The Boys: A Behind-The-Scenes Reveal Makes Black Noir's 'Weakness' Hilarious

No matter which iteration Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) and his pals have faced off against, Black Noir (aka "Black Black," a detail about "The Boys" that's been amusing fans since the start of the series) is one of the most feared Supes around, due in large part to the mysterious power set hidden under that mask. However, in the penultimate episode of Season 4, it was discovered (thanks to the aloha-shirt-loving leader of The Boys) that the newest Noir (Nathan Mitchell) is actually narcoleptic.

The revelation allows Butcher and the rest of his team to make a narrow escape, but what's even funnier about this discovery is that, according to the cast, the man behind the mask isn't far off his character in this respect.

During an appearance on the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast, Antony Starr recalled how Mitchell has been caught sleeping on the job on more than one occasion. "He'll legit fall asleep," Starr exclaimed. "There's a line [that goes], 'Is Noir asleep?' and he wakes up and goes, 'I'm narcoleptic,' which [Mitchell] f*****g is in real life. He's fallen asleep at the table in that suit." Historically, there are some pretty big plot details from the comics involving Noir that have been slept on for the show, including one huge Homelander twist that could've changed everything about the Prime Video series. By the sounds of things, though, such a demanding plot thread might've interrupted some well-needed shut-eye for Mitchell, who has apparently snuck in the occasional snooze for years.

In an interview with TV Insider, the actor who has played both iterations of Noir in the show (albeit a chattier version this season) revealed that he's always been known to get 40 winks or more whenever he can. "It's funny because [when I] talk to my friends who are now seeing the season, they'll laugh with me and they're like, 'Yeah, I remember when we were in high school and you'd come to parties and just nap on the couch.'" Thankfully, the creators of "The Boys" deemed that Mitchell's real-life superpower could be integrated into the show itself, and the detail has worked perfectly.

In this season, leading up to the revelation, the signs were there that Noir suffered from the condition after he was seen drifting off during a meeting with The Seven, much to Homelander's annoyance. Now, the secret has gotten out, and it just might work in The Boys' favor in the future.

Mitchell, whose take on Noir involves a surprising superhero inspiration from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, is happy with this decision. "The writers are so great. They see us and take unique parts of our personality and they insert them into the roles in really fun, creative ways. It's a cool character trait that I'm glad we get to explore." For now, we'll have to see how much it'll play a factor in the future of "The Boys" and if Noir can stay awake — or alive — until the end of it all.