The Boys Star Audition Went So Wrong, It Nearly Got Him Arrested
Frenchie may be the resident crazy member of Amazon Prime Video's The Boys, but he's also the sentimental heart of the group.
The former hired gun is the sole hope for the rehabilitation of Kimiko, whom the rest of the Boys saw as merely a weapon. Frenchie has been perfectly played with the nuance of Israeli actor Tomer Capone, who uses smirks, eye contact, and manic expressions to encapsulate the troubled character.
Capone recently revealed that the audition that got him the role of Frenchie – the role that's firmly placed him in the pop culture spotlight – almost got him arrested.
After wrapping up production on an Israeli project, Capone went on vacation in China before he was due home for a friends' wedding. It wasn't the ideal time to get the email asking him to audition for Frenchie, but he decided to make it work. He learned his lines on the flight home and recorded his audition tape around the wedding in Tel Aviv.
He said his audition was the scene from the second episode, in which he argues with Karl Urban 's Billy Butcher about the unconscious Supe locked in Butcher's trunk. Capone grabbed his rubber gun, the prop he uses for acting, and took it to a friend's backyard.
Shooting the heated scene, Capone said he took a couple takes and was "really into it." All of a sudden, he was faced with a group of police officers with drawn guns, shouting at him to drop the gun.
As it turns out, a neighbor of his friend had seen the actor outside of their window. Only seeing what they thought was a gun and the manic Capone, they believed the altercation was real.
Fortunately for Capone, one of the officers recognized him from the Netflix Israeli political drama Fauda. Capone said he felt lucky was he didn't get his "head blown off."
After what could have been a tragic episode, Capone says he's pretty well-removed from the trauma of it all.
Showrunner Eric Kripke of course offered Capone the part, giving him four days to get to Toronto to start filming. Capone shaved off his long hair and ran towards the role.
His role as Frenchie is by far his biggest part to date, and he's always been grateful for the opportunity Kripke gave him. Capone will return with the rest of the Boys for Season 4 next year.