The Boys star Jensen Ackles claimed that the studio was more interested in ‘much bigger stars’ than him, so he had to ‘earn’ his part as Soldier Boy’ in season 3. Ackles said that he had to put a lot of effort into getting the part of Soldier Boy in the third season of the popular superhero satire series The Boys.
In July 2019, The Boys, a comic book series by the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, made its debut. Since its debut, The Boys has received positive reviews and been nominated for a number of Emmy Awards, including best drama series after the release of season two in 2020.
Jensen Ackles ‘Had to fight’ For Soldier Boy Role
Showrunner of The Boys Eric Kripke revealed his longtime partner Jensen Ackles wasn’t originally a candidate for the Soldier Boy role. Before Kripke had an unexpected discussion with his Supernatural co-star, the writer and casting team were really aiming to take an older actor to evoke vintage Hollywood Western movies.
Speaking about teaming up with his buddy Eric Kripke, Jensen Ackles said they were discussing something completely unrelated.
And he said to Kripke, ‘Hey, I’m about to be unemployed. Got anything for me on The Boys?’”
Kripke replied, “I told him ‘Let me think about it because I don’t know if I want you for a solo guest spot. Maybe I’ve got something a little bit juicier for you.” The next day, Jensen Ackles received the material for Soldier Boy. Kripke told him this role is on the radar for a heavy Season 3 appearance. Ackles said, “This was something I had to fight for and luckily it worked out.”
Ackles read it and immediately called Kripke and was like, “Who do I have to kill to get this role?” Apparently, there was a shortlist of names at the studio. He was certainly not on that list, as it consisted of names that were far more recognizable than him. But Ackles said that he was willing to fight for the role.
Eric Kripke Explains What Makes Jensen Ackles the Perfect Soldier Boy
Kripke explained the casting of Ackles in the show in a Collider interview. When it was first written, Ackles was not the first choice for the Soldier Boy character.
After working with Jensen Ackles for years in Supernatural, Kripke said he was excited to show viewers Jensen Ackles‘ flexibility as Soldier Boy in season 3.
“I was just excited to show the world a different side of Jensen because I knew he could do it,” Kripke told Insider. After auditioning, Ackles landed the role of Soldier Boy, whom he described as a “jackass” and “curmudgeon, bigoted asshole.”
“After spending 15 years as one particular character, I was looking forward to showing just a totally different character entirely, which I knew he could pull off,” Kripke said.
“I mean, when you know an actor as well as I know Jensen and have seen literally hundreds of hours of film on him, I can write with a lot of confidence because I know exactly what he can do,” he added.
Through Supernatural, which ran on The CW for 15 seasons between 2005 and 2020, Kripke and Ackles got to know one another.
The Boys season 3 is now streaming on Prime Video.
Source: Discussing Films
