How Amazon's new superhero TV show, 'The Boys,' landed Simon Pegg and fulfilled the wish of fans of the comic book

Amazon Prime Video

Simon Pegg in "The Boys."

• "The Boys" showrunner Eric Kripke talked to Business Insider about how the new Amazon superhero TV series landed Simon Pegg for a role.
• "I think he did it for no other reason than to pay a debt he felt he owed to the book and fans of the book," Kripke said. "It shows how much he cares about genre fans that he's willing to do that."
• The show is based on a comic book of the same name, starring a character named Hughie who is drawn to look exactly like Pegg.
• Kripke said that Pegg has "always been very aware" of "The Boys," and as he aged out of the character, he would say in interviews that he'd be willing to play Hughie's dad.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

It didn't take much to convince actor Simon Pegg to join Amazon's new superhero TV show, "The Boys," according to showrunner Eric Kripke.

The series is based on a Dynamite Entertainment comic-book series of the same name by writer Garth Ennis and artist Darick Robertson. It follows Hughie Campbell, who is recruited into a group called The Boys that keeps a check on superheroes who abuse their powers.

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"[Pegg is] friendly with Darick Robertson, who drew Hughie to look exactly like Simon Pegg," Kripke told Business Insider in an interview earlier this month. "I think that's how they got to know each other. So he's always been very aware of 'The Boys.'"

But Pegg doesn't play Campbell on the show - he plays the character's dad.

Dynamite Entertainment

The comic's Hughie, front, was modeled after actor Simon Pegg, who plays Hughie's dad in Amazon's TV adaptation.

"Obviously, he would get the question a lot, if he would play Hughie in an adaptation of 'The Boys,'" Kripke said. "And throughout the years, he would say it would be great. Then I found some interviews where he'd say he's aging out of it, but he thinks he should play Hughie's dad. That's where I got the idea."

When the show's casting director reached out to Pegg's representatives last year about playing the role of Campbell's dad, the actor "jumped at it," Kripke said.

"He was traveling the world doing press for 'Mission: Impossible - Fallout,' so he was busy," Kripke said. "But he took time out of his schedule to play this role. I think he did it for no other reason than to pay a debt he felt he owed to the book and fans of the book. It shows how much he cares about genre fans that he's willing to do that. He has my incredible respect for that."

"The Boys" premiered on Amazon Prime Video on Friday.

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH KRIPKE ON THE MAKING OF "THE BOYS" HERE.