand the choices and the regrets. I think a lot of her life was defined by the fact that she thought she was a danger to her son, so she stepped away to be a safer person for him, to be able to be a mother, and then that door closed. And then she’s had to live with that her whole life. And I think that drives every choice, even in the season, with her trying to show up and do the right thing for Hughie Sr. To honor his wishes; to try to be a support for Hughie, whether he accepts it or not; and then that decision doesn’t sit so well with Compound-V. But I think her heart is in the right place. I don’t think she’s always been able to make good decisions, and she’s trying to make them quickly without a lot of guidance here.

So was she still in love with Hughie Sr. or were they just friends? We know she still loves her son.

I felt like it was a sweet love that they would have moved past, but he was so broken by how it happened that he wouldn’t let me back. He was a good parent. He was the mother and father, so she just had to respect that.

Do you think Hughie’s mother suffered from late-onset PPD or depression? She was thinking about killing herself when Hughie was 6, and that’s why she left?

I think it started after giving birth, and she became a person who suffered from debilitating depression. She was never treated, and probably needed support and medication. Maybe it was the timing, maybe the stigma, but she just didn’t understand. I think it was the suicide attempt that made him think: This is not going to go well for this family. And I don’t even know if it was to heal; I think it was just to get away and get away from Hughie, because I think love is real whether he believes it or not.

Hughie seemed to change his mind about giving Compound-V to his father, but Daphne went ahead and injected Hughie Sr. with it anyway. Why do you think she did that?

She was just living in the moment, and I think that’s part of her fatal flaw. She doesn’t really look at the bigger picture. I think she thought that might really help her, and that might make her the heroine of Hughie’s story. There’s a narcissism in that, and she’s trying to make grand gestures. And I think she’s naive about the power of that, and I think she was completely overwhelmed.

Then come the pivotal scenes of episode five, where Hughie Sr. is all fired up and he’s already killed several people in the hospital. Eventually, you and his son corner him in his blood-soaked robe (after seeing him rip a beating heart out of someone’s chest). He focuses his anger on you for leaving him and his grandson years ago. Scary, fun or both?

It was weirdly alarming and hysterical at the same time. But I think that’s because of Simon Pegg, because he’s a little squiggly and funny when he looks like he’s in a Freddy Krueger movie or something. And it was pretty easy too, there wasn’t a lot of acting. If someone’s covered in fake blood and screaming at you, you’re going to start crying. You’re going to be scared. It affects your nervous system. I think what was harder was how, as an actor, do you sell the moments where you’re wondering: what do you do when someone rips someone’s heart out of their chest? None of those old acting exercises work. You just have to ask yourself, does that feel like a real answer?

I love to laugh, so there have been late nights with Jack and Simon where, and I know it’s not everyone’s favorite thing, but when you can’t stop laughing, it’s is almost like being in high school and getting into trouble in class. I like to laugh so much, and Simon and Jack made me laugh so much, and then we were shooting these serious scenes and the directors were like, “Okay guys, you really need to pull yourself together.” Take a deep breath, let’s start again. » And we burst out laughing again. Those are some of the best times, especially when we’re doing the heavy stuff.

Tell us about the scene where Hughie had to say goodbye to another parent, this time by helping him with medicine found at the hospital (Hughie’s father was brain dead before he was given Compound-V ).

It was a real honor as an actor to be able to support another actor who had been working on the film for so long. Jack has lived with Hughie for so long and it was such a meaningful arc for his character. It was great to really be in those scenes with him. Those scenes, you kind of forget that you’re in a genre piece like The boys because you are in scenes about the loss of parents, about life and death. And the feelings that arise, they really arise.

Would Daphne ever take Compound-V to protect her son?

It’s funny, someone else asked me if she would take it and I said I didn’t think she would. But the way you just phrased it, saving Hughie, I think at this point, that’s her biggest regret in life. And I think she would do anything to save Hughie. So, we’ll see.

Does Hughie’s mother really love Annie (Erin Moriarty)?)?

She likes him! I think she thinks she’s great. I think she’s as smitten as anyone. I think he is a person present on all social networks. I think she’s scrolling through TikTok videos and I think she likes Starlight. I think she likes Annie. I mean, she gives Hughie her original engagement ring and says, “Let’s make this deal, let’s do it!”

Will there be a role for Daphne Campbell in season five, the final season of The boys? (Creator and showrunner Eric Kripke said THR that he enjoyed the character and hopes she will appear in some way in season five: “I can’t imagine ending the series without seeing her again. I think you have to see your mother again, in some way..”)

Crossed fingers! I don’t know if there’s any reason for her to come back, but I really had a lot of fun playing her.

The boys airs new episodes of season four every Thursday on Prime Video. Learn more from Eric Kripke about the entire season and why he’s ending the series with season five.