//There are so many more like those comments that I started to wonder if I was crazy for just seeing him as an average actor with fairly common Hollywood looks. I just can't believe there are that many people who are completely blinded by whatever it is they saw in him and believe he's one of the best actors out there. //
So, Iād like to add my 2 cents in as somone who enjoys Jensen, but am not enamored of him (anymore). I truly think that a lot of the praise that the big Jensen fans (and of course AAs) heap on him today is based off of how he used to be as an actor, not how he is now. They almost project his past skills onto his current performances. They are too enamored to see the reality.
Jensen has natural charisma and presence. He still has both, but the charisma is not always as apparent to me anymore, especially on screen in his last few roles. There is a flatness to his performances that didnāt used to be there. To me, what Jensen really excelled at, especially as a younger actor was being endearing and vulnerable. Even if his character was sometimes an ass, you could see there was something softer, almost innocent, beneath.
And he also knew how to use his looks to his advantage, or project sexuality on screen, or at least knowing how to make himself appealing (like Dean looking at every character, from girls to his dad to his brother) like he was eyeing them up, or crying prettily ("single man tear" is not him being a string man, itās him being emotional but still attractive. Thatās nit as effective after a certain age because it just comes across different, even when your still attrsctuve, at nearly 50 than it does at 27.
IMO, Jensen has leaned too heavily into the macho, deadpan, gruff guy stereotype, lately. It doesnāt leave the same room for vulneeabulty that his more roguish characters did. Or I should say, heās no longer tapping into the layer of vulnerability like he used to. I think Jensen is on guard, or in a holding pattern, white-knuckling through his life. He feels somone what closed off, and I think it translates into his characters. He feels inauthentic like 50-75% of the time on screen.
He truly did better as a lovable scallywag, rogue, or protective champion type roles if the part. I think he could have played a more sophisticated, with a hint of irony about it, kind of character well, too. Heād be a good Robin Hood type of cgrscter, I think. If heās determined to do action, he should maybe go for a Harrison Ford type of role. Like a someone kidnapped by kid kr hijacked this plane type, just give him a family so he has something to be vulnerable about.
In his recent roles, Iām surprised to say I think I actually enjoyed Beau Arlen the most, besides SB in small doses. Itās not that he was a particularly riveting chracter, and he was sort of Dean-lite, but he had a certain level of endearingness to him, and even some authenticity at times, especially when leaning into the dad role. I enjoyed watching him, even if I wasnāt blown away.
Soldier Boy, Iām coming to think (unless something changes), was done a great favor by being used sparingly in Season 3 of The Boys. Heās too one-note for the amount of screen time heās getting this season. Iām sure lots of people who just find him funny or "cool" will still feel that way this season, but Iām getting bored. He shows no real vulnerability, and heās playing a character who is 97% asshole. People might be amused by him, but why should we care about him, one way or the other? Even Homelander, who is awful, has evoked some empathy, and he certainly evokes disgust and anger. You feel something when you see him on screen. When I see Soldier Boy on screen, at least in the latest episode in particular, besides thinking, "neat, thereās Jensen," Iām also thinking, "why are you even here, though? What are you adding to the story besides stoking Homelander's Daddy issues?"
Anyway, Iāve gotten side-tracked, but I just wanted to say that Jensen has either lost his spark, or heās just so tightened up within himself that he canāt, or isnāt willing to, access it on screen. I think he did used to have something that made him special and stand out beyond his looks, but now he just seems gruff, all the time. And itās boring.
Even on the cameo he and Jared did on The Rookie, heās so gruff and deadpan even when playing himself.
Side note, I find it bananas that people still call Jensen "so humble" with a straight face. My guy says the right words, gives credit to people he works with, but heās not humble, not really. All of his stories are designed to elevate himself, and have been from way back. He tells a story about how the stunt coordinator praised him for his stunt instincts, he talks about "all of the times" heās been there for Jared in different waysāhaving "his boy's" back (if it makes Jensen look good, and maybe even undermines Jared just a little, so much the better), he talks about how he learned to do a 180 in a car over a lunch break, he tells stories about other people messing up rather than himself, he elevates himself by trying to sound like heās the most competent and skilled person at all times (as if he needed to tell Jared to behave on another persons set, or had to worry about him doing a good performance). Jensen is always about hyping up Jensen. And if course, itās his job to present himself to people, but he can never quite lose the edge of needing to be perfect. Thatās not being humble, it humble- bragging, or just bragging-bragging.
Maybe he just got lazy and entitled after 15 years of cast, crew and fans blowing smoke up his ass. š¤·āāļø
A perfect example of someone expressing their views through critical thinking. I applaud you for your great post, Anon. ššš I agree with you, Jensen seems unable to be vulnerable and that takes way so much from his performances. Iāll post this up and let your words do the explaining, because you explained everything so beautifully!
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