Jensen Ackles’ Meet and Greet in Vancouver stuck with what was a theme of the day with questions about both the actor’s newbie fatherhood and the Show that brought us all to the con in the first place. He joked about being sleep deprived and getting some rest this weekend (unlike most of the fans in the room, who by Sunday afternoon are always uniformly sleep deprived . . . but uniformly in a pretty damn good mood too.)
Since this is only my from-memory tidbits of the meet and greet and not a transcript, we’ll concentrate on a few of the Show-related things he mentioned. Let’s start with Lynn’s question, since she remembers that one — and since she couldn’t wait to ask it. Lynn doesn’t wait well. Ask anyone. Especially Kathy.
Lynn: I realize you’re only four episodes into Season 9, but what’s your take on where Dean is psychologically, after everything that happened at the end of Season 8? And how do you feel about where your character is at this point?
Jensen: Well, the brothers are back together in Season 9…
Lynn: (interrupts) YAY!!!
Jensen: (patiently) So they’re back together, and they made a commitment to each other in the finale, after not being on the same page during Season 8, and I really like that.
Lynn: (excitedly) Me too!!
Jensen: (still patiently) So Dean is sort of in his comfort zone. The brothers have each other’s backs, and Dean is ready to take on the world, with his brother beside him. And I like him being there.
Lynn: (nodding vigorously)
Jensen (starts laughing) Of course it won’t last! I feel like I’m in the calm before the storm right now.
Lynn: This is Supernatural, after all.
Another fan thought that Dean seemed a bit more morally grey last season, with the decisions he had to make about stopping the apocalypse or saving his brother. Jensen said that Dean would rather compromise and have Sam’s back than turn his back on his brother. (Actually that may or not be seen as morally grey. Putting his brother before everything else is the dynamic that hooked us on the show in the first place, and we were ecstatic to see it back so strongly in the S8 finale. So I guess we’re with Dean on this one.) Jensen and Jared have each other’s backs too. In fact, during their panel later that afternoon, Jared left the stage unexpectedly for a minute. This was Jensen’s reaction:
Jensen talked about Dean being the self sacrificing one, the one who’s like let me take it for you, let me throw myself in front of the bus. He’s the big brother, he’s protective. Jensen’s a big brother too, though he allowed that Dean definitely wins the most protective brother award. I think it’s safe to say Dean could take on just about any contender for that particular honor. We love hearing Jensen talk about Dean – he seems almost as protective of Dean as Dean is of Sam. He knows the character – as he put it, ‘the Dean who’s in my brain.’ In fact, he joked about how writer Robbie Thompson is always writing Dean doing nerdy things. Jensen keeps wanting to ask, have you met the guy?
Fans: But we love when Dean is a nerd!
(And speaking for ourselves only, we happen to love the way Robbie Thompson writes him.)
A fan asked about the spinoff, and Jensen laughed again, saying there were so many options. A spinoff starring Garth (hilarious), a spinoff starring Charlie, especially now that they’ve brought her into their world. That got a cheer from many of the fans. What about you, readers? Would you like to see a Charlie spinoff? A smart, strong, slightly obsessive, collectible-loving, geek girl hunter? Sounds like a heroine to us!
Who would Jensen most want to bring back to SPN? — John, in a heartbeat.
Fans: YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
Apparently Jeffrey Dean Morgan keeps asking Jensen if they’ve found a way to bring him back yet, so who knows? Jared and Jensen would actually like to bring back all the guest actors they’ve gotten to know so well at cons too. Richard, Rob, Matt, Ty, Kim, Julie, Sebastian, Chad, Mark P – they’ve all become friends from traveling all over the world to go to cons. We’re picturing some crazy reunion episode where everyone they’ve ever hunted with or gone up against comes back. Or possibly the long-awaited and still apparently talked about musical episode.
Someone asked about the fight scenes in SPN, which seemed to be another popular question topic at Vancon. Jensen said that they actually have a martial arts expert on set. Jared and Jensen often spar between takes, but that kind of fighting is very close fighting, so although the boys are apparently very good at it, it doesn’t play well on film. (It plays really well in my head though. Just sayin’) Anyway, for onscreen they need the big, dramatic punches, what Jensen called the ‘haymakers’. He helpfully got up and demonstrated both kinds of fighting for us, which everyone in the room most definitely appreciated. Like, a lot.
Eventually the questions got serious again.
Fan: You seem like a serious person…
Jensen: (eyebrows raised) Do I?
Lynn: (unfortunately not silently) No.
Someone asked if it was difficult to support Jared with all he was going through in the S8 finale. Jensen said that it really was. In some ways, he felt like a third wheel, because Jared and Mark Sheppard were doing this amazing work, the two of them really going at it, and Jensen almost felt like an audience member, watching. Then he’d be like, oh wait, I have a line here! Jensen went on to say that after 8 years of working with Jared, it was so nice to see that he still has that drive and that passion for the work and the show.
Jensen again insisted he wasn’t really doing anything in those scenes of the finale, it was all Jared and Mark.
Fans: No way. You’re always doing something onscreen even when Dean isn’t talking.
(Fans don’t miss a trick, do we? It’s true, even when it’s some other actor’s coverage, Jensen is always right there in the moment, showing us Dean’s reactions to whatever is happening in the scene.)
Jensen laughed and possibly blushed, but he also said thanks and that he appreciated that we noticed. Editors have noticed too, and said that they appreciate being able to cut to Dean’s reaction shot if someone else in the scene is a bit off. They can cut to Dean even if he’s not talking.
Guest actors must sometimes wonder what sort of show they’ve ended up on. Once a guest actor was working on getting into character before the take began, and he turned to Jared and asked if Jared and Jensen wanted to start getting into character with him.
Jared: We don’t do that here.
Actor: *panics*
Jared: *goes back to talking to Jensen*
When do the boys get into character? Jensen joked that sadly, it was often not until AFTER the “Action!”
Hey, whatever you guys are doing, it’s working. No complaints here.
One of the things that always warms our hearts at cons is how both Jared and Jensen take time to express their appreciation for the fans’ support and to thank us. The meet and greet ended with those sentiments. Jensen was up for a very big role recently, but he puts both SPN and his family first, so he couldn’t have done it (we’ll leave it to you to draw your own conclusions about what that role might have been). What’s clear is that Jensen has priorities, and the things that are important to him are very important. We’re so glad that Supernatural – and its fans – are some of those important things. We’re still having fun, Jensen said. And it shows.
Hope you enjoyed these little tidbits from the meet and greet! Here are a few more photos that make it quite clear that the boys are indeed still having fun:
Check back soon for much more from VanCon, including chats with Jared and Jensen, SPN writers Robbie Thompson and Adam Glass, and more fun onstage and behind the scenes!
Always a great read! Thanks again…and I’ll just mention in passing, insanely jealous that you get to go to these meet and greets… But thankful you always share!
B.J.
You guys never disappoint with your write ups!! Almost like being there !! 🙂 Keep up the great work! Hope to see you again in Chicago! 🙂 Katie
Could he possibly have been talking about the Batman role?
Thank you so much for uploading, always love reading these!
Oh please, don’t tell me the big role was Batman!
Thank you guys very much for this 😀
*tackle hug*
So embarrassed by my Dallas Cowboys question. Usually I ask better questions but, somebody asked my question so I had to think on the fly and, that is obviously not my forte.
Anything about Jareds meet and greet? Please??
Thanks by the way!
After all the comments from fans everywhere on votes, etc. And, what Jared and Jensen have said, I think the role was Batman. I like the idea that maybe Afleck was the second choice.
No, fans who attended Jensen M&G said that Jensen told them it wasn’t Batman.
“No, fans who attended Jensen M&G said that Jensen told them it wasn’t Batman.”
Thanks. Were there any hints as to what the role was, and why it didn’t work out?
Hurray, MeetandGreets are back! Not fully, but still… Thank you! One of the rare moments when one can almost see and hear our favorite actor speaking with his fans, with us! But hush, I don’t want to let Creation notice that even we, poor and envious un-visitors of the con, can have our share of happiness.
I was eagerly waiting for this. It’s always a great delight to read your Meet & Greet with Jensen Ackles. He’s such a sweet heart. Love his love for Supernatural, his character Dean and for his fans. Thank you so much for sharing it.
if it was true that Jensen had a big role in a movie coming out, that Is a rare thing and to pass it up for the tv series. just hope Jensen prays hard for another chance for a rare thing to happen, because rare things in life are rare and if you miss your chance, their might not be another rare chance to come his way…
I have zero doubt in my mind that neither Jensen or Jared will have a hard time finding work once the show finally wraps. They’ve done amazing work on this show, industry insiders have even commented on the fact that they don’t get the recognition they deserve for what they do. With the atmosphere on that set and the fact that the writers, producers, directors and guest actors all seem to look out for one another I’m sure that they’ll be getting phone calls about other projects once all is said and done. Until then I’m perfectly happy with them still doing Supernatural as long as they keep putting out a high quality product.
Thank you so much for this, Lynn! All of us who can’t be at the meet & greets live for these write-ups! I wish folk at the panels would ask more of these types of questions; I love hearing Jensen and Jared talk about their craft … 🙂
Thanks for the write up! I was also lucky enough to be at Jensen’s meet & greet. He was such a trooper! The poor guy looked dead on his feet but was still so cordial and engaging with his fans. I’m barely human when I’m that tired.
I hope you don’t mind if I add in a few things off the top of my head? If I remember correctly, Jensen confirmed that he wouldn’t be directing a SPN episode this season. He also mentioned hoping he could do an episode of the spin off sometime. It also sounds like part of the spin off will be filmed in Chicago and the Js might be there on location as well.
I loved that Jensen mentioned being in talks for that big movie role. What I thought was interesting was how evasive he was about it. We kept asking if it was “Batman” and he never really denied it, he just repeated that he wouldn’t say and deflected the question. Whether it was or wasn’t, it’s just awesome that Jensen is being considered for higher profile movies in general. I hope that means we’ll see him in lots of interesting roles in the future!
There was also a question about whether Jensen thought the writers might be prepping Dean for more of a leadership role in the overall hunting community. Jensen said that was an interesting possibility, mentioning how Dean had been a leader of the resistance in “The End”. Apparently he and Misha had just been talking about the 2014! ‘verse and how that would have been coming up, year-wise (but that he didn’t think it was now going to happen since the apocalypse was averted.) In regards to the question, though, Jensen said the writers hadn’t specifically told him anything about leader Dean but that they often don’t tell the actors about planned storylines, just in case they decide not to go there after all.
I do hope we get to see Dean more directly involved in the bigger story arcs this season. I thought his 3rd wheel comment was kind of telling, especially since he also described Dean as a “guilty cheerleader” in his Comic Con interviews. It’s so true that Jensen excels in even those reaction shots but he has to also be part of the scene for that to happen, which wasn’t the case for much of the finale. I just love Jensen’s take on Dean so much that I want to see him on screen and being challenged as an actor as much as possible (yes, I freely admit- I’m a greedy fan, lol.) So hopefully this new season brings new opportunities for that….
Anyways, thanks again for the summary!
Julie, thank you very much for your interesting additions. I (along with many fans, I am sure) are very interested in future roles for Jensen, in movies and otherwise. It’s interesting that he didn’t deny the Batman role. I really hope it wasn’t Batman, because if it was, I think anyone would have dropped everything to take it, Jensen included. Jensen implied as much in his Comic Con interview! Anyway, I agree, it was still wonderful that he’s being considered and is interested in, big movie roles. Even with a two season contract with CW still ahead of him.
I find it cute that Jensen was discussing the show (The End) with Misha. I think that episode will always have a very special place in his heart.
I also hope that Dean is not the Third Wheel this season and doesn’t stand back in a guilty cheerleader, supporting role.
Most interesting. Thanks for the added detail. I sincerely hope the writers give Jensen some challenging material this season (and season 10 if it happens). Jensen likes challenges, so I’m sure he’d be ecstatic to get some meaty material for a change.
Yes, thanks for the add-on, Julie. I especially liked the question about Dean possibly getting a leadership role this season. Anything that highlights this awesome character in his own right would work for me. I’m also tired of the “guilty cheerleader” role. PurgatoryDean was certainly a joy to behold, but we hardly got to see him! I wish they would have made that a season-long arc for Dean with more PTSD after he’d returned. It seems like after the S3 finale, they’ve constantly teased the Deanfans with something awesome for the character(and the actor), but they’ve never truly delivered. Oh well, hope springs eternal for something awesome for both Dean and Jensen before his contract is up.
I’m happy to see him showing such an interest in other projects-and even happier about the interest in him from other quarters. Jensen is such a gem of an actor AND a person.
Thanks to the fangasm gals, too-especially for that lovely pic at the top!
Jena – I agree with your comments!
“Anything that highlights this awesome character in his own right would work for me. I’m also tired of the “guilty cheerleader” role. PurgatoryDean was certainly a joy to behold, but we hardly got to see him! I wish they would have made that a season-long arc for Dean with more PTSD after he’d returned. It seems like after the S3 finale, they’ve constantly teased the Deanfans with something awesome for the character(and the actor), but they’ve never truly delivered. Oh well, hope springs eternal for something awesome for both Dean and Jensen before his contract is up.”
This!
“I’m happy to see him showing such an interest in other projects-and even happier about the interest in him from other quarters. Jensen is such a gem of an actor AND a person.”
Yes, yes and yes! Especially your last sentence! Jensen really is an amazing actor and person!
Julie – thank for your added comments. I love that question about Dean having a leadership role in the hunting community; I think that was one of the best questions from the M&G. I also loved hearing that Jensen and Misha have talked about the 2014 verse.
Unfortunately, however, I’m disappointed with Jensen saying the writers haven’t said anything to him. But, that sounds like par for the course with the show and writers and any kind of storyline for Dean. From what Jensen said at Comic Con, he has no idea about any storyline for Dean in season 9. Calendar year 2014 is right around the corner, it would be nice for the show to remember past canon and a way to write a storyline for Dean that is about Dean.
I agree that the “third wheel” comment is telling, and considering that Jensen had to turn down a movie for this show, I hope he gets more from season 9 than what he got as a storyline for Dean in season 8, especially the last part of season 8. I loved Purgatory, but that was pretty much dropped, there were so much potential and so much the show could have done with Purgatory, but they chose to drop it instead and then Dean didn’t have a storyline after that.
I am so glad to hear that Jensen is auditioning and interested in acting gigs outside of Supernatural and that others in the industry are interested in him. I can’t wait to see what Jensen does when SPN finally ends. I know Jensen will have a long and great career because he is an amazing actor! 🙂
I am fascinated by your addition to the talk. It gives a lot to reflect on.
I agree with your interpretation of the comments. Someone is going to scoop this fellow up when SPN is done. They need to take advantage of that talent now and give real meat to his story again.
Interesting, first Jensen felt like a 3rd wheel in s8 finale, now he has no director’s gig, no story for Dean and no big movie ahead.
Somehow I don’t feel like choosing spn was a good move for him :/
Thanks so much for writing up this little overview report! It’s always nice to hear from Jensen about Dean and the fact that he and Jared are still having a good time with the show and each other. 🙂
Thanks for the report! It’s always heartwarming to see how the boys care so much about each other, the fans, their characters, the show, their families–pretty much everything. 🙂
I think the (very out-of-character) moral grey areas for Dean last season were:
1) when he made Sam think his girlfriend was going to be bled and burned alive on the ceiling again (way to twist the knife in your brother’s most traumatic tragedy)
2) not looking for a way to get Cas out of Purgatory once Dean was out even though he knew Cas was still alive when he last saw him, all the while berating Sam for not trying to get him out (also very out of character for Sam, who has always tried to save Dean at any cost to himself)
3) and abandoning Benny, a friend in need (also very out of character for Sam, who has always been the one to say supernatural beings are not necessarily evil.)
So I was actually overjoyed when Dean refused to sacrifice Sam’s life–he was finally back to being Dean again. I didn’t see that as a moral grey area at all, it felt to me like Dean being in character and doing the right thing: saving Sam, and saving the demons and their human meatsuits in the bargain.
thank you for writing these things,i always want to know more and more about the boys,i love Jensen as a person and dean as the elder caring loving brother.desperately waiting 4 season 9
.
Thank you Lynn. These are a joy!
Thanks for the write up. I feel so jealous right now 🙂 Wish I could attend a con someday. Jensen seems like such a wonderful person and I love Dean so much. Your write ups make me feel like I’m actually there. So thanks again. I sincerely wish Dean gets a bigger and better arc this season. He so deserves it. I love the way Jensen talks about Dean. He is protective of that character (like us fans). He is also quick to appreciate and praise his co-actors and guest stars. Its such a wonderful trait to be able to praise others and not think of them as competition. In fact the entire cast of SPN is awesome that way. All of them are so down to earth. Long may this show continue. Looking forward to more reports from you on this con.
I love reading Jensen’s thoughts and comments, he’s always so thoughtful and sincere.
I’m disappointed to learn that Jensen had to turn down a movie because of scheduling. It’s such a shame that the show couldn’t work it out with Jensen, especially since Dean hasn’t had much of a storyline since mid-season 8 and season 9 sounds like more of the same. I hope Jensen is rewarded by the SPN writers actually writing a meaty, active, mytharc storyline for him, and one that’s not all about Sam, but rather something that’s actually about Dean.
I having such a hard time reading this article because I can’t bring myself to scroll away from the first picture. *sigh* He is so dreamy!
You know when you think about it, it is better to be employed fill time with regular pay checks year after year, than be part of a hit movie, then disappear like so many really good actors have over the years. I think his choice is prudent, especially if they are talking about spin off series and directing, which is where I think he will head eventually
Jensen is amazing as usual!
Thank you!
Since nobody wants to say it, I will: you really showed your agenda with this report. Leaving key questions and answers out and only including those that support your view clearly shows your bias and is just plain unprofessional. Is this also the way you conduct your academic research? Because wow, that’s so not done.
I now know that even though you claim to be fans of Jensen and Dean, there’s no need for me to visit this site anymore. With this report you made it very clear that other things are more important to you than giving Deanfans a good report of Jensen’s M&G.
Sorry you feel that way Fortlifh.
Considering the ladies of Fangasm have previously been asked specifically not to give a verbatim report of the Meet and Greet sessions, it must be difficult to choose exactly which comments/questions/answers to omit from the write up. As fans we always want to hear more and so if others (like Julie) who were also in attendance can add anything extra in the comments section, I’m guessing we get a fairly comprehensive coverage of what was said.
For me, I am extremely grateful to the lovely Fangasm ladies who provide those of us who are unlikely to ever be able to attend a Meet and Greet session, an insight into the fascinating and thoughtful answers Jensen always seems to deliver. Many thanks ladies. 🙂
Did I miss something? Is this a report for a magazine or newspaper? Oh, it’s just for fans? Then really, she can report it any way she likes (even if she did have an agenda). Honestly . . . I just shake my head at some people.
I loove your reports! I’m stuck in brazil and I didn’t get a chance yet to see the boys together in a convention. Thanks so much for sharing these things with us.
It’s a pity that Creation are now blocking the whole M&G report =/ But, we have the highlights from people like you <3
thank you again ^^
Great report on Jensen, as usual! Now I just have to find a write up of Jared’s M&G…(Hint, Hint –please go to his next time– hint hint—LOL) 😀
WAS the big role for batman?! *pouts* i would have prefered my dearest jensen a thousand times to affleck.. But as long as i get my dose of spn im not complaining! Thank you SOOOOOO much for sharing this. We fans would LOVE for JDM to return and a charlie spinoff will be a treat.. You guys are the best 🙂