Chicago Con Report: The Eloquent Mr. Jensen Ackles

The Eloquent Mr. Jensen Ackles  

This weekend I attended my first SPN convention, and it was a blast!  So many nice people and wonderful experiences, panels, photo ops (I swear they should sell seats to them…they are a RIOT!),  autographs and watching ‘The Third Man’ with a group of about 30 fans Saturday evening!   AWESOME!!!
 
But, I have to say that the highlight of my weekend was the opportunity to have a semi-private Q&A with the classy,  witty, soft-spoken and all-around genuine Mr. Jensen Ackles-a very sophisticated gentleman!
 
Jensen entered to a round of applause, to which he replied  “Class is in session!”  A brief few comments about school followed including eraser cleaning.  While changing chairs, and taking his place in front of the group, and explained that eraser cleaning was one of his favorite things in school as it offered a bit of a break from class.  He’d take the erasers, “[and] an hour later I’d come back and be like, they’re clean!”   That prompted a lot of laughter and a few comments about how modern methods these days do not allow that little escape from class anymore. 
 
JA very graciously thanks us for signing up for the Q&A, (like he had to twist arms to get anyone there) explaining  “this was kinda last minute”, when he noticed a cute toy a fan had. She had it on since he entered, and a number of us were wondering when he would notice it.   Best description, it was a LED light up thingy (I know, a very scientific term), that rotated on a handle with LED lights on each side-one side said ‘Hello’, the other ‘Jensen’.    Jensen’s reply, “Well, hello back.”  
 
At this point, Jensen indicted he would take questions from the group, and all hands went up!
 
First question, what’s with Dean and all the babies?  So cute – any behind the scenes moments?  
 
After making sure everyone in the room had seen Two and a Half Men, JA replied.  “They’ll probably all be on the gag reel.”  They had several babies actually, and the first child that ended up all covered in goo, really didn’t like Jensen very much.   
 
Jensen: “That baby just was not fond of me. Rightly so, since it was covered in all this goo, but when I held it up, it let out this bloodcurdling scream, and finally we had to switch babies again.”  The second child was the completely opposite,   “he just sat there and looked at me.”    (A,  yeah, I can understand that! )  He continues, musingly, that he doesn’t recommend trying to film with babies, as “they don’t care when you have a line [smiling] – they’re really bad actors.”
 
Question: Was it scripted to cry back to the baby?
 
Jensen laughingly said, “That wasn’t scripted. In fact, there are a lot of things that weren’t.” Jensen explained that the director, John Showalter, just kept the cameras rolling while he [Jensen] sort of improvised. Jensen said,  “He told me later that all that extra stuff I did was in the episode.  I was just playing along because we didn’t’ know what the baby would do, and he used a lot of that.” 
 
Question: What about giving the baby the whisky?
 
 “Not scripted”, Jensen admitted.  “That’s something [from] my father, when I was young, not a baby, but a little kid, my dad would dip his thumb in coffee-so I thought of that.”
 
Next question was not an unexpected one.  In season 6, the characters of Sam and Dean are so different – how hard has it been for you and Jared, after five seasons of knowing these characters and having the easy chemistry between them that you could really rely on? It’s been sorta jarring for the fans, how has it been for both of you?
 
Jensen: “It’s been a little more difficult, not in a bad way, but for me, Jensen, as an actor, to play this character and have a giant element of that character, that chemistry, that I’ve played off with Sam, to have that taken away, it’s difficult.”
 
Here Jensen took the time to address some recent articles that were released on his perception of Dean Winchester and season 6. This is a quote, and believe me, he is very sincere!  Hope this clears up any misunderstandings about Jensen, his love for the show, or his love for the character of Dean Winchester!  
 
“I’ll take the time here to put out something. Some bloggers came on the set and there was something on the internet saying that I was upset about the show, and I was like, (very frustrated) really??  There were a few things in there that I did say, but if you could have seen my face and heard the tone, you would know that I’m not upset with my job – I’m very happy with my job, the show is going fine, Sera’s doing a great job. Poor Sera saw it and called me up and was like, are you really upset?   — Stop reading that crap, no, I’m not! I had talked to her about how odd it is to play Dean (this season) because Dean doesn’t have that chemistry that he’s used to having (with Sam), or I don’t, Jensen doesn’t, so Sera knew I was having some issues. It’s a little difficult figuring it out, but I’m working on it, it’s just more challenging. It’s just a different dynamic. I’m like please can we get back, this is season 6 and I’m having to work harder now, and this should be the gravy train! But yes, it’s been a hurdle.”  
 
Here, Jensen was asked whether had really said that he thought season 6 Dean “read softer on the page.” 
 
“Well, Dean was being written in this domesticated life, going to work like a normal guy, in a relationship-so he does read differently, he’s not the hard-assed hunter, he’s just a regular Joe. So for me, much like was asked about the dynamic with Sam, this was another sort of obstacle, to find a way to keep Dean [still] Dean in this different setting.  I’m not used to reading Dean as a domesticated guy, [more] a womanizer or a shoot-first-ask-questions-later kinda guy.  So I had to find a way to stay true to the Dean we all know and love, but stay true to the script too.”
 
(Next is a bit of a spoiler, so for those of you that don’t want to be spoiled, head down to the following paragraph.)  We had a change of topic here with the next question.  A fan asked him if he has ” had to wear any glitter?”  Jensen was completely lost at this, as were most of us in the room.  Not wanting to ask JA for any spoilers, she elaborating a bit saying, “[For] the Twilight episode?”  That resounded in a strong “No” from Jensen, and laughter from us all.  He lightheartedly continued – Oh, no, and if they do put glitter on us, I’ll be walking.  But he did say the episode was going to be hilarious, so I for one can’t wait to see it.  For anyone not aware which episode that is, its 6.05, “Live Free or Twihard”.  (If you’re into spoilers, check out this site’s spoiler page for more info.)
 
Of course a question was raised about the ‘Lisa and Dean’ relationship, and a great discussion followed.  It was agreed by all of us that we like Lisa a lot, she [Cindy Sampson] was a great actress, and that she played the part almost like a ‘military wife’, a very appropriate angle to take.  That surprised Jensen as he felt there would be a more negative response to Lisa as she took Dean off the road.  My own personal view here, there is no reason why Dean and Sam can’t have families, a home, and hunt too.  I personally thing Lisa is a good aspect to the show, and that she continues to bring happiness to Dean’s life.  
 
He was asked if it was difficult playing the relationship between Lisa and Dean as it had developed over the course of a year between last season and this one.  “No, not difficult really”, was the reply.  “Cindy’s a good actress, we’re just two actors playing our roles.”  We asked him to pass on to her that we feel she is doing a great job, and of course, he said he would.  
 
The topic than switched to Jensen’s directorial debut, which, in case you don’t know, will be episode 6.04 ‘Weekend at Bobby’s’,  and will aired this Friday.  The group reiterated that many people had been very complimentary about his directing.  
 
Jensen: “Who? Sheppard?”    (Yes, Mr. Ackles, Mark Sheppard right at this convention.  He stated you were a natural in his panel on Saturday, but that was not the first time he complimented you on your directing.  Your directing has been also been praised by Sera Gamble, Jennifer Aspen, Jim Beaver and your wonderful co-star Jared Padalecki. )
 
Continuing on his directing Jensen said, “I came at the project in a way I thought would make Kim Manners proud. I was so prepared, over-prepared really. I’d spend all night going over the shots-. I was fortunate to have Jim (Beaver) and Mark (Sheppard). Those guys, everyone really, were so supportive. A lot of times when a director comes on set, he might say to the actors well, what do you think, and I’ll say well, I’ll probably do it like this, cross over here, whatever, it’s a collaborative effort. I, however, had a full shot list set up, but I never had to convince them. They were like ‘you tell us what you want us to do and we’ll do it.’  Jared and I try to do that for our directors too. “
 
A fan noted that neither Misha nor Jared was in the episode and asked if that’s why Jensen picked this episode to direct?  Musingly Jensen replied, “Oh, Jared and Misha both not in this episode? Yea, I’ll take that one!”  On a serious note, Jensen stated he didn’t get to pick this episode, but writers knew he was directing and went light on the other characters, including Dean.  He did said however, that he didn’t get to do post production like other directors.  
 
“I didn’t get to go down to LA–and sit in the editor’s chair and go this is the shot I want. But they gave me Anthony, he’s the best, and I trusted him because he’s been doing this longer than I have obviously, so he put together the editor’s cut and I went through frame by frame, play pause play, write notes, and he made the adjustments.”
 
I was very lucky to get to ask the next question.  
 
Sablegreen:  After Supernatural, what direction would you like to pursue more in your career, acting or directing?
 
Jensen: ” I do like directing, but I feel like I’m always going to be more of an actor. It’s definitely something I want to explore, but acting is where I feel comfortable and confident. Whereas directing, I was a fish out of water. I had confidence in myself to tackle the task, but I didn’t have any confidence in me as a director. I had to prove myself. I did a stage production a few years ago and I got there and started rehearsing, and I was like oh, this is a big mistake!  Because I was just so out of my element. But I had confidence in myself, and I was like, you know what? I’ll buckle down and get this done. ” And buckle down he did, the play was A Few Good Men, and those in the group who saw it, felt he had done an excellent job.  But what else would you expect from JA! 
 
Sablegreen:  So, you’d like to direct more episodes?
 
Jensen: “Yes-I would do it again, but it’s a lot of work. I probably did more than I really had to do, than most directors do, because they’re so good at it, they’re seasoned veterans. But I knew I had to do the extra mile to cover my butt, so I basically exhausted myself. If you’d asked me the day after, I would have said I’ll never do this again.”
 
Jensen was then asked if he played any games, to which he laughingly replied, ” I’m gonna bust Jared out.”    With the fans in total agreement, Jensen continued, “Jared is so addicted to playing chess on his phone that he does it literally in between takes. We’ll do a take and they’ll say cut, back in one, and he’ll take his phone out and make a move, because he’s playing with other people, and I’m like dude, can you focus on the work? And he’s like; I am focused on the work! It’s distracting”.  He also added that Jared loves to play Scrabble also.  For him [Ackles], he doesn’t play a lot of games, but might break out Trivial Pursuit with friends.  What’s his favorite category?  History, but, he admits, he’s really good at entertainment.  
 
Question: The director of My Bloody Valentine compared you to a young Steve McQueen. Is that flattering to you or not?
 
Jensen admitted it was flattering, and then added jokingly, “Until you read Steve McQueen’s bio and realize what a jerk he was.” Jensen continued that he [Steve McQueen] was fascinating to watch onscreen, but he was bad news for his co-stars.   McQueen would do things that weren’t scripted, out of left field, to draw attention to himself and away from his co-actors.  Ackles described a scene from the movie Magnificent Seven, where Yul Brynner was talking and McQueen took off his hat and just started doing weird things with it.  It was so compelling; it drew the viewer’s attention to McQueen, and away from Brynner.   
 
Hmm-, as Yul Brynner was one of my most loved actors, no way would I find McQueen’s hat more interesting.  Guess it depends on your POV.  
 
 The topic shifted again, and this time to Ackle’s voiceover works in Red Hood.  Would he like to do more of that?
 
He would love to do more, but it is such a “different ball game”, he said.  There is no screen to look at and it’s line by line.  He said he had never met any of the other actors, so he didn’t have anyone to play off of when reading.   Apparently, voiceover work is very different as you are all alone in the studio, when you’re reading.  They will say, ‘go to line 338 and give us three readings-okay, now go to line 339- and so on.  (This was even more impressive to us-that is VERY hard to do.)   He continued saying he would still try to ‘get’ the scene, but it was a challenge.  It’s something his father has always done, from a studio in his home. It’s a very small group who does kind of work, and something he would love to get into.  He’s also excited to do the voiceovers with Jared in the upcoming anime Supernatural series, which he believes they’ll get to record in the studio together. 

At this point, Creation had to end to the session, much to the disappointment of all.   Jensen very graciously thanked us all for listening, (like you could have torn me away).  His parting words, “I feel like I’ve just rambled on for a half hour.”  Ha…wit and humor to the end!

So, that ended an extremely pleasant half hour, and I can’t speak highly enough about Jensen’s warm attitude and honesty.   My comment, thank YOU, Mr. Ackles for agreeing to spend your time with us, and for allowing us to see the sincerity you have for the series, and the fondness you have for the fans. (He even talked on the phone to a fan that couldn’t come to the convention.  That was one excited fan-.and I remember hearing a lot of OGMs, and ‘what’, and ‘you’re kidding’ over the phone speaker.) 

I have to say, I was definitely proud to be a part of such a tremendous group of fans. They included at least three different cultures and spanned all generations, and I managed to talk to a number of them again during the remainder of day (we all we sort of traveled in the JA circle! They were respectful, perceptive, and genuinely appreciative of JA remarkable talent, and that is so refreshing to see.   Fans have responsibilities for fandom in and of itself, and bear the burden of those who are not so grateful for this wonderful series we have and all the wonderful actors who grace our living rooms every week.  I think this was one time, the fans shone very brightly indeed.
 
Trying a I might, I didn’t hear all the questions or get all replies in my notes, however, Lynn, at the wonderful site of Fangasm, has also posted the Q&A , so please take the time to read her blog as well.  She was sitting on the other side of the room, and probably heard most of what I missed. 
 
Thanks so much for reading!

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