‘The Boys’ Star Erin Moriarty Says She Wishes She Was in a Better Place While Playing Starlight in Season 5

Erin Moriarty has spoken honestly about her difficult experience while filming the final season of “The Boys,” saying she wishes she had been in a better physical and emotional state while playing Starlight.

The actress, known for her role as Erin Moriarty, shared that she was dealing with serious health problems during production. She said she was diagnosed with Graves’ disease, an autoimmune condition that affects the thyroid gland, around June 2025. The condition can cause symptoms like fatigue, anxiety, rapid heartbeat, and other physical challenges.

According to Moriarty, the illness affected her during a major emotional storyline in Season 5, especially in the episode where her character Annie, also known as Starlight, shares important scenes involving her father. She said that period was especially hard for her personally.

“Around the time that I shot the episode with my father (episode 4), I started to get really sick, and we didn’t know what it was…All my dreams were coming true. But simultaneously, my health was plummeting, and it was a very scary moment in time..This character’s moment with her father was the most important moment for me, I just wish I could have shown up for her in a more whole state.”

She explained that at first, she thought her symptoms were just stress and exhaustion from work. But later, doctors confirmed the diagnosis. Moriarty said she felt disconnected during filming and was not fully able to be present in the early episodes.

In an interview reported by The Hollywood Reporter, she spoke about how difficult the experience was and why she is open about her condition now. She said raising awareness about autoimmune diseases is important because many people may not recognize the early signs.

“It’s important for me to be vocal about autoimmune diseases. I was starting to feel so ill, and even though I come from a family of doctors, no one thought to say, ‘Go get your levels tested. It was like I was offline for the first six to seven episodes, and then I came back online. I finally felt present at the very end of season five.”

Moriarty also shared that she only started to improve after beginning treatment. She said that once she received care, she noticed changes quickly and started feeling better within a short time.

She publicly revealed her diagnosis in June through social media. In her message, she reflected on how she initially ignored her symptoms and thought it was just stress from work and filming.

She wrote that her condition had been getting worse for some time before she sought help. After treatment began, she said she felt like she was slowly returning to herself again.

She also shared a more personal moment when she reached out to her mother during the worst of her illness. She described feeling overwhelmed and unable to function normally, saying she needed immediate support. Her mother reportedly came to help her quickly after receiving her message.

Despite the challenges, Moriarty said she is grateful for the support she received from the cast and crew of “The Boys,” especially during the hardest days of filming. Still, she admitted she has not been able to watch the final season because of how closely it is tied to that difficult time in her life.

Her experience highlights how serious autoimmune conditions can be, especially when they go undiagnosed for too long, and how they can affect even major productions behind the scenes.

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