Why The Crimson Countess From The Boys Looks So Familiar

Following up on the chaos and carnage of the first two seasons, Season 3 of "The Boys" introduces an assortment of new supes into the mix alongside familiar mainstays like Homelander (Antony Starr) and The Deep (Chace Crawford). Many of these are straight adaptations of characters from Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's "The Boys" comic series, including Crimson Countess. 

A riff on Marvel's Scarlet Witch, Crimson Countess is a powerful supe who possesses the power of pyrokinesis, and unlike Season 2's Lamplighter (Shawn Ashmore), she can actually generate the fire she controls. Even aside from the character's resemblance to an increasingly popular Marvel antihero, though, she may seem quite familiar to film and television audiences. 

That is because the character is played by Laurie Holden, a seasoned veteran of the big- and small-screen worlds with an extensive list of credits (per IMDb) dating back to the 1980s. Given her lengthy list of roles, the following are some of the performances that fans may find most recognizable from throughout her career.

One of the more notable small screen franchises to display Laurie Holden's acting talents over the years was the deeply influential Fox sci-fi series, "The X-Files." On the show, Holden portrayed Marita Covarrubias, a young woman introduced as a U.N. official, before ultimately revealing her true allegiance as an agent working for the Syndicate. However, she ultimately betrays the organization to assist lead characters Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Fox Mulder (David Duchovny).

Marita was introduced to "The X-Files" in Season 4. Her main narrative purpose was to serve as a replacement for X (Steven Williams), who was killed off of the series prior to her introduction. As a replacement for a significant, fan-favorite character, Holden's audition process to join the show was shrouded in mystery. Addressing this in an interview with Entertainment Weekly in 1997, Holden said "When I auditioned, I couldn't get a script. It was very hush-hush. All I knew was that it was a woman who worked at the U.N. who had an air of 'intelligent seriousness.' They've always said to me, 'Keep the mystery."'

Ultimately, Holden appeared on "The X-Files" from 1996 to the end of the series in 2002. 

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Jim Carrey pivoted from his traditional zany comedic persona to a number of more dramatic roles, appearing in films such as "The Truman Show," "Man on the Moon," and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." One other project in this run was Frank Darabont's 2001 drama, "The Majestic." The film focuses on a man who is taken in by a small town who thinks he is a long-missing soldier who disappeared during World War II.

In "The Majestic," Laurie Holden portrays Adele Stanton, the girlfriend of the missing soldier who develops a relationship with Carrey's Peter Appleton over the course of the film. The truth eventually comes to light, and while Peter is not the man Adele knew before the war, they continue their relationship and eventually marry at the end of the film. One notable aspect of "The Majestic" worth noting is that it is one of several collaborations between Holden and Darabont, who continued working together over the years on some pretty high-profile projects.

In 2005, Marvel's first family joined the then-modern superhero blockbuster movement with the release of Tim Story's "Fantastic Four." The film saw the titular team of scientists-turned-heroes gain powers after being exposed to a cosmic storm in outer space and then using their powers for good in a battle against Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon). In the film, Laurie Holden portrays Debbie McIlvane, the fiancée of Ben Grimm's (Michael Chiklis), who leaves him when she learns that he has turned into the Thing — I.E., the cosmic rays transformed into a super-strong being made of orange rocks. 

Their breakup leads Ben to develop a relationship with a blind artist named Alicia Masters (Kerry Washington), his iconic love interest from the comics. Unlike many other characters included in 2005's "Fantastic Four," though, Debbie McIlvane is an original character with minimal connection to anyone from the source material. However, in the years after "Fantastic Four" hit theaters, a character named Debbie Green was introduced to Marvel Comics (via Fandom).

Laurie Holden has starred in numerous adaptations of graphic novel properties over the years. However, she also made a stopover in one video game adaptation as well — specifically, as police officer Cybil Bennett in 2006's "Silent Hill." 

Cybil is a motorcycle cop who follows the film's lead character Rose (Radha Mitchell) into the titular town after a traffic stop. Astute players of the "Silent Hill" video game franchise will note that Cybil is not a character created for the movie. She is actually a notable player from the game series who has appeared across several different adaptations of "Silent Hill" lore, making her death arguably a bit of a surprise for some fans. In 2018, Holden addressed her role in the franchise (via Silent Hill Paradise), saying," I knew going in how incredible the "Silent Hill" franchise was because I was a fan of the video game. I was over the moon to take on the role of Cybil ... I loved everything about that character. Oh, and a tv series would be AMAZING."

"Silent Hill" proved to be a modest hit at the worldwide box office, cracking $100 million over the course of its theatrical run against an estimated $50 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). Following its release, a second "Silent Hill" movie was released in 2012, and while Mitchell returned, Holden did not.

2007's "The Mist" was another major collaboration between Laurie Holden and director Frank Darabont. Based on the Stephen King novella of the same name, the film follows survivors who band together to battle Lovecraftian monsters after they find themselves trapped in a convenience store surrounded by a thick, mysterious mist. Eventually, the group of survivors begins to splinter as radical ideologies take hold, leading to a showdown between the pragmatic survivors trying to stay alive and a group of religious zealots. In "The Mist," Laurie Holden plays Amanda, a teacher who joins forces with David Drayton (Thomas Jane) during the ordeal.

Despite being a film heavy on CGI, Darabont was able to get strong performances from his actors by keying them i to the nature of the monsters. Speaking out about the movie (via Fangoria), Holden explained, "On 'The Mist,' the special effects guys came on set, showed us models. The animators demonstrated how every single creature moved — their teeth, their tails, their wings, what color they were, the hair — with such detail that it gave us a wonderful point of reference when we had to look at an X on the window or a tennis ball on a stick. We all knew exactly what we were looking at, which was very helpful."

However, the monsters are only part of the legacy of "The Mist." The film has become iconic for its remarkably bleak ending, which has to be seen to be believed.

One of Laurie Holden's most well-known roles is the part of Andrea on the first three seasons of AMC's "The Walking Dead." From her debut in the Season 1 episode "Guts" onward, Andrea remained a crucial part of Rick's (Andrew Lincoln) initial survivor group ... until eventually finding herself separated from them and becoming a significant player in the Woodbury community. As a result, she finds herself in a rift between her old community and her new community, and as she tries to broker peace between them, she is ultimately killed at the end of Season 3.

Andrea's storyline in "The Walking Dead" TV series is very different from her role in Robert Kirkman's "The Walking Dead" comic book series, where she goes on to become one of the all-time major players in the narrative. The departure caused some backlash, not only among fans but with Holden herself. In fact, Holden publicly spoke out about her death on the show in 2021 (via FanFest), saying that her character arc would've been more satisfying if Andrea had been the one to kill the Governor (David Morrissey). As she put it, "It was a big mistake. It's not like I couldn't pull it off. I think the stuff they wrote about Andrea and the Governor was complete and utter nonsense. I did the best that I could to tell that narrative and to justify where Andrea kept her heart and I love Scott Gimple for giving me a gorgeous death with redemption so that you understood that she wasn't a victim and that she died on her own terms. But I think that there was so much beautiful narrative that was lost."

One of Laurie Holden's most intriguing recent small-screen roles was her portrayal of Renee Beeman in the hit FX series, "The Americans." Introduced to the show in Season 5, Renee quickly develops a romance with Stan Beeman (Noah Emmerich), and the two eventually get married. However, as the show closes in on the series finale, Stan begins to grow suspicious of his wife and whether or not she truly loves him ... or if she is a Soviet plant sent to spy on him.

One of the most interesting elements of the conclusion of "The Americans" is that it ultimately never pays off Renee's storyline in a concrete way. Many fans had suspicions as to whether or not the character was a spy working for the USSR. However, upon the series' conclusion in 2018, "The Americans" never offered a definitive answer to her true allegiances. Holden herself even added to the confusion upon the conclusion of "The Americans," taking to Twitter and responding to questions of Renee's allegiance by posting, " So much speculation! Only way to find out is to rewatch and follow the trail of breadcrumbs ... Perfect wife or Russian spy?" 

For now, fans can only theorize.