As his spooky show returns to our screens, Supernatural star Jensen Ackles talks to JOANNA HUNKIN
KEY POINTS:
So do you believe in the supernatural? Ha. Well, I've always stuck to the fact that there's got to be a logical explanation. I'm a bit of a realist, I guess. That's not something that I'd necessarily choose to have faith in.
Especially some of the stuff thathappens in your show ... Absolutely. That's not to say that stuff's not possible at all. I think being in the show and working with the subject matter has definitely opened my eyes up to how much of this stuff, at least partially, could be true. It's been interesting. But if I hear some knocking in the middle of the night, I'm not going to come to the conclusion it's a ghost outside my door.
And does that ever make it difficult to act out some of the stories? Do you get a script and just think "what the ..?" Um, all the time! Especially with this show, sometimes it's just so wild and crazy - we have very, very imaginative writers, they come up with stuff that you just go "what are they doing!?" But when you're doing it and you see the final edit, it works. It's good stuff.
There's been numerous occasions where we've been knee-deep in something, I'll have blood all over my face or prosthetics of gashes and cuts, and I just look at the camera and go "This is ridiculous!". You've got to have fun with that kind of stuff otherwise you'd just be miserable all the time.
And do you get some quite strange fans following you and the show? Ones who can't distinguish you from your character?Many years ago, when I first started, I was on a soap opera - Days of Our Lives - and even though that's completely unbelievable, it's still a believable life for a lot of people. Not to mention that you're in their living room five days a week. They think you are that person. I think with Supernatural, it's a little different.
We've got a wide variety of fans. The more I'm on the show, the more surprised I am at the wide demographic of people that watch. More often than not I get young girls going "My mother loves you". I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
LOWDOWN
Who: Jensen Ackles
Born: March 1, 1978 in Dallas, Texas
What: Plays Dean Winchester in Supernatural, returning to TV2 tomorrow, 10.15pm
Where we left off: Brothers Dean and Sam Winchester were heading cross-country in a black Chevy, searching for their father and encountering a host of curious creatures along the way. Having tracked him down, the boys are now on a quest to avenge their mother's death, which happened more than 20 years ago, by killing her murderer, the yellow-eyed demon Azazel.