Jensen Ackles opens up about reuniting with his Supernatural co-star Jared Padalecki while directing an episode of Walker. Ackles and Padalecki shared the screen as brothers Dean and Sam Winchester through a staggering 15 seasons of Supernatural. The Winchesters were hunters, traveling the country to battle the likes of vampires, demons, and even God. Throughout Supernatural's prolific 327 episode run, Ackles and Padalecki formed a strong friendship, which persists following the series finale in 2020.
After Supernatural ended, both actors quickly found work elsewhere. Ackles got the chance to voice Batman in Batman: The Long Halloween while also landing the role of Soldier Boy on Prime Video's hit series The Boys. Padalecki was cast as the lead in Walker, a reboot of Chuck Norris' 1990s television series Walker, Texas Ranger. Ackles and Padalecki then got a chance to work together again, with Ackles tapped to direct a recent episode of Walker season 2 called "No Such Thing as Fair Play," his first directorial effort outside of the six episodes of Supernatural he previously helmed.
In a recent interview with EW, Ackles opened up about directing his Supernatural co-star on the set of Walker. When he was asked about what it was like seeing Padalecki play Cordell Walker instead of Sam Winchester, Ackles had an interesting response. He also seemed to relish being able to, once again, use the shorthand the two actors developed over their years together on Supernatural. Check out Ackles' comments about directing Padalecki on Walker below:
Funny enough, I feel like Walker is probably more like Jared than Sam was, not necessarily in actual character development, but just in mannerisms and reactionary things, the nuances of what Jared's doing. I think this feels a little closer to him, which is great because who knows him better than him? It was fun to get back into the shorthand with him with performance notes, with technical notes. I can even use a reference to a movie and he knows that I'm actually giving him a note. There's nobody else I can do that with. He and I have that, and we'll always have that. That's not something that fades away.
Further reinforcing the friendship between the actors, Ackles also recently shared that he was trolled on the set of Walker with Supernatural jokes, like having his director's chair labeled with the name Dean Winchester. The new episode of Walker also features a performance from the band Kansas, which Supernatural viewers know, as their songs were heavily featured on the show. Kansas was supposed to be featured in the series finale of Supernatural, which had to be scrapped due to COVID, but now things have seemingly come full circle on Walker.
Ackles and Padalecki's post-Supernatural projects are also still going strong. Walker has already been renewed for season 3, with a planned prequel called Walker: Independence in development as well. Ackles is also involved with a Supernatural prequel series set to focus on Sam and Dean's parents called The Winchesters, which currently has a pilot in the works. Ackles can next be seen in The Boys season 3 when it debuts in June. As for Supernatural viewers, the friendship between Ackles and Padalecki seems like it will continue on long past Walker, with the two actors likely to work together again if the opportunity were to arise.
Source: EW