The Boys star Erin Moriarty has revealed that she was diagnosed with Graves’ disease while filming the final season of the show, and that if affected her performance.
READ MORE: ‘The Boys’ season five review: grisly superhero satire nails the endgame
The autoimmune disorder affects the thyroid, according to the NHS website, and can cause fatigue, anxiety, and weight loss in those with the condition. According to a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Moriarty was diagnosed while filming the superhero satire’s final season in 2025. She shared that diagnosis with her followers on Instagram in June of that year.
The actor told the outlet that it led to her not feeling able to fully invest in her performance as Annie, aka superhero Starlight. “It did lead to me not being as present for Annie during this final season as I would’ve hoped, and that was super painful for me,” she said. “I thought, ‘Oh my God, I’m failing Annie and I’m failing our audience’”.
Describing how long she was affected, she said: “It was like I was offline for the first six to seven episodes, and then I came back online. I finally felt present at the very end of season five.”
Further explaining its impact, she said: “I wish I could have used it to enhance or to relate to her weariness, but to be honest, I was on set every day just really, really, really struggling to get through it all. I wasn’t able to transcend the physical and mental toll that this disease took on me until episode seven.”
On a positive note, she said she was “very fortunate to be surrounded by a really supportive cast and crew,” but ultimately feels she can’t watch the show’s finale. “I’ve watched every season of The Boys. I love this show so much,” she said. “But I’m not watching the final season simply because it’s really important for me at this moment in time to put my psychological health above all other things.”
The first four episodes of season five of The Boys are on Prime Video now, with new episodes arriving every week until May 20. NME’s five-star review of the season said it “nails the endgame”, and calling Antony Starr’s performance as Homelander “a startling piece of work that cements him as one of television’s all-time villains.”
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