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Does Jensen Ackles' Countdown Hero Have BDE — Big Dean (Winchester) Energy? ‘There Are Familiar Aspects,' Says Supernatural Vet
In the opening minutes of Prime Video's Countdown thriller — which was created by Derek Haas (executive producer of the #OneChicago franchise and co-creator of FBI: International) — an officer with the Department of Homeland Security is murdered in broad daylight.
Veteran LAPD detective Mark Meachum, portrayed by Jensen Ackles, is in turn recruited to a secret task force to investigate, alongside undercover agents from all branches of law enforcement.
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'Task Force Hurricane' is led by SAC Nathan Blythe (Euphoria's Eric Dane) and also includes DEA badass Amber Oliveras (All Rise's Jessica Camacho), LAPD narcotics officer Lucas Finau (Young Rock's Uli Latukefu), and FBI agents Keyonte Bell (The Boys' Elliot Knight) and Evan Shepherd (The Flash's Violett Beane).
Speaking with the series' cast on Tuesday afternoon, TVLine invited the actors to describe the character played by the co-star sitting next to them. For Dane, that was Ackles.
Meachum, Dane said, is 'a singular-minded, hyper-intense, highly capable taskmaster/bulldog investigator, who will not stop until the whistle blows.'
Some of those adjectives could also describe Ackles' longtime TV alter ego, from The CW's Supernatural.
So we asked Ackles: 'Would you say that Mark Meachum has BDE — Big Dean (Winchester) Energy?'
After letting loose with a hearty laugh, Ackles nodded, 'Uh, yeah. I think you could. I think you could definitely say there's some familiarity there.
'I don't know about similarity,' he continued, 'but there are some familiar aspects to those two characters, in the fact that they are a little cavalier the way that they attack the dark forces.'
Another difference is the nature of those dark forces. On Countdown, for example, they come in the form of human Belarusians with a bone to (explosively) pick.
'The biggest difference is that Mark has actual, corporeal people that he's fighting, whereas Dean Winchester is fighting ghosts, demons, witches, vampires…,' Ackles reminded with a chuckle.
To do what Dean and his brother Sam (played by Jared Padalecki) did, 'You need an entire trunk full of various weapons,' Ackles added. 'But Mark, he likes his pistol.'
Countdown premieres Wednesday, June 25, with its first three episodes, followed by weekly drops through Sept. 3.
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