Having Jensen Ackles on ‘The Winchesters’ Set Was ‘So Helpful,’ Says Star Meg Donnelly

“The Winchesters” star Meg Donnelly, who plays Mary Cambell in The CW’s prequel to “Supernatural,” prepped for the role with the same intensity it takes to fight monsters: There were Season 1 binges of the original series, stunt training and even self-taught Latin classes. But the Disney actress also credits Jensen Ackles, who portrayed her future son Dean Winchester for 15 years and serves as the spinoff’s narrator, for getting acquainted with the fantasy universe.

“Jensen on set was so helpful,” Donnelly told TheWrap. “He was there every day on the pilot, and he would give me so much advice — all of us. Little things like when I’m standing next to Drake, since he knew the height difference with Dean and Sam, he’d be like, ‘Just so you know, don’t sink into your hip when you’re standing next to Drake, like always stand tall, so you look taller next to him.’ Little things like that, which are really funny.”

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The idea for a spinoff series actually came from both Ackles and Danneel Ackles, a fellow “Supernatural” alum, as well as his producing partner and wife. The two serve as executive producers on “The Winchesters,” via their Chaos Machine Productions, and had approached showrunner Robbie Thompson (also an EP) to hone the series’ initial pitch.

Donnelly recalled, “Our first day on set, I was trying to pick a lock, and [Jensen] was like, ‘Oh, you need to do it like this to make it look more convincing;’ Little things like that because he did it for 15 seasons. Whenever we needed advice, we would always go to him and he was so open and timed and so collaborative too. They really made sure that we always felt comfortable on set.”

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“The Winchesters,” which premieres Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT, tells the love story between monster hunter and lone wolf Mary and Vietnam War vet John (Drake Rodger), who will eventually parent the beloved Winchester brothers Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean. Set in the 1970s, the story unfolds as the two embark on a journey to uncover their mysterious origins, facing friends, foes and dark forces along the way.

“It’s been so much fun to explore Mary and how she’s really just trying to protect everyone around her because she’s lost so much,” Donnelly said of her character. “And as a hunter, it’s a very dark world, you see so much chaos and death, and so she’s constantly just trying to protect everyone around her and throwing herself in the fire to try and help the people around her. Especially with her dad, she really, really cares about making sure her dad is safe, which sounds familiar with Sam and Dean. Then, finding little vulnerable moments to make her likable, there’s little moments where she’ll try to open up with John or try to open up with the other characters and I think it’s really special.”

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