Emmy spotlight: Jensen Ackles (‘The Boys’) is commanding presence as Soldier Boy

Jacob Sarkisian
·6 min read
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“The Boys” ramped up its outrageousness in every way possible in its latest, third season— from, uh, a shrunken man venturing into a human orifice to Jensen Ackles‘ emergence as the Amazon Prime Video show’s satirical take on Captain America (Steve Rogers)… Soldier Boy.

The show, based on the comic book series of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, is Eric Kripke‘s superhero satire. While comedic in many places (and horror-tinged, too — see aforementioned orifice), the show is first and foremost a drama and follows Karl Urban and Jack Quaid leading up a squad determined to take down the supes-gone-bad. The supes, in turn, are part of a team called The Seven (led by Anthony Starr‘s Homelander), which are handled by mega-company Vought International.

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Vought’s past threatens to catch up with them in season three as Soldier Boy, the world’s first ever superhero, was found alive in a sealed pod, frozen (think Han Solo in carbonite). Soldier Boy awakens and wreaks havoc on the world as a man out of time, and Ackles brings him to life superbly. He is headstrong, arrogant, bullish, and thinks of himself as An All American Hero. He’s incredibly dangerous because of this but his self-righteousness and foul-mouthed tirades, combined with that cowboy-like swagger, are so enjoyable to watch. Ackles kills it in the role, critics all agree.

Matt Donato (IGN) explained: “Ackles steps into an Anti-Rogers skin with the despicable smile of our nation’s handsomest fraud, bringing all that opposite Chris Evans charm… Ackles punches his line delivery with a soulless unpredictability that challenges Homelander’s god-complex because Soldier Boy doesn’t feel or care, not even for himself.” He continues: “The way Ackles emptily smolders, stares into the distance at ghosts, and slathers Soldier Boy in putrid machismo is terrible beyond words — and yet, for milliseconds, he’s still able to collect droplets of empathy because he’s that good at commanding a room.”

Brian Tallerico (The Playlist) observed that Soldier Boy is “played with witty charm” by Ackles, writing: “The Winter Soldier of this dynamic is kind of a proto-Homelander, someone who murdered his way around the world a generation or two before the action of ‘The Boys,’ and Ackles nails a different brand of detached nihilism, one that comes with unchecked ego. He gets that ‘The Boys’ is largely about how power corrupts and superpowers corrupt absolutely.”

Jake Kleinman (Inverse) proclaimed: “Ackles plays the role with a deadpan comedy that’s unmatched in ‘The Boys.’ One minute he’s popping pills and chugging whiskey while reminiscing about the good old days, the next he’s murdering indiscriminately. Soldier Boy also offers a fascinating portrayal of post-traumatic stress disorder beyond anything ever seen in a Captain America movie. He’s a walking, talking, bulletproof killing machine who’s always just a few words from snapping.”

However, despite the overwhelming critical support and fan love Ackles has received for his turn as Soldier Boy, the “Supernatural” actor finds himself outside of our predicted nominees for Best Drama Supporting Actor: John Lithgow (“The Old Man”), Alexander Skarsgård (“Succession”), Nicholaus Braun (“Succession”), Matt Smith (“House of the Dragon”), Alan Ruck (“Succession”), F. Murray Abraham (“The White Lotus”), Giancarlo Eposito (“Better Call Saul”), and Matthew Macfadyen (“Succession”).

Those are some formidable names and performances Ackles is up against, but he could pull off a surprise nomination. Firstly, we are currently predicting that four actors from the same show (“Succession”) will be nominated, but this hasn’t happened in this category since 2002 when four actors were nominated for “The West Wing” — Dulé Hill, Bradley Whitford, Richard Schiff, and, the winner, John Spencer. It’s unlikely, then, that this will happen again — so if one of the “Succession” boys drops out, Ackles could be one of the ones waiting in the wings looking to pounce on such an opportunity.

Plus, fantasy/sci-fi shows are becoming more popular in this category, thanks to “Game of Thrones.” In five out of the last six years, there has been an actor from a sci-fi or fantasy show nominated in this category. In 2017, David Harbour was nominated for “Stranger Things” and Jeffrey Wright was nominated for “Westworld.” In 2018, Peter Dinklage won for “Game of Thrones” while his co-star, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, was also nominated, as was Harbour, again for “Stranger Things.” Dinklage won again in 2019, wherein co-stars Coster-Waldau and Alfie Allen were also nominated. In 2020, Wright was nominated once more for “Westworld,” while Giancarlo Esposito was nominated in 2021 for “The Mandalorian.” The only year in the last six when no actors from these type of shows were nominated in this category was last year. However, we expect there to be some fantasy/sci-fi love this year — we predict Smith (for “House of the Dragon”) will be nominated, at least. Ackles could theoretically join him in that list.

And let’s not forget — Emmy voters do actually like this show. It’s been nominated six times so far, including for Best Drama Series and Best Drama Writing in 2021. Those are some serious nominations, and season three is the best reviewed season of the show so far. It has 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, which betters season one’s score of 85% and season two’s score of 97%. In fact, this score of 98% is better than almost all of the current seasons of the shows that Ackles’ competitors in this category feature in. Season four of “Succession” and season one of “The Old Man” both received 97%, while “House of the Dragon” season one and “The White Lotus” season two both scored 93%. Only “Better Call Saul” season six achieved a higher score, with a near-perfect 99%. This could indicate that support is swelling for “The Boys,” and could lead to the door opening for several of its players, including Ackles.

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