‘The Boys’ Star Karen Fukuhara Unpacks the Real Reason Kimiko Is Mute

For Karen Fukuhara, who plays Kimiko Miyashiro, the mute supe on “The Boys,” her character’s silence was always about more than just a physical deficiency.

Unpacking how she and showrunner Eric Kripke came up with the backstory of her character’s muteness, she told TheWrap that it was her suggestion to not rely on physical trauma for the trait.

“From initial conversations with Kripke, we spoke about having Kimiko’s muteness not come from a physical attribute because if it was a physical attribute, it’s sometimes impossible to get your voice back after a physical trauma,” Fukuhara told TheWrap. “So I said to [Kripke], I don’t think it can be a physical attribute if we want that tinge of hope, if we want to change the storyline or incorporate that in future seasons, and he was really receptive to that early on.”