Before ‘The Boys,’ Jensen Ackles Almost Starred in a $569 Million Dakota Johnson Film That Could’ve Changed His Hollywood Career Forever
- Jensen Ackles gained worldwide recognition as Dean Winchester in Supernatural.
- He was offered the movie Fifty Shades of Grey, but he had to turn it down.
- He will be reprising his role as Soldier Boy in The Boys prequel, Vought Rising.
Jensen Ackles is widely known for playing Dean Winchester, one of the two Winchester brothers, in the dark fantasy drama series, Supernatural. Over the years, he has played several other noteworthy roles. Even so, he has also missed some roles that could have leveraged his career as a film actor.
Some of Ackles’ biggest roles have been in TV shows. He has not appeared in many films. While this does not affect his fame by any means since he has all the international popularity one can possibly have, a little more of it certainly does not hurt. Fans would be surprised to know that the Smallville actor almost starred in the Dakota Johnson starrer blockbuster Fifty Shades of Grey.
Jensen Ackles Admitted He Was Considered for Fifty Shades of Grey
Jensen Ackles began his career in the entertainment industry as an on-and-off model at the mere age of 4. It was not until 1996 that he began pursuing a career in acting. He appeared in guest roles in shows like Cybill before he joined the cast of Days of Our Lives as Eric Brady.
For his performance as Eric in the NBC soap opera, he was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for three consecutive years (1998, 1999 and 2000). He appeared in several movies and shows before he landed the lead role of Dean Winchester in Supernatural in 2005.
During the Supernatural fan convention in Phoenix in 2016 (via CaremKefo on YouTube), Ackles discussed some of the projects that he did not manage to become a part of. One of these was Fifty Shades of Grey. He said:
The executive producer of that movie came to my house and said, “Would you be interested in this?” And I said, “Yeah, I guess.” I haven’t read the books, but my wife is nodding a final yes, which is weird.
He also revealed why he did not end up in the project.
It didn’t work out with Supernatural production because it takes up most of my time. So I had to respectfully decline.
The role of Christian Grey went to Jamie Dornan, and that of Anastasia Steele was secured by Dakota Johnson. The movie was a commercial success with a worldwide gross of $569 million (via Box Office Mojo), and both the lead actors achieved unparalleled fame in mainstream cinema. So, one can guess what Ackles missed with this project.
Jensen Ackles is All Set to Reprise His Role as Soldier Boy in The Boys Prequel Series
Post his departure from Supernatural, Ackles landed the role of Soldier Boy in the popular Prime Video superhero show The Boys. He first appeared in the show in the third season, and is now set to reprise the character in the prequel spinoff series Vought Rising (via Deadline).
Paul Grellong, the executive producer on The Boys, serves as executive producer and showrunner on Vought Rising. The show will also see Aya Cash reprise her role as Stormfront, and both Cash and Ackles will serve as executive producer on the show.
