The Boys' Jensen Ackles Was Devastated by Homelander Actor's Comment on His Physique
After months of tireless “mad-man” training and diets, the Supernatural star came to The Boys set to play Soldier Boy — and was immediately “crushed” by his colleague.
Since different roles require different visual appearances, actors often have to completely alter the way they look to fit the character they’re playing. Sometimes, they need to lose or gain an unfathomable amount of weight; sometimes, they need to use a lot of make-up — or turn into the bulkiest extermination machine known.
The latter was the case for Jensen Ackles, the Supernatural star, when he was invited to play the part of Soldier Boy in the hit series The Boys. The actor knew that this role demanded an immaculate physique, and he took it really seriously, putting in some insane work and dedication to getting himself in the required shape.
For six long months, Ackles was spending countless hours building up his muscles, lifting weights, training to become more resilient and conditioned, and following a strict diet. While the actor is known for staying in good shape, his workout regime for the role of Soldier Boy was different: insanely intense, focused, and demanding.
Months later, he appeared on the set, confident that he’d built himself exactly the way he needed to look on the screen. He expected a totally different reaction from what he actually heard from Anthony Starr, the Homelander actor… Here’s what Ackles recalls about that situation — and how he felt about himself afterward.
“I was told to beef up, and so I worked out like a madman. The physical preparation was something that I’ve never done before. But I think it helped me get there mentally. I get to set and Anthony’s like, ‘Why didn’t you just tell him to add muscles to the suit, bro?’ And it just deflated me. Just crushed me. All that effort and it was for really nothing,” shared Ackles while speaking with EW.
For the actor, this came as a huge blow — realizing that he’d put himself through hell over the last six months for nothing since he could’ve simply requested a bulkier costume like his co-stars did. There’s no worse feeling than realizing that all your efforts were in vain, so we can definitely see why he was devastated by the notion.
But between you and us, Jensen does look great in The Boys, so it wasn’t really for nothing — and after his revelation, the fans will appreciate his dedication even more.
Source: EW via YouTube