This ‘Gen V’ Cast Member Hopes to Return in Season 2

[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Season 1 of Gen V.]

The Big Picture

• The actors behind the characters Emma and Sam were heartbroken when they discovered the fate of their characters’ relationship in the season finale.
• The actors had little information about their character arcs due to how secretive the show’s plot was.
• The show contains gross and gory moments, such as scenes involving blood and violence, that were both challenging and cool to film.

Gen V started off as a TV series about young adult supes at the Godolkin University, a school where supes are encouraged to rise to the top, competing for top ranking and a chance to join Vought International’s elite team The Seven. But as dark secrets came to light, blood was splattered and betrayals hit very close to home, it became apparent that Vought didn’t really have anyone’s best interests in mind, except for their own.

Over the eight-episode first season of this spinoff of The Boys, Golden Boy (Patrick Schwarzenegger) proved he didn’t have quite the shine everyone at God U. thought he did and Sam’s (Asa Germann) troubled past pushed him to the brink and beyond, breaking Emma’s (Lizze Broadway) heart in the process. And while that had the interesting consequence of allowing her emotions to guide her size, Emma has no idea what that means for her future.

During this interview with Collider, co-stars Broadway, Germann and Schwarzenegger talked about how heartbroken they were over the state of Sam and Emma’s relationship, how little they knew about the arcs of their characters, the family drama between Luke (aka Golden Boy) and Sam, their bloodiest moments this season, whether their characters actually learned any lessons, and how it’s all just a little bit toxic.

Lizze Broadway and Asa Germann Were Heartbroken About Their Gen V Characters

Collider: I love this show, and how sick and twisted it is. Lizze and Asa, when you guys found out where things would be left for your character at the end of this season, what was your reaction? What were the questions that you hope to have answered, moving forward?

LIZZE BROADWAY: First, I called my bosses and I was like, “What is happening? Why did you have to do this?”

ASA GERMANN: “Why would you do this to us?”

BROADWAY: So, they got an earful, for sure. Actually, I was heartbroken. I was so immersed in Emma that my heart just broke. I just didn’t think it was fair. I was like, “Emma has had to go through so much this season. Can’t she just catch a break?”

GERMANN: Lizze and I spent a lot of time together with these characters, talking about the characters and the journey. And we’ve spent a lot of time since we finished filming, talking about it, as well. It definitely broke both of our hearts. But also, those moments are so well-written and it’s such an earned component, the destruction of the relationship, hopefully momentarily, that as an actor, it’s really a joy to get to play that. But we’re still heartbroken.

BROADWAY: Yeah, still heartbroken. We haven’t gotten over it. We’re talking to people.

GERMAN: Oh, yeah, a lot of people.

BROADWAY: It’s weird, what made that moment so beautiful was everything that led up to it. It’s the whole arc of Emma’s and the whole arc of Sam’s, coming together in that one moment. That was why it was so powerful for us, as actors, but also for our characters

Patrick, did you know, going into this, what Golden Boy’s fate would be? How did you feel about that?

PATRICK SCHWARZENEGGER: Yes and no. When I was auditioning for the role, I didn’t have a script. I don’t know about you guys. Did they just pick on me? Did you guys have a script?

BROADWAY: I didn’t know I had superpowers. I didn’t know I changed size.

SCHWARZENEGGER: They were so secretive about everything, I really didn’t know much. And even when I got to the final round, the chemistry read, and I did it with the showrunners and director and producers, they still didn’t tell me much of what was going on. They said, “He’s in five episodes,” which was misleading, even then. I didn’t know what his fate was until I really read the pilot.

So, when you did learn what would happen, did they also say, “But he will be back”?

SCHWARZENEGGER: Yeah, they did. They said how many episodes the character was in, so I knew he was gonna come back at points, but I didn’t know to what extent and what the relationship was and all those details. In any case, I would have done the show, if it was only that one episode. Getting to be part of this brand and The Boys and this built-in fan base with these producers and Amazon and [Eric] Kripke and just the whole cast, it was a no-brainer. I’m happy that he came back for other episodes. I hope he comes back again. But I would have done it, if it was just a great scene.

Asa and Patrick, how did you guys approach figuring out that family dynamic? We really only get to learn about their relationship through Sam’s imagination. Did you guys talk about that and try to figure out what that would be?

SCHWARZENEGGER: We didn’t really talk about that.

GERMANN: Patrick and I have never spoken before today.

BROADWAY: This is the first time.

SCHWARZENEGGER: No, we didn’t, and I think that’s because I honestly just didn’t know that much of what was going on. Truthfully, we didn’t really talk too much.

GERMANN: We didn’t really have any scenes together until the third episode, which we shot way later because I broke my arm. There’s a lot that’s in the family dynamic between Sam and Luke and with our parents. There’s a shot in the show from outside their home, which is interesting. There’s certainly a lot to explore there, which is pretty exciting.

The Cast of ‘Gen V’ Each Had Blood-Soaked Moments This Season

Any show set in this universe is going to be gross and gnarly. For each of you, what was the most outrageous or bloody moment that you were involved in, that you were worried about pulling off, but you think the finished product is just really cool?

SCHWARZENEGGER: The scene coming out of the ear was insane, but I wasn’t there that day. For me, the scene where I die and was watching all the blood and guts get splashed down on Jaz [Sinclair]’s character was the most gory and bloody day that I got to witness.

BROADWAY: That was a cool scene. For me, it was swimming in a pool of blood that was shaped like a jacuzzi.

GERMANN: Was that for the show?

BROADWAY: Yeah, it was for the show. The blood was heated, which was hysterical.

GERMANN: For me, the punch scene was pretty bloody. That was tough, just because of the weight of the prosthetic person, and the fake blood sprayed in my eye. That was really tough. We had a great stunt team working with us, and Colin Penman (makeup department head), who made a fake person, also certainly helped with that. He’s a genius.

What do each of you think was the hardest thing for your character to learn this season, and do you think they actually learned from it?

BROADWAY: I don’t think they actually learned anything, did they? For real, for real?

GERMANN: That’s a really good question.

BROADWAY: I can speak for Emma and say that her self-love journey is something that she’s continuing to learn, and also how not to fall in love with someone who doesn’t treat her right.

GERMANN: Woah, this is a personal attack. One of the things on Sam’s journey, and I don’t know if this turns out to be a good thing or not – I’ll leave that up to everyone’s personal discretion, I guess – is the power of choice. For a long time, that’s not one that he identifies with.

BROADWAY: That’s such a great answer.

GERMANN: Thank you very much.

BROADWAY: You’re welcome.

SCHWARZENEGGER: It was tough to learn that my friend was getting with my girlfriend.

GERMANN: What about your brother being alive?

There’s a lot of toxicity happening with all these characters, clearly.

BROADWAY: Yeah, our show should just be called Toxic, and not the Britney Spears song.

Lizze Broadway Doesn’t Know How Emma’s Emotions Will Play Into Her Supe Ability

Lizze, in the finale, we see how Emma’s emotions can also affect her size. What have you been told about that? Is that something that we’ll see explored more deeply?

BROADWAY: They don’t tell me anything. I’m just in the dark. If you hear anything, call me. It’s so interesting, when she shrank for the first time, when I read that script, I was like, “Why does she get small?” I didn’t even understand it. And they actually never told me how she shrinks. We say that it’s because she feels small, but I’m sure she’s felt small before, at other times in her life. I was like, “Why this time?” That’s my question.

Gen V is available to stream at Prime Video. Check out the Season 4 trailer for The Boys, which will take place following the events of Season 1 of Gen V:

Watch on Prime Video