Samuel L. Jackson's secret “The Boys” season 5 role revealed: 'That's a bucket-list item'

Nick RomanoWed, May 13, 2026 at 4:00 PM UTC

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Samuel L. Jackson's 'The Boys' season 5 role revealed
Credit: Bruce Glikas/WireImage; Jasper Savage/PrimeKey Points -

Samuel L. Jackson has a secret role on The Boys season 5, now revealed with the release of episode 7.

Showrunner Eric Kripke explains how they landed the Marvel and Star Wars vet for this particular part.

"That's a bucket-list thing, man, watching Sam Jackson read your dialogue," Kripke says.

Warning: This article contains spoilers from The Boys season 5, episode 7, "The Frenchman, the Female, and the Man Called Mother's Milk."

Yes, that was Samuel L. Jackson's voice you heard coming out of the mouth of a hammerhead shark.

The veteran of Marvel, Star Wars, and Quentin Tarantino films quietly joined the cast of The Boys season 5 as the voice of Xander, animal companion and oceanic Uber to Chace Crawford's The Deep. The character appeared earlier in the season, though episode 7, which released on Wednesday, marked the first time we actually hear the actor in the role.

Thanks to an oil spill that the sea's so-called protector caused, Xander arrives to tell The Deep that "water is f---in' off limits." He throws in a "b---- ass" for good measure.

Xander (Samuel L. Jackson) and The Deep (Chace Crawford) on 'The Boys' season 5
Credit: Jasper Savage/Prime

Jackson follows a celebrated line of cameos on The Boys. The season 3 premiere featured Charlize Theron as the actress playing Stormfront in a movie based on The Seven. Season 4 then featured a slew of celebs for a spoof on the pandemic-era "Imagine" video, including Josh Gad, Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, Elizabeth Banks, and Rose Byrne.

According to showrunner Eric Kripke, it was the casting of Tilda Swinton as the voice of The Deep's cephalopod love interest, Ambrosius, that inspired Jackson's role.

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"Wouldn't it be hilarious if every time we hear from an ocean animal it's just the biggest possible, classiest actor we can possibly find, like Tilda?" he tells Entertainment Weekly. "There's always a chance of getting them because it's usually just an hour or two in a recording booth. They can do it wherever they are."

Jackson was their first choice for the Xander role, though the initial response from the actor's team was, as Kripke paraphrases, "We'll ask him, but don't get your hopes up." To everyone's surprise, Jackson is a fan of The Boys and said yes, barring any scheduling conflicts.

Tomer Capone (Frenchie), Karen Fukuhara (Kimiko), Karl Urban (Billy Butcher), Erin Moriarty (Annie January aka Starlight), Jack Quaid (Hughie Campbell) on 'The Boys' season 5
Credit: Jasper Savage/Prime Video

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"There was just a morning. He was free in New York City, and we brought him into a booth. I was in L.A. but video conferencing and was able to watch him do it," Kripke recalls. "That's a bucket-list thing, man, watching Sam Jackson read your dialogue. And I think it makes the scene just so funny because The Deep is getting told off and Sam Jackson's very, very good at that."

Season 5 proves to be the most star-studded season of The Boys. Kripke, who created Supernatural, reunited his stars Jared Padalecki and Misha Collins with Jensen Ackles for an episode that also involved Seth Rogen, Kumail Nanjiani, Will Forte, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Craig Robinson. Prior to that, we saw Maitreyi Ramakrishnan from Never Have I Ever and Freakier Friday appear as Countess Crow, a member of supe team Teenage Kix.

The series finale of The Boys will now premiere on Prime Video March 20.

on Entertainment Weekly

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”