'The Boys': Erin Moriarty on Powering Through Career Lulls and Joining Amazon's Wild Superhero Show

Erin Moriarty has quite a bit to celebrate right now with the big debut of The Boys Season 2. Not only does the bold and wildly entertaining show deliver big in round two overall, but Moriarty gets the opportunity to stand out even more as Annie figures out how she’s going to handle what’s really going down at Vought.

Collider Ladies Night is all about celebrating someone’s passion, craft and success in the industry, but I also find it can be of great value to hear about the bumps in the road and what was learned from them, and Moriarty did have one that puts finding momentum in Hollywood into perspective. Moriarty’s big break came courtesy of Jordan Vogt-Roberts’ feature debut, The Kings of Summer, which hit big at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. While that film’s success did open doors for Moriarty, that didn’t necessarily mean guaranteed consistent work from that point on:

Image via Amazon

“I won’t glorify it. I worked on that movie and it felt like everything was gonna change, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. It’s just a testament to the fact that you never know what’s gonna happen because I then got more selective in projects that I was choosing and so, it was Kings of Summer euphoria and a burst in interest, and then I didn’t work for like a year or a year and a half.”

While that certainly does sound like a big disappointment, Moriarty did have an inspiringly positive spin on the situation that’s helped her move forward:

“And that actually served as a more valuable lesson I think than if it had kicked me off into a working spree because I thought, in that moment, when we were at Sundance and doing well, I thought, ‘Okay! From here on out, it’s gonna be smooth sailing,’ and I thought I’ve made it to the point where I’ll at least be able to rely on the prospect of just consistently working. And I learned the hard way that – it was very humbling – you can never trust that. Part of it was because I became more selective, but part of it is, you know, it’s an industry where you can audition and audition and audition and they’re just projects and roles you’re not meant to be in. It’s very specific. It can entail so many deciding factors that are out of your hands.” 

Image via CBS Films

As uncertain as a career in this industry may be, Moriarty is grateful for the lasting impression this period made as a very educational experience that now makes her even more grateful for her consistent work.

Moriarty had a whole lot more to share about her journey to The Boys in this edition of Collider Ladies Night including getting her start in musical theater, who taught her the most about being #1 on the call sheet, what it was like satirizing Hollywood in The Boys, and so much more. You can hear about it all in the full video interview at the top of this article or, if you prefer, we’ve also got the podcast version for you below.

The first three episodes of The Boys Season 2 are now available on Amazon Prime Video with new episodes dropping each Friday following, culminating with the season finale on October 9th.

Erin Moriarty:

• 00:55 – How meditation and having a dog helps her through the tougher days.
• 03:56 – Watching more mature movies with her dad as a kid.
• 07:41 – Does Moriarty want to voice a character in an animated movie?
• 08:58 – Coming to the decision that acting needed to be her career; starting with musical theater.
• 11:33 – Coming to the realization that she wasn’t a triple threat and how she felt about dancing holding her back.
• 16:32 – Booking as many jobs as possible vs. picking the ones that speak to you most at the beginning of your career; making the decision to go to LA.
• 20:14 – Moriarty revisits making The Kings of Summer; why that film was a game changer.
• 23:20 – Feeling like Kings of Summer could change everything, and then experiencing a work lull.
• 25:07 – The project that she credits with pulling her out of that lull; booking the lead opposite Mel Gibbons in Blood Father.
• 27:46 – Moriarty highlights the two actors who taught her the most about being #1 on the call sheet.
• 30:54 – Moriarty discusses having more women on the writing and directing team of The Boys.
• 32:45 – What it’s like promoting a show that satirizes Hollywood.
• 34:39 – Moriarty on filming the scene where she gets to peel off the Starlight costume piece by piece, and the powerful message the moment sends.
• 37:08 – Would Starlight have killed Hughie in Episode 3 if Butcher didn’t interrupt
• 39:10 – Rapid fire questions begin! Find out what meal Moriarty would eat for the rest of her life, where to find the perfect dessert, if she collects anything and her biggest fear overcome right here.