Posted in: Amazon Studios, TV | Tagged: Black Noir, Nathan Mitchell, New Noir, the boys

The Boys Star Nathan Mitchell Breaks Down A Tale of Two Black Noirs

Nathan Mitchell breaks down his approach to both incarnations of Black Noir in Prime Video's The Boys and the differences between the two.

Nathan Mitchell is in a unique situation on the Prime Video series The Boys. Not only did his original incarnation of Black Noir, the mute masked superhero member of The Seven, die at the hands of Homelander (Antony Starr), Mitchell also plays his much more talkative and meeker replacement in season four. Most times, he's constantly reminded, mostly by Homelander, that he's supposed to be mute due to the injuries his predecessor suffered in World War II. The actor spoke with Entertainment Weekly about how his current incarnation is doing a lot more…talking, his thoughts on creator Eric Kripke killing the original and having him play his successor, adjusting his body language to compensate for his lack of oral communication, and backstory.

The Boys: Nathan Mitchell on Exploring Both Black Noirs

When asked if Mitchell thought he would ever take off the mask as Black Noir, "When I got the role, I was told this character doesn't speak and that we don't see his face. I took the role with that in mind; and I embraced that reality," he said. "While I always hoped for it, it was never something that had been brought up as being on the table. All I could do was dive into Noir with everything that I had and see what happened."

On Black Noir's season three death and playing his replacement, "I am not sure what my face was doing, but my heart dropped. Then he was like, 'But you're coming back!' For me, it's interesting because you hear actors talk about how you play a role, and it becomes a part of you. I have connections to my characters, but I haven't thought too deeply about that," Mitchell said. "When I found out Noir was dying, damn, it did hit me. I did feel like I was losing someone. Kripke gave me the option of being Noir unmasked in season 3 or unmasked in season 4. My first inclination was to go down with the character because I was so connected to him and have so much love for him. Then I took a day or two to think about it, and I'm like, "It's smarter to be New Noir. I'll be New Noir." But it was a mourning process for me a little bit. Even when we filmed that [death] scene at the end of season 3, at the beginning, it felt like someone was dying. That was an experience I didn't think I would have."

While Karen Fukuhara's Kimiko adjusted to being mute by using sign language, Mitchell had a different approach with Noir, "When I got this role and jumping into it, there was a bit of an adjustment period and a learning curve, just figuring out how my movements translated in the suit, how a slight tilt of the shoulder contrasted with a big tilt of the shoulder," he said. "If I turn my head slowly, how is that different from if I turn my head quickly? What impact does that have on the audience? Once you get it, you can really go on this journey with the character and create an arc and tell a story with subtle movements."

Regarding how far along we'll get through New Noir's backstory, "We talked a little bit about Old Noir, but the focus was really on where he was in the present. We touched on, [New Noir] is from Godolkin [the supe college from spinoff series Gen V]," Mitchell said. "He's this actor who has never had the success that he's wanted to have. He's made some progress — he's done Cirque du Vought [a parody of Cirque du Soleil] — but his career isn't really where he wants it to be. Then, all of a sudden, this opportunity comes about. He is like, "What else am I doing?" So he jumps in and realizes it's more than he bargained for."

For more, including Mitchell talking about filming his alter ego's audition tape to be New Noir, filming without the mask, the final season, and his thoughts on a similar-looking character on the set of James Gunn's Superman, you can check out the complete interview. The season finale of The Boys streams on July 18th on Prime Video.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!