Nathan Mitchell Unpacks the Mystery Behind Black Noir

There’s no question that Black Noir is one of the most mysterious characters on the hit Amazon Prime series, The Boys. Entirely cloaked in black, never speaking a word, and never revealing his face, this dark figure is a truly ruthless assassin with a real mystery to unpack.

In this exclusive interview, Randy Falk from NECA sits down with Nathan Mitchell, the actor behind the mask of Black Noir, as he digs deep to explore what it is exactly that makes Black Noir such a compelling character to watch, and such an interesting character to play. Going into detail about Black Noir’s motivations as a member of the Seven, as well as his “ruthless killer” yet “softie at heart” demeanor, Nathan fills in a lot of blanks for viewers and fans of the show.

After speaking about some of his favorite scenes from The Boys, like the Teddy Bear scene and the brutal Black Noir fight with Starlight, Nathan then goes on to talk about his love for Power Rangers action figures as a kid, and how his journey has come full circle now that an action figure has been based on him as Black Noir.

The Black Noir action figure created by NECA is a true collector’s dream. Featuring all kinds of tiny details that make this figure a real work of art and craftsmanship, you’re going to find so much to love about this one. Between the detailed replica of the screen costume and the interchangeable hands and two knives that fit into sheaths on the figure’s hips, you’ll definitely be showing this 7" scale action figure off to all of your friends.

Closing out the interview, Nathan makes sure to give viewers a sneak peek into the new season of The Boys. According to him, Season 3 is going to be an absolutely “mind-blowing” one, an adventure you’re certainly not going to want to miss.

 

Read Full Interview Transcription Below: 

Marc: Hi everybody, Marc Summers here, and this latest episode of the Haulathon is extra special with an incredible guest. You know him as the silent super-powered assassin, Black Noir, on Prime Video’s hit series, The Boys. And now there is yet another reason to love him. His Black Noir figure just dropped on Haulathon.com. So please welcome Nathan Mitchell to the Haulathon stage for a first look at the figure and to learn exactly what Black Noir is thinking under that mask, I’ve always wondered. You don’t want to miss this. Roll it!

Randy: Hey this is Randy Falk from NECA and I am joined by Nathan Mitchell, the brutal efficient stealthy assassin, Black Noir, from Prime Video’s, The Boys. Nate, thanks for being with us today.

Nathan: Thanks for having me.

Randy: We got to work on developing your action figure here, and we have a lot of questions about Black Noir since he is shrouded in mystery. Hopefully you can shed some light on some of the character and motivations today. What is it like playing a character that lives concealed behind that mask?

Nathan: You know, it’s interesting playing a character who lives completely under a mask because it makes you get in touch with different dimensions of yourself. You know, we’re so used to using our voice and using our facial expressions to communicate, that when that’s taken away from you, you have to look at your body language. You have to look at your posture. You have to look at when you move and when you stay still. And so as an actor that’s really interesting, because you’re trained your entire life to use your voice, and to use your facial expressions. You know? And so that, it forces you to discover new ways to tell story. And it’s really exciting. You grow a lot from it. It’s challenging, but it’s also a lot of fun. And you know, someone had told me that I would be doing this role you know, where I don’t show my face or use my voice, I would never believe them. I’d be like okay yeah sure, I don’t see it, you know. But it’s been one of the most fun experiences of my life.

Randy: Now when you accepted the role, did you know from the get-go that you would be silent, and that your face would also be concealed?

Nathan: Yes, I did, I did. They told me, they’re like hey, just so you know, we’re never going to see your face, and you’re never going to speak. And I’m like, I’m not doing anything else right now, so hey. And so I did a little research, I looked him up, you know, and you know, I got the vibe of him, just from you know, what was there, you know, on the comic book. And I just decided to have fun with it. You know, I had a Deep audition, and an A-Train audition. You know, so I had a scene from both of those characters. And I tried to imagine like, what they would be, you know, and how they would fit into this mosaic of the Seven, and try to like complement that, and bring a little contrast as well. You know like, so if Deep is this way, and A-Train is this way, who could this third person be? And express that through the audition, and then bring a little bit of physicality to it too.

Randy: Now what do you think makes Black Noir tick? Like what are the motivations? What is going on inside of your head?

Nathan: I think there’s a desire to belong, you know, there’s a desire to be useful. You know, because he lives underneath this mask, you know, we got a peek of it in Season 2, but his face is fairly deformed. And it’s at the point where he can’t take that mask off and just walk around and function in everyday society. So his primary identity and his primary role exists as a member of the Seven. So when it comes to his role and his job, he’s highly motivated to be the best he can, to do the best he can, because here he has a purpose. And he has a place where he belongs. You know, and outside of that, when he’s off duty, I think he’s motivated by you know, a sense of curiosity. You know, he has a very child-like dimension to him. And so just interacting with the world in a way that, there’s a degree of fascination, and we don’t necessarily see that on the show, but in my mind behind the scenes, you know, he interacts with things with a sense of curiosity. And there’s even some playfulness, you know, and he likes to express himself and he is a bit of an artist under there.

Randy: It seems like there is more heart and more going on, heart and soul inside of the character. Would you think that’s a fair statement?

Nathan: Yes, Black Noir is a softie. He’s a big softie who can kill you. And that’s what makes him interesting and fun, right? Because you see this menacing figure who can cut you down in a second. You know, and then we go to, I guess it’s Episode 1 of Season 2, and he takes someone’s head off, and then he’s comforting this kid with a bunny rabbit. You know, and for me that’s quintessential Black Noir. You know, there’s a part of him that has this tenderness, this softness, this ability for empathy, especially for animals and kids, and then at the same time there’s this other part of him that is completely ruthless. And I think that heart is, that’s the core of him. That’s the core of him. You know. He wants to be this efficient killer. But he also has a life, like an inner life. And yeah I think that’s a big part of it.

Randy: What do you think is the coolest thing that Black Noir has done so far? Based on the two seasons that we as an audience have seen, do you have a favorite action scene or a favorite moment of Black Noir so far?

Nathan: I gotta say, like I love the teddy bear scene. I love the, you know, just the making of the Teddy Bear dance and, after surviving the explosion, we see he takes off the head. That for me is like the best Noir scene. Like I love that scene so much. I also love the fight scene with Starlight. You know. And even though Noir ends up getting taken down by Maeve, just, we get to see his power, you know, and how brutal and ruthless he can be as a fighter. And I think those would be my top two scenes.

Randy: Okay. Obviously there’s a lot of physical training and conditioning that goes on. Did you do a lot of additional training with the knife and bladework, because those seem to be his primary weapons of choice, right?

Nathan: There wasn’t much actually, you know. I trained in Taekwondo for about ten years. And so I had the martial arts, you know, background and sensibility that I bring to the role. But the core of Noir, is the characterization. You know, like his little quirky moments, his little awkward moments. So it’s much more about the comedic heart of the character, and his ruthless killer nature, you know. And so, you combine those things and it’s obviously a lot of fun. But yeah, I think the focus was really just connecting to who he is as a person. You know, what he wants, what makes him tick, what makes him go. And you know, we have those huge fight scenes, and you know, they’re a lot of fun to do, but you know, as actors, we only do so much, all the time. But, I would say that, the training was really about movement. You know, specific movement. Like how could I convey this emotion, or this intention, with this style of movement, or this style of pause, or with just tilting my head like that. And so, in addition to martial arts training, there’s also different styles of movement that I explored, and that all went into contributing to you know, how you see Black Noir.

Randy: As you may know, there are action figures out there currently. Homelander and Starlight are the first two action figures that are out there in the market, but you are number three in the line. The Black Noir figure is hitting shelves. How do you feel to be immortalized in plastic as your own action figure?

Nathan: That is so cool. It is so *expletive* cool. I don’t know if I can swear, but I did it. You know, funny story, when I was a kid, I probably was like five or six. Like I loved watching Power Rangers. I loved watching Power Rangers. And it got to a point where I’d play fight with my friends so much that my mom was like, “No more Power Rangers.” You know, so I started drawing Power Rangers. And that’s what got me into art, which got me into acting. You know, so, it’s kind of this like full circle thing where I was really into violent superheroes as a kid, and now I get to have a violent action figure who’s a character that I’m playing. So it’s really cool. I love action figures. Like there’s this like little Miles Morales, you know, Spiderman action figure that I’ve had for a long time. And when I was younger it used to be like by my bedside. You know, and so, to just think that like I could have that, you know, and that there’s an action figure of a character I play it’s amazing. You know, it’s a dream come true.

Randy: Excellent. Yeah we were really happy to work on it, and to be working on all of the Seven, it’s just such a great team and so many cool characters, and there’s so much you know, edge to them. Which is, you know.

Nathan: And I love you know, the little poses, like I love like him with the knives and there’s like blood on the knife. That, it’s super, it’s super sweet. I love it.

Randy: Awesome, yeah it’s all about the details and all those little authentic touches the fans appreciate and the collectors look for, which is really cool.

Nathan: Yes. Yes.

Randy: Are you looking forward to the unveiling of Season 3 and letting the fans see you know, what’s next for Black Noir and the Seven?

Nathan: Yeah, I’m looking forward to it a lot. There’s gonna be a lot of WTF moments. This season is, it’s gonna blow your mind. I can’t. I can’t. No words. No words. You’re going to get to the first episode and you’re gonna be like, “Woah, they did that?” Yeah, you know, I think there’s a bunch of things that we’ve done that haven’t been seen on TV before. And there’s some more stuff that’s never been seen, and likely has never been thought of to put on TV before. So yep. Gonna be some mind-blowing stuff.

Randy: Cool Nate, thank you so much for joining us today. We look forward to seeing Season 3 and Black Noir is hitting shelves this spring.

Nathan: Thank you too, I really appreciate it. This has been a dream come true, and I’m so excited. It looks so amazing, and I can’t wait for everybody to see it, and I can’t wait to get one myself.

Marc: That was Nathan Mitchell from The Boys. Remember, you gotta pick up your Black Noir action figure. It’s available in the US and internationally at Haulathon.com. See you next time collectors.

@HAULATHON