Jensen Ackles is no longer hunting demons as Dean Winchester on Supernatural, and has tapped into the dark side himself as the questionable superhero Soldier Boy on Prime Video’s The Boys. Playing any type of superhero tends to involve wearing unique costumes of all kinds, and The Boys has certainly delivered on that front. But when Ackles first got his eyes on the costume he'd be wearing in Season 3, he had an unexpected issue that would soon play into changing up his daily routine.
Jensen Ackles appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers to discuss all things The Boys, Supernatural, and the latter's upcoming spinoff The Winchesters, and they even dug his early days on Days of Our Lives. When on the topic of the gear Ackles had to put on to become Soldier Boy, the Smallville alum revealed that while he couldn't argue that his costume was fine in terms of comfort, there was just one thing he expected to see (and feel) that just wasn't there:
I got the nice one. I could still move around. There was no leotard, no rubber, no suit that you had to peel off at the end of the day, That being said, while we were fitting it — these things are a work of art and they take quite a bit of time to put together — the super suit costume designer, L.J., she was starting to put the stuff together. I was like, ‘Are you going to give me some muscles?’ Like I see these suits, and they’re clearly outlined with added muscles. She just lightly tapped me on the shoulder and she goes, ‘You’re gonna bring me some muscles in April.'
Ackles proceeded to mention that the muscle-related conversation happened six months or so before he was meant to fill the Soldier Boy costume out, which might seem like he had plenty of time to bring those muscles, but becoming a superhero is no small feat. By the looks we've been granted from the Season 3 trailer and The Boys' currently released episodes, though, he definitely put in the work. And luckily, it sounds like the bulking up issue was the only detail Jensen Ackles had with the costume, which presumably went away somewhat after he built up his own muscle mass.
Even just four episodes in, and without a huge amount of screen time, Jensen Ackles has already proven his worth as Soldier Boy, even if the character himself isn't sporting a good rep. The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke, who also created Supernatural and served as its showrunner for the first five seasons, praised Ackles for his portrayal of the supe while speaking with CinemaBlend, noting that he was the perfect actor to portray the O.G. supe.
Jensen Ackles was first announced to join the cast of The Boys for Season 3 in August of 2020, a month prior to Supernatural's COVID-delayed series finale. So he had around two months of idealizing himself in the role before learning that he'd need to bring the physical efforts as much as the mental ones. And it wasn't a cakewalk for him, either, as he's spoken in the past about the difficulties that come with staying in shape consistently.
Last August, Eric Kripke explained how Ackles won the role of Soldier Boy, and it was basically just a chance of fate and one simple phone call that changed everything. It’s been interesting to see how different this role is compared to Dean Winchester, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t minor small callbacks to the long-running CW series. And seeing what Soldier Boy really is like has been pretty entertaining, and going forward in Season 3, it will surely be even better.
Be sure to watch Jensen Ackles, and his muscles, as Soldier Boy on Season 3 of The Boys with an Amazon Prime subscription! New episodes drop every Thursday night or Friday morning. Check out CinemaBlend’s 2022 TV schedule to see what else is upcoming.
