MeeVee Exclusive! On the Set of Supernatural with Star Jensen Ackles
In the third part of our Supernatural set visit series, we talk with Jensen Ackles, who plays Dean, the older, more seasoned Winchester brother on the show. In this interview, Jensen discusses his acting process, his on screen and off screen relationship with costar (and fellow Texan) Jared Padalecki, and slips us a few hints about Supernatural's second season finale.
So, do you feel about your second season of Supernatural?
It's been a long haul. I mean, it's obviously better. It's much more a well-oiled machine. You know, the first season you're trying to really get all the jitters out. You try to see what works and what doesn't work. So, when you come back for your sophomore season, it's always going to be a little smoother of a ride. You hope you don't fall into that sophomore pit as a lot of shows do. They come out really strong and don't have the lasting power. But I think we've done pretty well this year. I'm pretty happy with what we've done.
The rehearsal we just watched was hysterical. Are you guys always like that?
Oh, yeah. We're very professional on this set. [laughter] Even to the bitter end. We definitely don't want to have any fun.
I understand you had a very emotional shoot yesterday.
I did. Jared just lay there on the bed with his eyes closed. [laughter] The jerk. But, yeah, I had some pretty heavy stuff. Probably the most emotional stuff jam-packed into one day on that show. That was pretty heavy. I was pretty exhausted by the end of the day.
How many takes do you usually need to nail that kind of difficult scene?
After reading the script, I went up and sat down with Kim [Manners, the director] in his office. I said this was the only scene that I wanted to talk to him about. I was like, "What are your plans?" Because he's diligent on his homework -- he's a huge believer in preparation for an episode. So I knew that he had all the shots lined up, and he had the blocking, and he had the blueprints of the room, and everything lined out.
I told Kim, "Look, man, you're going to have to help me out on the scene, because I'm not going to be able to do it over and over and over and over again. Because I won't have it. You're going to start getting repeats after five." So he said, "I've got four different setups." I convinced him to shave it down, and to just use the one close-up that he was going to use. And so, he did. I wound up doing it three full takes in that camera setup. At the end of the day, I think it was maybe about four or five takes, including the other two setups. So, not too bad.
You and Jared seem to just get along really well. Are you very thankful for that?
Very appreciative, very thankful. And yeah, we definitely know that it's a fortunate circumstance to work with someone that you get along with. We've both been on shows and on projects where not everybody gets along, and somebody's got tempers or somebody's got an ego or whatever it might be. But, we've been very lucky and very appreciative of the fact that he and I get along very well on and off set. We work well together. We hang out off set sometimes too, whenever we get time away from set. It's definitely a big luxury that we don't take for granted.
Does it help that you're both from Texas, and come from similar backgrounds?
I'm sure it has something to do with it, you know. It helps me, having him around, because his accent kind of keeps mine going, and mine kind of keeps his going. So we kind of feed off each other in that aspect. But it definitely played it up, just the fact that we have similar upbringings; we have very similar family lives. His parents remind me of my parents. I think there's a lot of in-common stuff there.
Have you and Jared had more creative input into the show this season?
I think we definitely have been a little bit more collaborative with Eric [Kripke] and Bob [Singer] and Kim, and all the department heads. We definitely felt like we've been given more input. We put just as much into this show as those guys do. I mean, not a lot of cast members can say that on a show that they work on. But Jared and I are here all day, every day. I can count on one hand how many days off we've had this year.
It's really a solid effort from all of those people, from the directors to the producers to the writers to the actors. And if I've got issues, I'll call Eric directly and I say, "Hey, man, I want to change some lines. Maybe give me just a little bit here and do this there." And like I said, I went into Kim's office and I was like, "Can we change these shots up? I'd really like to add wide shot just in case I explode." Everybody's very welcoming to it too. Nobody tries to one-up the other person, like, "No, no, no, I don't like that idea, just because I don't like you." There's none of that. It's a very, very collaborative set.
What can you tell us about how this final episode is going to wrap up the season?
Storyline-wise, this is it. This is the big show. This is what we've been waiting for, for two whole seasons. All the problems that set the entire show in motion -- it's all culminating in this one episode. That's very indicative of who Kripke is. He doesn't like to keep those long, drawn-out story lines with a bunch of loose ends. He likes to tie things up and create new problems and more motives and stuff like that, which I really like. There's a lot of shows out there with that continual rolling, never solving the big problem.
In this episode, we're going to deal with the demon that took Mom; we're going to deal with Dad's death; we're going to deal with making deals with devils; we're going to deal with Bobby and Ellen and Joe, the people in the roadhouse. We're going to deal with the cult and devil's traps and all of the stuff that's been playing into the season. It's all kind of coming together in this final episode. That's not to say that it's wrapping everything up, because in doing so -- and in kind of wrapping up that story line -- so much more else is created. Which is really cool. It's definitely going to give us somewhere to go for Season Three and Four and however long we go.
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You have sooooo much stuff on the sight but you can't change the listing for Daylight Saving Time....what gives?
Posted by: Gloria Hancook | April 05, 2007 at 01:25 PM
Thank you so much.
I have had so much fun reading everyone's different takes on their blogs from this visit.
I am a huge fan, and it is so wonderful that this show cares enough to let you guys in.
You have no idea how stoked I am for the finale after reading this!!!
Jensen's my #1 TV boyfriend too - so that doesn't hurt.
Posted by: ColoradoKila | April 06, 2007 at 10:34 AM
Just wanted to say thanks
its so great to read their thoughts on their success and the show and gain an insight into how such a fantastic show like this works and how everyone concerned is really down to earth.
It certainly makes the wait in Australia worth wile.
Posted by: Luizia | April 09, 2007 at 06:11 AM
It's always good to read that the Winchester boys are also great buddies off screen too. Jensen does seem to be like an older brother to Jared, minus any of the ego trap crap.That's why their chemistry as brothers is so believable. Hope to see many more seasons of this great show!
Posted by: tristanrose101 | April 20, 2007 at 06:18 AM