Jensen Ackles says he "would never shy away from or reject" his 'Supernatural' character

Jensen Ackles is reflecting on all that Supernatural gave him, specifically how it's led him to his current projects, such as Countdown, The Boys, and Tracker. 

"Supernatural gave me not just 15 years of a great story to tell and family that I’ve now come to know and love, but it gave me the tools to continue doing what I’m doing," he explained to Variety. "It also gave me some notoriety so that people like showrunners like Derek or even Elwood Reid, who brought me onto Big Sky and has also brought me onto Tracker, and of course Eric Kripke — it gave me some proof in the pudding that I’m happy to take on whatever kind of challenges these guys throw at me." 

Yet despite the series ending in 2020, many still associate the actor with his character, Dean Winchester, and probably always will because of how beloved he is. Ackles is okay with that, even embraces it.

"I’ve always loved it and embraced it, always. And I’ve met actors that have had very popular characters on very popular shows or movies and maybe try to shy away from that, like, 'Oh, I don’t want to be known for that.' I mean, there’s a reason I did it for 15 years! I love that story. I love that character. I love the people I did it with," he expressed. "I would never shy away from or reject anything that has brought me to this place, because I’m very proud of what we all did on that show, and obviously I continue to talk about it. We go and do these fan conventions, and it’s a gathering around a bunch of people who have a similar affection towards these characters and the show, and I will always be proud of what we did with that."