It’s finally here, folks! The Winchester boys are back in town, and while they don’t share actual screen time, former Supernatural brothers Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki have teamed up again, with Ackles directing this week’s episode of Walker.
Before the hour mark — titled “No Such Thing as Fair Play” and featuring a performance from Kansas — we had a quick chat with the always insightful Ackles about, well, a lot, because he’s awesome. We saved some of this so as not to spoil the episode, so be on the lookout for more Thursday night! And by the way, he was calling from the New Orleans set of the Winchesters’ pilot!
So hello! How are you?!
Jensen Ackles: animated! Honestly, after Supernatural, I thought it would be like, “Oh sweet, I’m just going to sit by a pool or a beach.” And yeah, no. I feel like I’m twice as busy as I was two years ago. [Laughs]
Neither you nor Jared know how to just take a break.
No, and I think that says a lot about why the show lasted 15 years. We’re just workhorses. It’s in our blood, it’s in our DNA. We keep our heads down and we just keep going.
You were originally supposed to be directing an earlier episode after you finished The Boys in Toronto, but after the tragic incident on Rust that was postponed, and with good reason. So how did they come to this episode and did you get a say in it?
It was like in the beginning. They said, “Hey, that’s several episodes that we don’t have a director on yet, and those are the potential dates that they would be preparing, shooting, and posting,” you know? Then you choose one. And so I originally picked the November one because I thought it was going to be perfect. I finished The Boys, then I came home and did Rust in Santa Fe and then tragedy happened. I was literally supposed to finish the film and had, I think, two days before I started preparing for Walker.
And I was ready to do it, you know? For some reason it was almost like getting back on set, wasn’t it? I had to get back on the horse. Everyone deals with trauma in their own way and I felt like the way I would deal with the situation was: I would work through it. And even though that would have worked for me, it would have been insensitive to do it, and I was like, ‘You know, why don’t we just do a punch? I can’t handle it like I handle everything else and just push it down and move on.”
Rebecca Brenneman/The CW
And so I took a hit and spent time with my family and coping and healing and dealing with it. Apparently they were very accommodating to Walker, no question about it. Then they told me the dates after the new year that would be available if I actually wanted to come back and try anyway. And I said absolutely. I looked at the dates and I was like, “Man, 214 would be really great… but you say you got someone for it?” And they said they had Austin Nichols [who played Clint West] lined up and I was like, “Oh, I’m going to make Austin switch to me!” [Laughs] So Austin, god love him, he took a later one so I can do this one.
So is it really who you know?
Yes, it really is! [Laughs] I’m so grateful that Austin was able to rearrange a bit for me and I could come in and do this episode. We threw it out super quick and I have to say, you know, it wasn’t Supernatural. I thought, “Wait a minute, where’s the chase? Where’s the big giant demon you want us to kill? Where is the green screen stage? What am I missing here? Oh right, this is family drama!” [Laughs]
I’m guessing since Austin was attached to the original version, the Kansas appearance probably wasn’t part of the plan?
That came up late in the game and they wrote about it at the end. It just fitted perfectly into the schedule and I actually shot before I was supposed to shoot the episode. I shot it in preparation. So it wasn’t in perfect harmony with the schedule, but it was close enough that we could get it to work.
Rebecca Brenneman/The CW
And at this point, you and Jared are basically band members, right?
I mean essentially. Yeah, like I could just step in and hit a high note if needed. [Laughs]
I’m sure everyone has been asking how it was working with Jared again, but I guess you guys keep seeing each other when you get back home in Texas. But what was it like working on his set? Because this is a completely different environment than what you’ve been working on before.
Right. I’ll give Jared a lot of credit. He gave a speech to the crew. I forgot what day it was, we’ve been filming for a few days…it was my birthday! That was it. Yes, I once again spent my birthday with Jared on the set. [Laughs] I don’t even know how many that is, I’ve lost count. But he was basically saying, “Hey guys, I just want to sit down and say that we’re all here, not just because I’ve been doing a show for 15 years, but because I’ve been doing it with him. And he’s 50 percent responsible for why we’re all working on this show right now. It’s because of the success and the foundation that he and I built together.” And I thought that was so cool. That day I went a little taller. It was very sweet and so typical of Jared to give some greetings and some credit. He certainly didn’t have to, but he does it because he’s that guy.
So, yes, I felt like I was certainly a guest in someone else’s house, but in a very welcome, comfortable, familiar home.
To learn more about Ackles’ visit to Walker, visit TV Insider after his episode airs!
Walker, Thursdays, 8/7c, The CW