Not every superhero has super powers.
Laz Alonso’s journey across three seasons of The Boys evolved from serving as the parental figure (“Mother”) of the titular “supes” hunting group to a father desperately trying to provide a normal and safe life for his daughter Janine (Liyou Abere), a superhero-loving force of nature. Mother’s Milk’s Season Three focus on becoming a great father provides the often extremely violent series a strong emotional core. Alonso’s scenes with Abere highlight a range within the actor that The Boys doesn’t often provide. They’re delicate, tender, and ultimately very open and honest as he reveals the truth behind what “supes” really are.
Even though Alonso ultimately loves the direction provided by his writing team, it wasn’t necessarily where he wanted to take the character. He wanted Mother’s Milk to proceed down the same path as Hughie (Jack Quaid) and Butcher (Karl Urban) in taking V, the synthetic drug that gives superhuman abilities to ordinary humans.
“I’ll be honest with you, I lobbied for V. I begged for it. I did everything but physically beg them to give me V. That was their line in the sand. They said, ‘If we give Mother’s Milk V, then the season’s over. The Boys are over because the whole purpose for Mother’s Milk not having V and not having powers is to keep the voice of the audience alive” Alonso explained. “He is the audience in many scenes. He also reminds the audience that we can’t go lower than the people who we claim to hate.”
By the end of Season Three, we know that was the right decision. Janine fully embraces her father as her own hero, the highlight of an outstanding third season of The Boys.
Alonso has always played Mother’s Milk with a strong moral compass. In the first few seasons, Alonso admitted to trying to figure out where exactly his character fit within the larger context of the group. He, along with series creator Eric Kripke, discovered that MM had strong relationships with each member of The Boys and often serves as a center — the mother figure, if you will — of an extremely dysfunctional family.
In a way, Alonso’s MM serves as the “yin” to Urban’s Butcher, the “yang.” Urban plays Butcher with an extraordinary amount of suppressed anger that erupts in violent, often anti-“supe” outbursts. Where Butcher encourages illicit and amoral behavior to achieve their ends, Alonso’s MM serves up disappointment when he feels The Boys have breeched their moral code.
“In Season Three, I realize that Hughie has powers, and while he has used them to save my life, I played disappointment in that scene. This wasn’t the way I’d taught him. The season then becomes Hughie having to choose between MM’s tutelage and Butcher’s tutelage,” Alonso said. “Is he going to go with Obi Wan Kenobi? Or is he going to go with Darth Vader? It took a few seasons for that distinction to mature and develop.”
When embodying MM, Alonso likes to imbue the character with a certain hip-hop influence. MM is a New York creation, and his Harlem apartment was filled with key Black iconography. Black Panther imagery, pictures of Obama, and a DJ booth fill the space. The appliances are all old school appliances.
There are several reminders that MM is a Harlem born and raised fighter.
“I use it in my physicality, too. There’s a there’s a thing called the ‘Harlem bop,’ the way certain characters from Harlem move. It’s kind of like a bounce to their step,” Alonso explained. “Whenever I have walking scenes, I infuse that into my step. It’s just little cues and little subtle easter eggs or nods to the culture.”
The Boys Season Three now streams on Amazon Prime.
