Jensen Ackles had only arrived in town a couple of hours earlier NME you sit with him and Karl Urban in a London hotel on a rainy Friday morning, but you wouldn’t know it. The couple’s easy and relaxed camaraderie is fully displayed, exchanging funny jokes and occasionally finishing each other’s sentences as they discuss their first collaboration on screen.
We are here to talk about the upcoming third season of The boys, the superhero satire show that debuted on Prime Video in July 2019 (note: there are light spoilers). Adapted from the 2006-2012 comic book series of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, it imagines a world where superpowered individuals (“Supes”) are marketed and monetized by the powerful but morally bankrupt Vought International Corporation. His violent delights and NSFW and his failed superhero storytelling style have made him a winning alternative to the cleanest heroism in the Marvel movie universe, and success and acclaim have naturally followed. .
“When he came out, [The Boys’ showrunner Eric] Kripke sent us an email saying, “Hi, this is really connected,” recalls New Zealander Urban. “But you really feel it when you go out in public and you start interacting with people who express their affection for what you’ve done, and that’s as lovely as an actor.”
Urban is back for the third season The boys‘leader Billy Butcher. This time, his quest for the ultimate weapon to overthrow once and for all the sociopathic “superhero” Homelander (played by Antony Starr) takes him to Soldier Boy by Ackles, a new addition to the cast for the third season. . The boys is a show that the Supernatural The star was anxious to join: “The opening sequence of the first season, when the body exploded, from that moment on I put everything in it, and then it continued to form more layers. on many levels “.
The anticipation is up to the third season. “I’ll have people come up to me and say, ‘Oh man, I can’t wait for the third season,'” Ackles continues. It’s a great show. “
Urban and Ackles only met for the first time on the set of The boys, but quickly became friends while filming. “I was really excited to find out that Jensen was not only a great guy, but an asset to be had on set,” Urban says.
“Jensen is a real team player, and we’re lucky to have him” – Karl Urban
“When you’re in the trenches with someone who has an ability like Jensen to assess the situation and then find a solution that helps everyone, that’s the kind of man he is. He’s a real team player and we’re lucky. to have it “.
The boysThe third season was filmed in Toronto in 2021, when almost everything was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the couple still managed to play a few rounds of golf on their days off. So who is the best golfer? “The first time we played, I think it got to the last hole,” Ackles says. “He had me in one go. I had a shitty ball, but somehow I got on the green in two and I think I won it all at once.”
“When I got home, they had an MRI on my shoulder and I had a partial tear on my subscapularis,” Urban replied, his competitive streak shining. “I don’t know if I told you, but I was hurt.” Ackles responds by playing: “All I hear are excuses …”
Third season of ‘The Boys’ (Image: Prime Video / Press)
Sure there’s a resurgence with a fit, healthy Urban, but Acles ’main focus remained on his work on The Boys. Due to his reunion on the small screen with Kripke, who created Supernatural in 2005, the Dallas-born actor had kept in touch with The Boys showrunner when the CW series ended in November 2020 after 15 years in the air.
“I was just a fan of it The boys now. I told Kripke I’d come and do a little part: ‘Just put me in the coach!’ ”Ackles laughed. He was the one who came up with the idea and said, ‘There’s this role we’re starting to talk about for the third season.’ He said, ‘I’ll send you material, let me know what you think.’ In the first lines, I said, “Oh, I have to fight for this. And I did.”
The part that Ackles coveted so much was Soldier Boy, the original Vought Supe that was created during World War II. Somehow, it does The boysCaptain America’s version: a superpowered individual in history who is discovered in a now unknown present. Feel that it is The boyshowever, you can expect him to be less likeable than the Marvel boy scout.
“The opening sequence of the first season, when the body exploded, I was all-in from that moment on” – Jensen Ackles
“It was interesting to come in as a guy, but play the guy who was supposed to have more time,” Ackles says. “I connected with my inner grandfather. [Soldier Boy] is very much an analog person living in this new digital land. We see him walking the streets of New York and a boy with Bluetooth headphones on. He’s just having a conversation, but for Soldier Boy, he seems to be talking alone. So navigating through that was interesting. “
While most of our time with Soldier Boy in the third season is set in the present, there are several flashbacks. One of those glances at the past sees Supe singing and rapping in a Pops peak-Esque show -Vought marketing tactics were less evolved then- and although we only see a snippet, Ackles scoffs that there is so much more to come.
“There’s this solid gold video where I have dancers and I do a Blondie song. And then I did another Robert Mitchum song. It’s so bad! You’ll have to wait for the special features of everything, but we filmed it!
Jensen Ackles as a boy soldier in “The Boys” (Image: Prime Video / Press)
Ackles’ musical performances may be ridiculously bad, but they probably weren’t as demanding as his first day on set. In the scene in which The Boys first meet Soldier Boy in the present after Butcher and his team take him out of a cryogenic chamber, the actor is naked: he talks about being thrown into the background. “It was fun to join a new cast and show off and meet new crew members just with your bait and your team in a sock,” says Ackles, before Urban intervenes: “It’s just their way of walking. ! “
This great revelation (ahem) is even more exciting for the action that precedes it. This season, Butcher is gaining superpowers after taking an experimental drug known as Compound V, bringing a new dimension to the exaggerated violence that has become a staple of the show. However, it raises the question: is the leader of The Boys on a dark path?
“I think Butcher’s bow this season is what does it cost to become what you’re trying to destroy? Is it worth it to yourself? What’s the cost?” Urban offers. “He’s making a choice this season that has a catastrophic impact on everyone around him, and he’s forcing everyone to make the same choice: you’re with him or against him. And if you’re against him, you better stay out of his way “.
“The butcher makes a choice this season that has a catastrophic impact on everyone around him” – Karl Urban
While Butcher may have laser eyes, Soldier Boy often relies on his shield of confidence when in combat. Ackles did much of his own acrobatic work and went through some props in the process. “The shields had different weight variations: they were very heavy, but also rubber for acrobatics,” he says. “But I was spinning that thing so much that I was ripping the handles off their backs!”
As for the relationship between his characters, Urban and Ackles make fun of the fact that, although their goals may initially be aligned, it is not long before the conflict arises. “For Butcher this season, he’s determined to level the playing field,” Urban explains. “It’s not just about leveling up, [he’s] using everything he can. He recognizes a powerful asset in Soldier Boy, and if he can use Soldier Boy to help bring down Homelander, this is what he will do. But throughout history, he realizes that it’s easier said than done, and that Soldier Boy has his own agenda. “
“But you help me and I’ll help you. But that’s how it starts. But then the train gets off the tracks very quickly,” Ackles said.
Karl Urban and Antony Starr in the third season of “The Boys” (Image: Prime Video / Press)
The Boys isn’t the first time Urban or Ackles have swum in comic book waters. In 2012, Urban played Pete Travis and Alex Garland in science fiction. Dredd, and while it deservedly garnered critical acclaim, it didn’t make enough money at the box office for a sequel to have a green light. This has not stopped talking about a spin-off or TV series that will come to life in the coming years, and Urban is looking forward to seeing more Dredd on our screens.
“I think there is a wealth of material that [Judge Dredd co-creator] John Wagner and company. I’ve written over the years, and I’d love to see more of this world, “says Urban.” The way technology has evolved in film and television, especially in recent years with the introduction of The Volume [a virtual production stage that is surrounded by screens that extend the set] which they used in the Star Wars i Mandalorià shows, I think it opens up a world of opportunities when you can imagine a world, like a megacity, in a fully realized way. So I’m excited to see more, whether it’s with me or not. “
Ackles, meanwhile, has enjoyed success in …