So far, the Jensen minions are not as on top of their game in gif-creation with his performance as Soldier Boy in The Boys as they were with Dean Winchester, so I couldn’t find the moment I wanted to discuss. (Also, it was from the finale of The Boys, which aired last week, so it might be too early). I recorded the moment off of my laptop with my phone, because I was desperate, and posted it here. I’ll share what I wrote over there, with a little elaboration, because repetition is necessary when you have multiple social media accounts and … no longer use Twitter, lol.
The tiny moment in that clip – where his trauma leaks out – briefly – is why he’s so good and why I’ve written so much about him. The way his expression suddenly floats away from the clearly angry and pained expression when he’s speaking, and something happens to him, he goes somewhere, and then …. it goes deeper, and for a brief second a look of fear comes into his eyes, so he quickly puts his eyes down, with a quick glance in Butcher’s direction: it’s a moment where he’s almost checking to see if Butcher saw the look on his face, hoping he didn’t, but he can’t quite look Butcher in the face.
You think the moment is over: he’s expressed his anger at his father’s disapproval and contempt of him, but then … something else comes up. From a deeper place. It looks involuntary.
The thing with Ackles is, and this is key and what I keep talking about: it’s NOT involuntary.
His technique is so controlled.
And this leads me into something else:
I’ve said it before: one of the least dramatic emotional states any actor can play is self-pity. And yet so many actors love to cry for themselves. Or, they don’t love it, they just find it irresistible. And so there’s a monologue where a character explains how bad things are or have been, and the actor is sucked into what the language appears to be, and so they sit there feeling bad for themselves as they speak. (Never mind that most humans don’t want to show how sorry they feel for themselves.) Good actors understand – or intuit unconsciously – the snooze-fest that is self-pity. It’s an old adage in acting classes: don’t cry for yourself: let the audience cry for you. Don’t feel EVERYthing. Leave SOME for the audience. Even monologues that seem to encourage self-pity usually have underlying emotions going on far more interesting than feeling sorry for yourself. And, worse, reveling in feeling sorry for yourself.
I always think of D.H. Lawrence’s poem on the subject. It is called, wow look at that, “Self-Pity”:
I never saw a wild thing
sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
without ever having felt sorry for itself.
I’m being prescriptive to make a point. There are exceptions but they are rare. Outrage/indignation/loss … these things are not self-pity.
In Supernatural, Dean Winchester had so much to feel sad about. His moments of “why me” are few and far between, and when they DID come they were heartbreaking.
Trauma exists as the underlying condition: if you have technique (not talent, but technique: the two are related), you can choose the moments of “leakage”. You’re not in its grip. You conduct your own emotions, you choose what to let out, and how much. It bears repeating: Being able to do this isn’t talent. It’s technique. Ackles is so SO good at conducting his emotions, letting out just enough but not too much. He never EVER betrays the character. There were so many final moments in Supernatural episodes where Dean stood alone, with a floating look of dissociation on his face, a private moment where his internal experience made it up to his face.
In regards to all of this: I think of Tennessee Williams’ response to an interviewer’s question about the sad fates of his female characters. Williams was almost confused by the question, and he said, “I’ve never written a victim.” Think about that. There is nothing worse than a Blanche Dubois who feels sorry for herself. Blanche fights – until the very end – for survival, dignity, and kindness.
And so this moment in The Boys, something leaks out in the middle of what could have been a very soggy monologue. What quickly follows is an attempt to hide that shit again.
Because The Boys was created by Eric Kripke, the story is not really about superheroes, it’s about cruel or emotionally distant fathers who fuck up their sons by disapproval or rigid ideas of being a man.
And here, it is through Soldier’s Boy’s moment of leakage – NOT through the words he says – where we see the damage that has been wrought, and how deep it goes.
That’s it, I really need to get started on watching The Boys. I’ve been delaying because I hear it’s really gory, but I miss seeing Jensen Ackles on my screen.
It is very very gory and exTREMELY sexually explicit. I mean, I’m not shock-able at this point but even I was a little shocked by a certain S3 episode – which anyone who’s seen will know what I’m talking about. It was more explicit than many an R-rated movie, lol. But yeah, the violence – especially bodies exploding – is really explicit and disgusting!
I was surprised at how emotionally invested I got in these characters – way before JA came along. There are really good characters, interesting conflicts, and Anthony Starr is a stone-cold genius – I just don’t know how he does what he does in that performance.
so overall I enjoyed it and loved how much Kripke gave JA to do. It wasn’t just a cameo – it was the central conflict of the season, so that was good.
Im so in awe and grateful for this site–you’re such a great writer and teacher–I love learning about the technique and subtleties in acting, and of course I’ve been watching that clip over and over again, both with the sound off and on, the way he shifts in tone and register of his voice, it gets huskier, and his eyebrows raise up. The Boys sound amazing as well. AND I’m def going to be checking out your other Jensen articles as well!
Lady Bug – thank you so much. I’m so glad you like what I do – it means a lot.
// the way he shifts in tone and register of his voice, it gets huskier, and his eyebrows raise up. //
Yup. it’s a little glitch in his reality – the mask falls – and then he hurries to re-erect it. I’ll get you some links – the Jensen articles are many. He took over a year or so of my life I was so inspired by him to write my thoughts on acting.
Here’s an overview – and I link out to the main pieces I’ve written about him (along with all my in-depth Supernatural recaps – which are recaps in name only):
http://www.sheilaomalley.com/?p=135863
It’s always so fun and enlightening to read what you have to say about acting. Thank you!
There are a lot of Gifs on twitter but you said you’re not there so :) (rightly so, I wish I could quit lol).
I hope this role and all the exposure and praises it has gotten him will give him opportunities for interesting roles :)
Yes, if you’re not on Twitter you miss out on Jensen gifs – I understand! lol
It’s always so interesting to me how he can 1. play trauma at its most raw and 2. undercut with sense of humor.
He’s very tough-minded when it comes to acting. very disciplined. He doesn’t get all emotional if it’s not called for – he doesn’t “indulge”. I can’t clock him indulging himself ever – even when he was young.
I also love the crinkly crows-feet. Long may they reign.
He does both angst and humor so, so well!
and yes, crows-feet! he is gorgeous :)
I love it because at least from what I know of him in his personal life – he is not angsty. jared on the other hand is almost all angst. Both can bring that to performances brilliantly – but it’s fascinating because JA seems pretty stable in real life. Very very focused and disciplined. Steady. So the fact that he is drawn to angst – to trauma – to buried shameful things – is just indicative to me of what an inventive and empathetic actor he is. He is all about the CHARACTER and NOT his own needs to express himself. He’s very very good. I feel the same way about De Niro – although the two aren’t really similar actors. But De Niro is almost ANTI-drama in his real life. He could believably be an accountant or something, with a wife in the suburbs. and YET – this quiet shy steady man understands totally the darkness of the human soul – and it ALL comes out JUST in his work, NOT in his personal life (as far as I know anyway).
Somehow I missed your comment.
I wish there was a way to like/heart comments here :)
Love your insights on acting.
Wonderful review. Jensen is such an incredible, instinctive actor.
Thanks! He’s so much fun to write about and think about – i was jones-ing after SPN so this has been a lot of fun!
I don’t know where you are looking, but there are gifs upon gifs of every scene Jensen was in. It’s been so much fun seeing all the lightbulbs going off over so many peoples’ heads, regarding what a great actor he is, he is so deserving of all the kudos and more.
// but there are gifs upon gifs of every scene Jensen was in. //
I couldn’t find the one I was looking for.
Jensen is such a nuanced actor. He seems to revel in the layers. I loved the quiet moments, but I also loved the comedic moments (the nun & priest scene and Soldier Boys “Well, if you’d stand still” always makes me chuckle no matter how many times I see that scene).
I loved him praising Bill Cosby as America’s Dad.
I wrote about that same small moment, from a psychologist’s perspective instead of technique, but so agree with all you’ve said here and love your analysis as always. Sent you a DM on twitter, which I know you don’t use often, picking up a conversation we had (somehow two years ago) and with a question. But if email is better, including that here!
Lynn – interesting! I’m sorry that I don’t remember our conversation but I am sure it was enjoyable – lol – I always love discussing JA with his thoughtful fans.
I really don’t go to Twitter anymore and disabled notifications – I may change my mind, but for now, it’s best I don’t go there – if you wanted to email me, my email is included in the About Me section linked in the top nav. Thanks!
This is such a superb article. (Ironically I found you through a retweet on Twitter!) I can’t believe I haven’t come across your writing before. Am running, not walking to read everything else you’ve written on Jensen. I’ve been craving more insightful, informed commentary about his acting, so thank you! (I also think he is beyond gorgeous, lovely, hot AF and all those things, but his talent and technique are what I have also wanted to unpack). Your article really made me think. I’d coincidentally rewatched the scene you reference more than once, but you put my reasons for doing so into words :) Thank ye muchly :)
Magichappening – thank you! To completely under-state the situation, there is definitely more where that came from. :) Up in the top right of the right nav – is a button with an image of the Impala on it. If you click on it, you get to all my SPN writings. I did in-depth (understatement) re-caps of S1, S2 and most of S3, which I then had to abandon because I started getting so much paid work. There are also a couple of pieces on Jensen alone.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
So on point. No microexpression ever wasted even though some are enigmatic at the time. As he is falling into his captivity, face lit by the painful explosion within and knowing he can’t die, his fleeting expression holds such a depth of feeling…but what feeling? It feels like foreshadowing – there if Kripke needs it, imaginary if not.
// No microexpression ever wasted even though some are enigmatic at the time. //
I love how he leaves so much space for enigma and mystery. He is very clear in expression motivations – but he leaves room for the unspoken. I always reference the final scene of “The Purge” as one of the best examples of this – although there are so many more examples, dating back even to the earliest seasons of SPN.
He dug into the mystery as opposed to trying to make everything clear. It’s why he’s captivating.
// It feels like foreshadowing //
I agree.
Thank you so much for the technical breakdown Sheila !
I don’t think The Boys is a very good TV show but it’s such a delight to see Jensen Ackles back on screen ! He delivered a fantastic performance with what little he was given.
Paul – you’re welcome! I liked The Boys more than I expected – although I think the first season is the best. They’re kind of losing steam as they go on, imo, and Jensen’s involvement gave it a shot in the arm.
I still haven’t seen him on Big Sky!
My trust in Jensen is the only reason I’m giving “The Winchesters” a chance. In interviews, he’s so passionate about staying ” true to the Canon morhership”( as he refers to SPN)…he even used an analogy from Back to the future..saying that he and Robbie Thompson ( who wrote so many great episodes and created some of my favorite characters on SPN) often ask each other when discussing plot points, “will this fade the polariod?” I love that totally GenX metaphor!
Also, had never heard of “Big Sky” until his guest spot was announced, but caught up this summer when they moved his spot to regular for S3. And, true to JA, there is so much under the surface for what could have been played as a standard ” small town sherrif”
He brings humor, and his own blend of tough/tender to the part. He lets the leading ladies have the spotlight and has even snuck in a nod to SPN here and there (a main character who’s nickname is Cass– okay, she was on the show first , but still funny– and salt as a housewarming gift?? LOL!!!)
* mothership ( dammit)
I need to catch up with Big Sky! Every clip I’ve seen looks great!!