Esposito discussed his part in The Boys and the reason he finds the character so frightening in a recent interview with GQ. He tells how his reputation as a “company man” has only served to make him more terrifying than characters such as Moff Gideon and Gus Fring. Additionally, Esposito believes that part of what makes Stan so terrifying is the fact that he faces Homelander with absolutely no fear, in contrast to the majority of people. From the conversation:

“The Boys’ Stan Edgar is a company man, and what makes a good villain is he’s working for somebody else. We think what makes a good villain is, he wants to take over the world, and I have some of those in my Star Wars, Moff Gideon life. But when you have a guy who is a company man, it’s scary. And so Stan Edgar frightened me a little bit, because he has no fear. He has no fear of Homelander. You’re in a world where you have superheroes with human emotions who could kill you in a heartbeat, and he’s the head of the company who has created this Compound V, so he has business venture. You get the idea of big business, big politics, and big government and how it affects the world. I love this show.”

Stan Edgar Has Manipulated Homelander Like No Other

Esposito went on to further speak about the relationship between Stan Edgar and Homelander (Antony Starr). He points out how Stan is aware of Homelander’s need for validation from him and has always used that to his advantage. Because while Homelander might be the planet’s most powerful being, he still came into the world as a human and has that need to be validated.

“You know, they say that daughters need the validation of their fathers, and sons need to be mothered. And so what did we miss in our lives? What did we miss growing up from that relationship that we needed to be validated by? So, Stan Edgar realizes that Homelander’s just a big kid and that he never got the validation that he needed from his father. And so it becomes very, very tricky, he understands that. So he needs to be validated by another man who says, ‘Yeah, you’re powerful and good,” and all that. In return for that, Stan also feels like he’s holding onto his power. He’s able to control this loose cannon where no one else can. ‘You are not a god, you are simply bad product.’ Pow. Strong.”

The fourth season of The Boys doesn’t yet have a premiere date, and while Esposito isn’t officially confirmed to make an appearance as Stan Edgar, the actor has teased that fans just might see him in season 4. For now, you can catch Esposito in the show by streaming its first three seasons on Prime Video.