Posted in: Amazon Studios, TV | Tagged: countdown, Jensen Ackles

Countdown: Jensen Ackles on Meachum/Dean, Getting His "Tom Cruise On"

Countdown's Jensen Ackles (Supernatural, The Boys) on the ensemble cast, Dean Winchester comparisons, and getting to feel like Tom Cruise.

With only a little more than a month to go until Prime Video's Countdown starts hitting screens, we're getting some insights on what we can expect from Showrunner/EP Derek Haas (NBC's "Chicago" franchise) and series star/EP Jensen Ackles (Supernatural, The Boys). When an officer with the Department of Homeland Security is murdered in broad daylight, LAPD detective Mark Meachum (Ackles) is recruited to a secret task force, alongside undercover agents from all branches of law enforcement, to investigate. But the hunt for the killer soon uncovers a plot far more sinister than anyone could have imagined, kicking off a race against time to save a city of millions.

Ackles's Mark Meachum is described as a "rogue L.A. detective, wrong-side-of-the-tracks kind of guy" who "takes risks that most people wouldn't take." That could make things difficult when Meachum finds himself part of an elite team that also includes Nathan Blythe (Eric Dane), Amber Oliveras (Jessica Camacho), Keyonte Bell (Elliot Knight), Evan Shepherd (Violett Beane), and Lucas Finau (Uli Latukefu). Speaking exclusively with EW, Haas noted that the show's drama won't just be about big action scenes, with Meachum involved in some romantic entanglements. "It's not going to be just one," Haas added about the potential romantic dynamics at play. "I love the triangle. It's my favorite shape. And we're going to have a few of those."

In addition, Ackles discussed what it was like working with the ensemble cast, how Supernatural fans might find similarities between Meachum and Dean Winchester, and how the series made him feel a bit like Tom Cruise:

Ackles on Working with the "Countdown" Cast: "It's like every ingredient for a perfect dish. Everybody blends well together. Everybody's so giving and happy to do whatever it takes for the team."

Ackles on Fans Finding Similarities Between Mark Meachum & Dean Winchester: "There's probably going to be some familiarity from that fandom with this guy. It's not like I'm going so opposite spectrum with this character. He's going to be a familiar taste, which is good. I like doing that. I mean, I played Dean for 15 years. I loved playing that kind of a character. And I think this guy is in the vein of that, just with a completely different set of circumstances."

Ackles on Getting "Getting My Tom Cruise On" with "Countdown": "I actually just did some ADR the other day for an action sequence. I was watching it and I was like, 'Oh, I'm getting my Tom Cruise on here. This is some full-on action stuff.'"

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