Jensen Ackles Had To Fight To Play Soldier Boy in THE BOYS Because He Wasn't on The Studio's List
When it was first announced that Jensen Ackles had been cast as Soldier Boy in The Boys Season 3, the fans were extremely happy with the choice, and he ended up doing an awesome job in the role! I figured it was an easy role for him to land because the showrunner of The Boys was Eric Kripke, who created Supernatural, which Ackles starred in. I assumed that Kripke called up the actor and was like, “Hey, I’ve got this great role in The Boys I want you to play and it’s yours!”
But, that’s not what happened at all. In fact, Ackles wasn’t even on the list of actors that the studio was hoping to land for the role. Ackles wanted the role so bad, though, that he was willing to fight for it. The actor talked about how he went about his journey trying to get the role, saying:
"So the next day, he sent over an audition scene for Soldier Boy and said, 'Take a read and tell me what you think.’ I read it and immediately called him and was like, 'Who do I have to kill to get this role?' He said, 'I'm going to warn you, this isn't going to be easy.' Apparently, there was a shortlist of names they were talking about at the studio. I certainly wasn't on that list, and it consisted of names that were far more recognizable than mine. But I said that I was willing to fight, and he said, 'If you're willing to fight for it, then I might be able to help you.' And so he did."
The audition also involved Ackles putting his Butcher impression to the test. In regards to that, he said:
"I had to put myself on tape, this was during peak COVID, so I didn't really have help in doing so. I had to pre-record the other person's lines, which happened to be Butcher. So I had to do my best Butcher impression and then I would play those lines back and finally, I would give the Soldier Boy performance. Luckily, I had Kripke coaching me and he was able to put the best tape forward that I could muster. He sent it up the ladder, got all the checkmarks, and that's how it happened. But I fought for it, man. I fought for it pretty hard."
I wonder what other actors they had in mind for Soldier Boy before casting Ackles. Regardless, it’s cool to learn that Ackles fought for this role and landed it. Obviously, Kripke was there to aid him and also help fight for him, but in the end, the fans loved what he brought to the character and that’s all that matters.