How Jensen Ackles Influenced Meg Donnelly’s Role

Meg Donnelly received valuable advice from her Supernatural co-star, Jensen Ackles, while working on the short-lived prequel series, The Winchesters. During a conversation on Michael Rosenbaum’s Inside of You podcast, she shared that Ackles advised her not to sink into her heels when standing, especially next to her co-star, Drake Rodger. He explained that this tip came from his experience standing next to Jared Padalecki, who is significantly taller at 6'4". Ackles emphasized the importance of maintaining a tall posture to avoid appearing shorter, stating, "you gotta stay tall."

Although Donnelly had only 13 episodes to practice this advice before the show was canceled, Ackles had spent 15 seasons alongside Padalecki in Supernatural. By the time the original series ended in 2020, Ackles was 43 and Padalecki was 39.

After saying a "really sad goodbye" to Supernatural, Ackles co-founded Chaos Machine Productions with his wife, Danneel, and began working on a prequel to delve into the backstories of their characters’ parents. Donnelly, who portrayed the younger version of Mary Campbell, noted that Ackles and Danneel were frequently on set during the pilot's filming.

Ackles also returned as the voice of Dean Winchester to narrate The Winchesters, joined by other Supernatural veterans like Alexander Calvert, Jim Beaver, Ruth Connell, and Gil McKinney in various recurring and guest roles.

The Winchesters marked The CW's third attempt to expand on the success of Supernatural. Previous efforts included a backdoor pilot for Supernatural: Bloodlines in 2014 and the series Wayward Sisters in 2018, both of which did not gain traction.

Donnelly expressed her anxiety about stepping into the role of Mary Campbell, a character previously played by Samantha Smith and Amy Gumenick across nine seasons of Supernatural. She acknowledged the loyalty of the Supernatural fan base, saying, "it was nerve-wracking" to ensure that they would appreciate her portrayal.

This year, Donnelly reunited with Ackles for the animated DC film Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths, where she voiced Supergirl alongside Ackles as Batman.