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agt_spookyFull text behind the cut - you know you want to read about Jensen calling Jared a pansy. :-)
MeeVee Exclusive! On the Set of Supernatural with Stars Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles
In this fourth installment of our series chronicling our visit to the Vancouver set of Supernatural, Jared Padalecki (aka Sam Winchester) joins his costar Jensen Ackles in sharing with us the kinds of episodes they most enjoy working on, the show's amazing -- if geeky -- special effects crew, and Jared's undying terror of clowns.
Do you prefer the episodes that help build the show's mythology, or the episodes that stand alone?
Jensen: I prefer the ones that follow a common thread. I prefer the ones that move the mythology part forward. I mean, the stand-alone ones are great, and sometimes they're fun to just hang out.
Jared: I'm sort of opposite. I like to film the fun ones, because it's a break from the drama and the tears and the crying, which I love to do and I love to watch. Those are my favorite to watch, but it takes so much out of you. It's like when you're supposed to work out your legs, it's so much harder than working out your arms. The next day, you're like, "Ah, I feel good that I just did that." But at the end of the day, you're like, "Oh, God, it's going to be a big day, I'm not going to walk around."
It's imperative to the storyline that we do [the mythology episodes], but then we do ones like "Hollywood Babylon," which is our next one to air, and it's fun. He's a P.A. and I'm kind of teasing him and making fun of him. And "Tall Tales," where we're just goofing around and wrestling and kind of being goofs. The workload is a little bit more standable.
Jensen: It lightens up a little.
Jared: But there's definitely something to be said about filming the mythology episodes, because at the end of a hard day...
Jensen: Well, that's what I was saying. Sometimes you come in and you do a light scene, or you do an action scene, or do something in which you pour out your heart and soul. You really dig deep for something, and it exhausts you emotionally. There is a certain gratification that comes with that.
Was the connection between you two immediate?
Jared: Yeah. I think it was really pretty free from the get-go. I say this all the time -- we have similar interests, and similar hobbies and similar manners. I've definitely worked with my share of performers, and I'm sure Jensen has as well, where it's all about drama. If there's not some sort of conflict going on in their lives or on the set, then they're just not happy. Here we are both like, "Actors are stupid, man. I don't like to hang out with them."
Jensen: I don't condone them.
Jared: Because something's always going to be going on. But he and I are both like, "We're here to make a project that we are both very passionate about. Let's get our work done." There are no rumors going around set, we have fun on the set.
It's remarkable because, being two guys from Texas, we've probably gone for the same roles. I feel no competition with him. I feel like he's my biggest supporter, and I know I'm his biggest supporter. I am so happy after he just nails a scene -- I am like, "Dude! Rocking!" And he does the same for me. He gives me credit where he thinks I deserve it, and likewise, he's also very constructive with criticism. Like, "Hey, you got a better one in there -- don't get lazy here." He knows me, he's seen my acting more than any other person in this world, because I am acting with him constantly, and vice versa.
Jensen: We can just tell. I can tell if he's faking a line, or he can tell me. To be able to have that luxury of being able to call each other out on it, and keep each other accountable, essentially, it's really cool. I think it definitely helps the show out.
Jared, do you get recognized by fans more for Gilmore Girls or Supernatural?
Jared: Depends on the arena, I guess. If I am in a place with a lot of little girls [laughter], maybe Gilmore Girls. But if I am in an older establishment, like a sports bar or something, where it's a bunch of guys, usually Supernatural. I've also met a lot of girls who are fans of Supernatural.
Jensen: With me, I usually wear a hat if I'm going to walk around town or something. If I wear a hat, no one's going to bother me. But the other night, I walked out of my hotel, and the first people I see is this drunk couple, stumbling down the street. And the guy goes, "Hey, there's the guy from that show." This show's been on for just two years, so it's a little bit more out there.
Do you ever go online and read the blogs, Wikis, and fan sites about the show?
Jensen: We've checked out The CW Web site. Kripke's more into that kind of stuff than we.
Jared: Oh, Kripke can recite the list.
Jensen: We'll ask, "Which ones do you go to?" And he's like, "This one and this one and this one..."
Jared: On the set, sometimes -- like right now when we have time -- we'll flip on the Internet. One I read the other day just made me like cry with laughter. I was reading about Jensen, and they were saying that if he went to Denmark and someone said, "What's your name?" He'd say, "Jensen." And they'd say, "No, no, your first name?" And he'd say, "Jensen." They were talking about how his name is such a common last name. This went on and on. I was like, "Oh my gosh, they're talking about..."
Jensen: Nothing!
Jared: There's no point.
Jensen: Absolutely no point.
A big part of the show's look and feel is the classic rock that you have in lot of episodes. Are you guys into that kind of music?
Jared: During the pilot, because there was so much [music], we were referencing the cassette tapes a lot, so we'd listen to it. And every now and again, we'll have our computers out and we'll just be playing around and listening.
Jensen: I had a cell phone last season that played music out loud. I'd put a speaker on it, and we'd just sit in the Impala and put AC/DC on and just hit the dash.
Jensen, the other day you were showing Kim the promo reel that they used at the Television Critics Association, with the Johnny Cash song. You really liked the way that was cut together.
Jensen: I was like, this should be the opening of the show, this should be the title card of the show.
Jared: I wish they would.
Jensen: And we've both stated our arguments for it.
Jared: We've both expressed interest in it, but I guess they just really don't want it.
Jensen: That's not our department.
Jared: Right. I think Kripke, in his head, has no introduction for Supernatural. So be it.
The special effects team really does an incredible job on this show.
Jared: Oh, yeah! It's neat to see. It's an awesome process. When you go out to the trailers... I mean, "nerd alert." They're great. I wouldn't say it, if they didn't taunt me. Any day if you can walk in there and you see them wearing shirts with the Apple powerbutton. Like, "I am the nerd, who are you?" They're totally like geek gods. They sit in a room and stare at 14 computer monitors for 10 hours a day. "We're nerds."
Jensen: But those guys are brilliant, man. They put together some amazing stuff. We're really lucky to have them.
Jared: It's fun to go over there and just see them. Once I went in there, and I guess there were seven different monitors, all playing different episodes of Supernatural. I was like, "Too much me." [laughter]
But I like seeing them creating. We went in during the clown episode, I guess. I saw them creating the clown face that would come out.
Jensen: The morph. We walked in there, I remember, when the first set was up. Ivan starts explaining it technically to me, and I just turned and walked away. [laughter] Not even a chance.
Do you fear clowns now? More or less? Or did you fear them before?
Jensen: I hated them.
Jared: What's funny was in the episode, Sam hates clowns, and Dean is like, "What the hey, they're just clowns."
Jensen: It's the opposite of what we're like.
Jared: It's just the opposite. Like I had a clown cover, a clown blanket, and ten clowns on my bed and I'd just sit there. I was a clown for Halloween. I loved Stephen King's "It".
Jensen: See, I watched Stephen King's "It" way too young. And that ruined it.
Jared: That was terrifying.
Jensen: I was like, "Nope, nope, clowns are out." And dolls too, for "Playthings."
Jared: Dolls. That was spooky. Just walking into a room full of dolls.
Jensen: Walking in with a bunch of dead eyes looking at you.
Jared: Every now and again, one of them was missing one eye, or there was one that didn't have either eye.
Jensen: Just two empty sockets.
Jared: And Jensen was like, "Put your fingers in her eyes." And I was like, "I don't want to. What if something gets me?" For whatever reason, we couldn't force ourselves to.
Jensen: Because you're a pansy.
Is it strange when you're doing those green screen scenes -- especially fight scenes -- and nothing's there to react to?
Jared: Very, very. We're getting used to it now -- "Look at the tape and be scared."
Jensen: It's all in your imagination, for sure.
Jared: Right. But after seeing a few episodes and seeing it go through the whole rigmarole of us acting to nothing, and seeing them put it in front of us, you go, "Oh, okay! I trust them next time, because now I've seen they're really going to not make me look like I'm looking at a piece of tape."
Last question: What are your favorite TV shows?
Jared: Arrested Development and The Office. The British Office. We can watch only DVDs, really. Any show that's on right now, we can't watch, because we won't have time.
Jensen: I really liked Studio 60 when it first started. But it just kind of tapered off.
