Is this surprise A-list appearance in The Boys season 4 the show's best cameo yet?
Yep, that’s right, there's yet another actor playing themselves in The Boys
There are a whole lot of The Boys season 4 cameos in store for us by the looks of it, and I'm not just talking about some inevitable appearances from the Gen V crew. The new series also has some big-name actors popping up throughout, including a well-known comedy legend.
Spoilers for The Boys season 4 episodes 1-3 follow!
In true The Boys nature, Vought once again has a few little side quests for its Supes, including A-Train who seems to be the victim of the most unfortunate PR stunts, such as the Turbo Rush commercial. But this season, A-Train (AKA Reggie Franklin), played by Jessie T Usher, is filming his very own coming-of-age biopic titled Training A-Train featuring a special cameo from Will Ferrell. And yes, it's just as offensive as you think it is. Watch Vought’s trailer for Training A-Train below.
From the studio that brought you Rising Tide and Dawn of the Seven comes TRAINING A-TRAIN. Now in production, directed by award-winning filmmaker Adam Bourke and starring The World’s Fastest Man. Here’s A-Train on why this is his most heart-wrenching role yet! pic.twitter.com/im85pPr7ODJune 10, 2024
The scene opens with 'Hypnotise' by Notorious B.I.G playing whilst A-Train uses his super-fast powers to deal drugs, that is until Coach Rink (Ferrell) rolls up to save him from the streets asking "When was the last time you had a decent meal?" The funniest part of the whole scene, though, is that when the fake take cuts, we learn that Ferrell is actually playing himself as Vought’s director Adam Bourke (P. J. Byrne) calls him "Ferrell-fucking-Streep".
The Stepbrothers star certainly brings the humor to the scene with his delivery on out-of-pocket lines such as "you’re throwing it all away, slinging yayo for gangbangers," and "come back with me, to the suburbs". The scene is obviously parodying overly cheesy and quite offensive white saviour-esque films such as The Blind Side and Dangerous Minds, in which a white central character rescues a non-white character from unfortunate circumstances.
Ferrell even nods to the out-of-date trope that relies highly on exaggerated stereotypes as he asks "I’m not giving off too much of a Blind Side vibe am I?" Later, A-Train reveals his disapprovement of the movie as he was actually trained by his brother who he says "was a waiter at Buster Beaver, not a fucking crack dealer".
Ferrell isn't the first hall-of-fame actor to appear in the show as fictionalized versions of themselves as throughout the past three seasons, we have seen Billy Zane, Charlize Theron, Seth Rogen, Patton Oswalt, Josh Gad, Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, Elizabeth Banks, Aisha Tyler, and Rose Byrne all cameo. So far in season 4, Tilda Swinton appears in episode 1 voicing The Deep’s Octopus lover Ambrosia. As for the rest of the season, we can't wait to see who else rocks up.
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The Boys season 4 episodes 1-3 are streaming on Prime Video now. For more, check out The Boys season 4 release schedule and the best shows on Prime Video.
I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering TV and film for SFX and Total Film online. I have a Bachelors Degree in Media Production and Journalism and a Masters in Fashion Journalism from UAL. In the past I have written for local UK and US newspaper outlets such as the Portland Tribune and York Mix and worked in communications, before focusing on film and entertainment writing. I am a HUGE horror fan and in 2022 I created my very own single issue feminist horror magazine.