Jensen Ackles has been confirmed to start in a new drama series, Rules of Prey. That has been greenlit by MGM+. But how much do you know about the star?
John Sandford’s Prey book series, which focus on an unconventional detective, have been bestsellers for years, and now, like many before, it is being converted into a TV series, with Rules of Prey being greenlit by MGM+, with Jensen Ackles signed up to play the lead character, Lucas Davenport.
As revealed by Deadline, Jensen will star in the show, as well as executive produce, while Bruce Terris (best known recently for DTF ST Louis) will serve as showrunner.
The show, which will be based on the first of Sandford’s novels, follows Lucas Davenport, a former detective in the Minneapolis Police Department, who is drawn back into law enforcement to investigate a series of murders, which have been committed to by a serial killer to send a message specifically to him.
Davenport, a polymath but unconventional detective, must take on his super-intelligent adversary and work out the killer’s twisted moral code and why they have a vendetta against him.
Filming on the eight-episode series begins in Canada imminently. But how much do you know about Jensen Ackles? Here are some facts you might not know about him.
Jensen started off as a model
Jensen’s first taste of showbusiness came at the tender age of 4, when he started doing modelling work, appearing in commercials for companies such as Wal-Mart and RadioShack. He did that on and off for much of his childhood.
He decided to try and make it in acting rather than go to college
Jensen had had an interest in acting for a long time and acted in school plays, but a turning point came in his final year of high school in 1995-6, when he played the male lead, Tony, in a production of West Side Story.
When the musical was performed there just happened to be a talent scout in the audience, who thought Jensen should go to LA to pursue acting. However, Jensen had already sorted out his college plans for the next year. But Jensen spoke to his parents and they agreed that he could try for a year to get work as an actor and, if it didn’t work out, he’d go to college. But Jensen quickly found work and never looked back – or went to college.
He got his break in a famous soap opera
After moving to LA, Jensen picked up guest roles in shows such as teen drama Sweet Valley High, before landing the role of Eric Brady in legendary NBC soap opera Days of our Lives in 1997. He won the 1998 Soap Opera Digest Award for Best Male Newcomer and was nominated for a Daytime Emmy three times before leaving the show in 2000.
He part-owns a brewery
Jensen co-owns a brewery in Dripping Springs, Texas called Family Business Beer Company, with his wife, Danneel Harris, and in-laws. The brewery’s name is a nod to Supernatural, the series he appeared in for many years, with ‘family business’ being used as a tagline for it.
He has a sideline as a musician
Since 2018, Jensen has been in a band with longtime friend Steve Carlson called Radio Company. Over the years, Radio Company has released three studio albums – Vol 1, Vol 2 and Keep On Ramblin’ – and a live album, Live from Nashville.
In addition, Ackles contributed a cover of the Robert Mitchum song ‘From a Logical Point of View’ for the soundtrack to season 3 of The Boys, such in character as Soldier Boy.
