In less than a month, Supernatural fans will have to say goodbye to the show that brought actors Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki together for a decade-and-a-half. The horror series is singing off after fifteen seasons. Ackles and Padalecki have been a united front throughout all of them, and the longtime co-stars have reflected on what they will miss about working together, as they prepare to head off into new shows.
Jensen Ackles is heading for Amazon’s hit show, The Boys, as Soldier Boy. Meanwhile, Jared Padalecki will be sticking a little closer to home, as he will be starring in The CW’s Walker, Texas Ranger reboot (beard and all) as the eponymous character originated by action icon Chuck Norris. With their days on Supernatural over, Padalecki recently reflected on working Ackles, telling TVLine:
I don’t want to say I baby it with other actors and actresses, but I pull my game back. If you’ve been playing tennis with somebody 15 years or basketball or doing jujitsu or something, you know how hard you can push. Whereas if you just walk in onto a court with somebody you’ve never played before, it’s like, ‘OK, well, I’ve got to feel them out, because I don’t want to just start dunking on the guy, and it’s not a game.’ And so with Jensen, I know I can push as hard as I possibly can and harder and that he’ll push back just as hard, and we’ll bring out different aspects of a scene, different facets of what the characters are going through.
After fifteen years together, Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles know each other’s strengths and can therefore go all the way with one another. It's something they share that will be missing when the Supernatural stars transition to their new roles. That's not counting Padalecki’s wife, Genevieve Padalecki, who will play his late wife on Walker, Texas Ranger. Otherwise, the kind of knowledge Padalecki and Ackles have is rare and takes time to acquire.
And Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles have had a lot of it. Their rapport is pretty epic, as Supernatural fans have seen it showcased through the years, both on and off screen. Who could forget Ackles’ sweet social media post commemorating Padalecki’s birthday this year? When you play each other’s brother for fifteen years, you're bound to bond. So what will Ackles miss from working with Padalecki? He had this to say:
There’s a nuance, I think, that he and I are able to tap into, not only with our characters, but with the relationship that these characters have with each other in every scene. A lot of times, those nuances are not written on the page, and that is, I think, something that we pride ourselves in being able to bring to the character, to the story and to the show. And that’s something that he and I don’t really even need to talk about. It’s stuff that presents itself to us, almost in the middle of a scene. We’re so comfortable and available to each other for letting those kinds of moments happen that they happen all the time. I’m going to miss having that confidence with somebody that I can just allow those moments to happen and you can seize them.
Trust and confidence are not easy to build, and Jensen Ackles is going to miss having that with Jared Padalecki. Ackles reflected on the natural bond that they share and how that has subconsciously bled into Supernatural throughout its 300+ episode run. I have to add that based on the Supernatural episodes I've watched, Padalecki and Ackles’ dynamic is one of the long-running series’ core strengths.
It's strange to think about those two not being together on a television show. Of course, Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki will still be on on our screens, just not in the way we've become accustomed to. While it must have been tough, Ackles was somehow able to keep his emotions in check as he and Padalecki filmed Supernatural’s finale. The soon-to-be Boys star also credited Padalecki for helping buoy his spirits.
Jensen Ackles had something else to help keep his spirits up as well. Perhaps, he thought about taking home the Winchesters’ favorite mode of transportation -- Baby? Ackles, who had long been eyeing the fan-favorite vehicle, got to take the car home after filming on Supernatural’s final season finished. Though it won't be the same without Padalecki to ride in it with him. Or at least, I do not think so.
Still, it will remind him of their show, which is now in the homestretch. Supernatural’s remaining episodes will continue airing throughout this fall’s schedule on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW, with the series finale set to air on November 19. You can also watch Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki’s past adventures as Dean and Sam during the first fourteen seasons of Supernatural, which are streaming on Netflix alongside plenty of new 2020 content.
