There are few things more satisfying in film and television than getting that picture-perfect casting choice, whether it’s Robert Downey Jr. as the MCU’s Iron Man or Matthew Lillard as Shaggy in the live action Scooby-Doo films of the early 2000s.
With the first few episodes of The Boys‘ third season finally available, we can feast our eyes upon another such character that goes hand-in-hand with the actor who plays him. Former Supernatural leading man Jensen Ackles has reunited with The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke, hanging up the Dean Winchester mantle for the multifaceted Soldier Boy.
In an interview with Collider, Kripke was all too happy to share his satisfaction with Ackles’ performance, having already been familiar with the actor’s ability from their days together working on Supernatural.
“I would say that to have Jensen come in as a new character, but one that I was already really familiar with in terms of his skills and as I say, the crayons in his crayon box, it made it easy, in a weird way. It made it like a homecoming, like a family reunion, to just write something that I knew he could do.”
The showrunner made a special note of the actor’s versatility, which was crucial for the role.
“The thing I always say about Jensen is his really impressive versatility after having put him through every imaginable scene over the time we’ve worked together. He can pull it all off. He can be funny. He can be scary, he can be emotional, he can be a credible action star. He can do all the things, and that’s a pretty rare package. Even in those early days, I knew I needed Soldier Boy to be charming at times and terrifying at times and emotional at times and funny at times, and to do a lot of action.”
If you want to witness the full range of Ackles’ abilities, be sure to check out season three of The Boys, currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
