Jensen Ackles praises Eric Dane’s ‘leadership’ amid ALS battle

Jensen Ackles recently opened up about working with his costar Eric Dane on their new series Countdown, and he had nothing but praise. 

In an interview with PEOPLE published on June 19, Ackles described Dane as a “total stud” and someone with a strong yet quiet presence. 

“[Eric] has such a command of scenes and the set just in his stillness and how just his quiet leadership, and it’s something that he brings from off set too,” Ackles, 47, shared. 

“I mean, he does that when the cameras aren’t rolling.”

Ackles also said Dane’s sense of leadership left a real impact on him. “There’s just a quiet leadership to [Eric] that I truly learned from. So to get to mix it up with [him] on screen, I had to bring it,” he added.

Countdown, a new Prime Video procedural drama, premieres on Wednesday, June 25. The show follows Ackles as LAPD detective Mark Meachum teaming up with Special Agent Nathan Blythe, played by Dane, to lead a task force after a Homeland Security officer’s murder.

The show’s creator, Derek Haas, was also full of admiration for Dane. 

“If you spend five minutes with that guy, he is a leader. He’s very intelligent,” Haas told PEOPLE. 

“He also, when he walks into a room, every head turns his way. And when he speaks, you close your mouth and you listen.” 

Haas explained that Dane’s presence naturally shaped the character. 

“That’s really what I was going for with Nathan Blythe … when you do a television show, as opposed to a limited series or a movie, you really start to merge the actor and their own personality with the character that you wrote.”