Samuel L. Jackson Voices The Deep's Shark Xander in The Boys Season 5

Correction (May 14, 2026): An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified the voice actor of Xander as Bill Hader. The role is performed by Samuel L. Jackson. This article has been fully rewritten to correct multiple factual errors.

Samuel L. Jackson's Shark Delivers The Deep's Reckoning

The penultimate episode of The Boys introduced one of the show's most memorable cameos yet. In Season 5, Episode 7, Samuel L. Jackson voices Xander, a shark who delivers an expletive-filled confrontation to The Deep (Chace Crawford) on a pier. The brief but impactful scene arrives at a pivotal moment: Homelander (Antony Starr) has just dissolved The Seven and declared his unquestioned authority, leaving The Deep with nothing.

The scene unfolds after Homelander tells The Deep to leave Vought Tower. Despondent and guzzling sodas on a pier, The Deep tosses an empty can into the ocean, prompting Xander to surface with a profanity-laced warning. The shark informs The Deep that every sea creature knows he was responsible for the Alaskan oil spill, and that they will kill him if he sets foot in the water again. Jackson's delivery is quintessentially his own, making the cameo instantly recognizable and darkly hilarious.

The consequences are immediate and devastating. Terrified of the ocean, The Deep lets a man drown rather than dive in to save him. Someone records his cowardice, which will almost certainly destroy whatever remains of his public reputation. The character who calls himself The Lord of the Seven Seas can no longer go near the water, effectively stripping him of his powers and identity.

The Deep's Long History With Sea Creatures

Xander marks the latest chapter in The Boys' recurring motif of pairing The Deep with animal encounters that define his character. The tradition began in Season 2, when Patton Oswalt voiced The Deep's own gills during a hallucinogenic sequence while the character was embedded in a cult. The gills lamented their marginalization and urged self-acceptance, establishing the show's template for blending body horror with psychological exploration.

Season 3 continued the pattern with Timothy, an octopus The Deep considered his closest friend and confidant. That relationship met a characteristically brutal end when Homelander forced The Deep to eat Timothy alive, an event that crystallized The Deep's powerlessness within The Seven.

What separates Xander from these earlier encounters is the finality. Timothy's death was inflicted by Homelander. Xander's rejection comes from the ocean itself, the one domain where The Deep was supposed to have agency. The sea creatures are not acting on anyone's orders. They have collectively decided The Deep is their enemy. Where previous animal interactions revealed tragic vulnerability, this one delivers a verdict.

Setting Up the Series Finale

Showrunner Eric Kripke has loaded this penultimate episode with devastating consequences for every character. Beyond The Deep's reckoning, the episode sees Homelander using psychics to purge nonbelievers, the titular Boys losing a team member, and the murder of the President of the United States. Every thread is being pulled toward the series finale.

For The Deep specifically, the Xander scene places him at a crossroads that callbacks to an earlier conversation with A-Train (Jessie T. Usher). A-Train had warned him that Homelander would eventually discard him and urged him to find the courage to stand up to Vought. The Deep refused. Now, stripped of powers, reputation, and purpose, he faces the exact future A-Train predicted.

Whether The Deep meets a violent end in the finale or is forced to survive in the wreckage of his own choices, Jackson's cameo ensures the character's downfall lands with both comedy and weight. It is a fitting escalation for one of the show's most consistently tragicomic figures.

The Boys Season 5 is streaming on Prime Video.