SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers from “Your People Are in Danger,” the Season 1 finale of “Countdown,” now streaming on Prime Video.
Over the course of the last three decades, Jensen Ackles has quietly built up one of the most notable TV careers of his generation. After breaking out as Eric Brady on the long-running NBC soap opera “Days of Our Lives” — which earned him three consecutive Daytime Emmy nominations — in the late ’90s, Ackles carved out a niche for playing tortured heartthrobs in all kinds of broadcast dramas: high-concept sci-fi (“Dark Angel”), teen (“Dawson’s Creek”), and superhero (“Smallville”). In 2005, he debuted as Dean Winchester, one-half of a dynamic duo of monster-hunting brothers, on The CW’s “Supernatural.”
Since saying goodbye to the long-running series which transformed him and his onscreen brother Jared Padalecki into icons of fantasy storytelling, Ackles has spearheaded a short-lived spinoff about the Winchester parents (he was the narrator and an executive producer of “The Winchesters”), played a charming county sheriff (“Big Sky”), voiced Batman in a series of DC animated projects and reunited with “Supernatural” creator Eric Kripke in “The Boys” as the hyper-masculine anti-hero Soldier Boy.
Ackles’ latest show, “Countdown,” by comparison, feels just a little more grounded in reality. Created by Derek Haas, who oversaw the inception of NBC’s venerable “One Chicago” franchise, the new crime drama stars Ackles as Mark Meachum, an LAPD detective who is recruited to a covert task force to investigate the death of a Department of Homeland Security officer. The “Countdown” in question is a double entendre; the task force, led by Eric Dane’s FBI Special Agent Nathan Blythe, was racing against the clock to stop Belarusian extremist Volchek (Bogdan Yasinski) from carrying out a mass casualty event in Los Angeles, and Meachum was also running out of time after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor.
With a 13-episode, first-season order, Haas chose to take a bit of an unorthodox approach to playing out the main investigation. By the end of Episode 10, Meachum is not only able to kill Volchek, but he also decides to undergo an ultimately successful procedure to treat his tumor. Following a 10-month time jump, the final three episodes throw viewers straight into the rebanded task force’s second investigation — this time involving a sniper (played by Grant Harvey) who appears to be targeting the POTUS and California’s governor.
Eric Dane, Jensen Ackles and Jessica Camacho in “Countdown.”
Courtesy of Elizabeth Morris/Prime Video
In a wide-ranging conversation with Variety, Ackles opens up about all of the shows that make him one of the busiest actors in Hollywood. Below, he discusses his major takeaways from the first season of “Countdown”; the surreal experience of reprising Soldier Boy in “Vought Rising” after wrapping the final season of “The Boys”; his imminent return to “Tracker” as the brother of Justin Hartley’s Colter Shaw — and why he will never shy away from revisiting “Supernatural.”
When you look back at his arc in this first season of “Countdown,” what do you think ultimately makes Meachum tick? How did you understand the way he moves through the world?
He is one of these people that identifies himself through his job, and it’s what gives him worth. So this isn’t a guy that has a bunch of hobbies that he looks forward to doing after work. If he’s not at work, he’s thinking about work. He’s got an itch that he can’t ever scratch enough. There was even an episode — it was “Teeth in the Bone” — when Blythe refers to Mark and some of the other team members as people that just don’t quit. I think that that was certainly the foundation of who this guy is, how he operates.
That was one of the reasons why, when he was given the diagnosis that he had, he didn’t just hang it up and go live out whatever little time he had left. As somebody enjoying his life, he was going to do what he knows how to do, and that’s to bury himself in the case and find the bad guys. So I knew that there was a passion there for what he did. Obviously, he has different ways of going about it than maybe the book tells you to go about it, which gives his superiors a bit of a headache, but that makes for a colorful character.
Was there something in particular that you wanted to capture about Meachum as he wrestled with his own mortality?
Yeah, that life happens — real struggle happens. You can’t plan for these kinds of things, and I think there’s a lot of people out there that can relate to a diagnosis or a condition or the deterioration of somebody you love. So playing that and having somebody like this struggle, I think it makes for good TV. It’s a great character that Derek crafted, and it was a lot of fun to play him. But when you watch somebody who is tough like he is, who is not somebody that would ask for a handout or ask for help or even empathy or sympathy, those are challenging moments for characters like this. And when you challenge a character that people maybe can relate to, then you get good drama.
Courtesy of Elizabeth Morris/Prime Video
What kind of person do you think Meachum was before his tumor, and how do you think that diagnosis has changed him?
There’s maybe a little bit more grace that injected itself into the way he sees things; the way he sees relationships; the way he sees himself, his job, the world. Given a second chance, he maybe wants to try and do things a little bit better, a little less off the cuff and cavalier as he usually is. But at the same time, that’s part of his DNA, that’s who he is. He wouldn’t have gotten to the success that he has within law enforcement if he didn’t have those characteristics. So I think it’s an interesting blend to have somebody that’s just so gung-ho and then you have them come out of this very traumatic operation and situation, and that allows just a little bit more of a filter in his life. Maybe he’s a little bit more gracious with certain people in his life, i.e. [Jessica Camacho’s] Oliveras.
As much as “Countdown” is really a story about a found family — which is a theme that has come up time and again in your body of work — Meachum’s relationship with Oliveras is really at the forefront of this show. He didn’t want to burden her with his diagnosis, and even after she found out, he didn’t want to impose any obligations on her. What is your take on the evolution of their relationship, and how do you think he would react to the news that she has been kidnapped by Grant Harvey’s character at the end of the season?
Obviously, there’s a heavy bond that was built through the story pre-operation, and she’s somebody that has been on his mind ever since. He cares about all the people in the task force — this is his team, this is his family. This is who he gets up and looks forward to seeing in the morning and tackling today’s problems with. She is obviously somebody that he feels a very close kinship with, and whether that turns romantic — that was the big will-they-won’t-they for the whole season.
In his mind, there’s a certain amount of connection with her that goes beyond just work companions. He has a deep respect and admiration for her and would love to see things go a certain way. But when you’re dealing with what they’re dealing with, he’s gotta pick and choose his battles. She’s obviously in a relationship. He’s trying to understand that and be respectful, but at the same time, he’s looking for an opening if she’s willing to give it. He keeps testing the waters like, “Hey, you want to go for a beer after work?” “No.” “Great.” So he’s still fishing with her a little bit. And then at the end of the season, when she goes missing, all bets are off. He’s going to go full force. This is somebody he truly cares about, and he’s not going to let this go by without giving everything he has.
Courtesy of Elizabeth Morris/Prime Video
Derek has said that he knew where the season was going to end before you even started shooting, but did you ever discuss why he chose to end the season on that cliffhanger?
I think it was a smart writer choice to kind of wrap up the Season 1 storyline with three episodes to go. It gave Derek an opportunity to start building towards a next big case and a next big sendoff, and it obviously leaves Season 1 ending on a huge cliffhanger. I think it was designed to lead into Season 2, so fingers crossed Amazon is still liking what they’re seeing, and the audience participation and the critics talking about it give us enough firepower to continue that story and see where this goes. Obviously, it would suck if it just ends there!
One of the most burning questions that viewers have is what happened during the 10-month time jump. What do you think happened to Meachum during that time?
[Deadpans] He probably buried himself in Amazon Prime television. He watched all of Prime, that was it.
Good answer!
No, Derek and I have talked about whether or not we’re going to get an opportunity to shed light on that void and see the things that he was doing. But I think for the most part, he had a drive to get back on his feet, get back to work, and get back to doing the thing that he loves doing, and it was probably a struggle for him. He didn’t want anybody to see that struggle, because that’s the kind of person he is. So he struggled quietly and got back to being capable of doing what he needs to do. But what that looked like, we haven’t discussed in-depth, but I feel like there might be some cool things that we can reveal if given the opportunity.
Courtesy of The CW
Since the end of “Supernatural,” you have played some characters who have tapped into a side of Dean — and then some, like Soldier Boy, who feel like a dramatic departure. What has informed your choices since wrapping up that show? How have you gone about choosing different projects after being locked into one show for so much of your adult life?
“Locked-in” is a good word. A lot of it depends on the people involved in the project. “Supernatural” gave me not just 15 years of a great story to tell and family that I’ve now come to know and love, but it gave me the tools to continue doing what I’m doing. It also gave me some notoriety so that people like showrunners like Derek or even Elwood Reid, who brought me onto “Big Sky” and has also brought me onto “Tracker,” and of course Eric Kripke — it gave me some proof in the pudding that I’m happy to take on whatever kind of challenges these guys throw at me. So I think it was less of, like, “OK, I have to do this specifically,” and it was more the opportunity to work with people who I admire and trust and know I’m going to have a good time telling a story with, and I’ve been very fortunate so far.
Have you always embraced being so closely associated with one character?
I’ve always loved it and embraced it, always. And I’ve met actors that have had very popular characters on very popular shows or movies and maybe try to shy away from that, like, “Oh, I don’t want to be known for that.” I mean, there’s a reason I did it for 15 years! I love that story. I love that character. I love the people I did it with. I would never shy away from or reject anything that has brought me to this place, because I’m very proud of what we all did on that show, and obviously I continue to talk about it. We go and do these fan conventions, and it’s a gathering around a bunch of people who have a similar affection towards these characters and the show, and I will always be proud of what we did with that.
Your most notable character since leaving “Supernatural” in the iconic Impala’s rearview mirror is Soldier Boy. What new layers have you found in playing him in the final season of “The Boys” and now in this ’50s-set prequel? How different are the two iterations of the character?
Obviously, they’re the same guy, but certainly there’s a lot of life that Soldier Boy has lived when we see him in “The Boys” and when we see him in Season 5 — how he’s relating to people, the things that are important to him, the things that he’s willing to just slough off, his idea of the life he wants to lead. And then going back 70-odd years to see him when he was really starting to get going, I’m able now to deal with the struggles that made him who he became, and you start to see him before he has necessarily the swagger and the gravitas and the life lived of 75 years of being the top dog.
[“Vought Rising”] predates all that, so I think I’m trying to show a little bit more of an early version of it — not necessarily an innocence to it, but there’s certainly scenes, relationships and character traits that predate how we see him in modern day, and that’s fun to play with. Now, that’s not to say he’s going to be a completely different character and he’s not going to be the tough guy that I think we know and love. That’s there, and we’ll get there quickly, but it is fun to show the origin of how this guy became who he is, and what were the little tricks and little ticks that crafted him into where we see him now.
Even though the world of “The Boys” is so heightened, have you been drawing any kind of inspiration from that time period?
Yeah, I’ve been watching a lot of war movies that were made during that time, and looking at not just Hollywood-type stuff. I’ve been looking at documentaries about that era of McCarthy and the early happenings of the CIA and all that kind of stuff. So I’m trying to get as much into that world [as possible], as far as the headspace goes, but obviously not wanting to go so [into] character and so deep that it’s not relatable to modern audiences. So finding that balance is definitely something.
But it’s funny — Aya [Cash, who plays Stormfront] and I were talking and working together the other day. It’s weird coming into a show almost feeling like you’re coming back to a show, because you’re playing the same character, but it’s a totally different show. There’s all new actors that you’re working with, all new characters, and all new relationships that you’re developing as that character, and she was like, “It’s like coming home, and you’ve sold the house and there’s a new family living there. This feels familiar, but feels very unfamiliar too.” So we’re still trying to find our footing. I’m glad we have each other, and everybody that we’re working with has been super great.
A lot has already been teased about your onscreen reunion with Jared Padalecki and Misha Collins on “The Boys.” When you reunited on screen, did it feel like you were sliding back into your old dynamic on “Supernatural,” or were your new characters different enough for you to feel a different kind of energy in your scenes together?
Look, we’re going to have fun no matter what venue we’re operating in. Obviously, we spent many, many, many years together in front of the camera. We’ve spent many years — and continue to — behind the camera and at events and convention centers, so there’s a relatability between all of us that exists that’s far greater than just our characters. So I feel like you can stick us in anywhere and we all get along and we all know how to operate, whether we’re playing a new character, an old character or ourselves. There’s just a camaraderie there that you get when you’ve spent 20 years together.
Somehow, you found time earlier this summer to fly back to Vancouver to shoot a couple episodes of “Tracker.” The second season ended with a particularly big reveal about the Shaw family. What can you preview about the way that Russell re-enters the fold this season and reacts to this latest revelation about his family?
I wish I could go play with Justin and Elwood a lot more, but schedules are tight right now, so we were lucky — or I was lucky at least — to have that time available that I could dip back in and do a couple of episodes with them. Justin and I chopped it up pretty good when [Colter] reveals the new knowledge that he has to Russell, and Russell is now having to absorb that. How is that going to affect their relationship? How is that going to affect Russell moving forward? What are we going to see from them?
You’ll obviously see the camaraderie between the two brothers that I think people enjoy, but now that we have this new information about our family, is that going to bond them further, or is it going to drive more of a wedge between them? I think it’s a fun thing to play that Justin and I both really, really enjoyed, and Elwood likes writing for the two of us. We did a scene — it was one scene — and I think it was like eight-and-a-half minutes long, and I was like, “What are we doing here? I’m not used to this! I’m not used to six-page scenes of just dialogue, just two guys just cutting it up. I was never on ‘This Is Us.’ That’s Justin. I don’t do this kind of stuff. Give me a hammer!”
Between your work across daytime and primetime broadcast and now streaming, you have made nearly 1,000 episodes of television. What is your biggest takeaway from the three decades you’ve spent working in the business, and what has been the key to your longevity?
I might have to chalk it up to just work ethic, but also passion for the work. I still love doing what I do. I often say to myself, “I don’t have to do this. I get to do this.” I think I’ve certainly got my 10,000 hours, as some would say. But at the same time, I don’t think, oh, because I’ve got a thousand episodes of television — certainly, more than 10,000 hours on set — that that makes me some sort of a professional or [gives me] some sort of a graduating certificate. What I love about doing what I do and about working in film and television is that every day is different. Every day you go to set and you are tasked with a new challenge of creating the scene and bringing this character to life, bringing a relationship further down the road. So I still genuinely enjoy collaborating with just hyper-intelligent people and learning.
I still love to get taught things, but I feel like there’s been a shift in the learning from those [experiences], and now I feel like there’s a bit more teaching starting to happen, certainly with some of the younger actors that are coming in. They’re asking me questions that I used to ask, and I feel very fortunate enough to be able to answer most of them. But at the same time, it’s weird for me because I’m like, “Wait … when did that happen? Why are these guys asking me these questions? These are the questions I’m used to asking!”
You and your wife, Danneel, have ventured further into producing under your Chaos Machine banner in the last few years. What would it take to get you to appear in the “One Tree Hill” revival that she is working on?
She’d probably just have to say, “You’re doing this,” and that would be the end of it, but hopefully we don’t need [me to show up]. I think we’ve got all the elements, all the players, in place for that to be a fantastic show, and I’m really excited for what she and the lovely ladies of “One Tree Hill” have put together. It’s pretty fascinating, and they’ve been working really hard on it, and I think Netflix is going to have quite a smash on their hands. In addition to that, we’ve moved the production company over to Amazon now, and we’ve got one project that I’m really excited about that’s in development based on a real book, and we’re dialing in a few more. But it’s a lot of fun, and she is certainly [more] well-versed in it than I am, which allows me to go off and play cops and bad guys.
You recently said that your children were excited to watch “Countdown,” because that was probably the first age-appropriate project of yours that they would be able to watch. Have any of them given you any feedback yet?
They just love that when they sign into Prime Video anywhere — even at their friend’s house or whatever — dad’s face is right there on the front, so that’s been a big coup for me in my household. They haven’t really watched it, so I’m not getting character questions, but they’re well-aware of it. I have people come up and be like, “Oh, I’m watching the episode right now,” or “I’m watching ‘Countdown,’” so they certainly know what dad does. I think they appreciate the value that it gives me in real life, certainly amongst maybe some of their teachers and some of the parents, but we’re probably pretty close to my oldest maybe watching some “Supernatural.” But we’ll see. I’m not going to push any of that stuff on them. They can find it in their own time.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
