Jensen Ackles praises Eric Daneโ€™s โ€˜leadershipโ€™ on Countdown series amid ALS battle

Los Angeles premiere of Amazon Prime Video's 'Countdown'
Photo Credit: Carla Van Wagoner/Future Image/Cover Images

Jensen Ackles recently spilled the tea about collaborating with Eric Dane on their upcoming show Countdown, and he was totally fanboying.

During a chat with PEOPLE that dropped on June 19, Ackles called Dane an absolute โ€œtotal studโ€ and praised his commanding yet understated presence.

Both Dane and Ackles attended the premiereโ€™s red carpet. This was Daneโ€™s first appearance on a red carpet since revealing his ALS diagnosis in April.

Los Angeles premiere of Amazon Prime Video's 'Countdown'
Jensen Ackles at the Los Angeles premiere of Amazon Prime Videoโ€™s โ€˜Countdownโ€™ at Harmony Gold on June 19, 2025. Photo Credit: Ryan Hartford/INSTARimages.com

โ€œ[Eric] has such a command of scenes and the set just in his stillness and how just his quiet leadership, and itโ€™s something that he brings from off set too,โ€ Ackles, 47, shared.

โ€œI mean, he does that when the cameras arenโ€™t rolling.โ€

Ackles couldnโ€™t stop gushing about how Daneโ€™s leadership style left a major impression. โ€œThereโ€™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,โ€ he added.

Los Angeles premiere of Amazon Prime Video's 'Countdown'
Eric Dane at the Los Angeles premiere of Amazon Prime Videoโ€™s โ€˜Countdownโ€™ at Harmony Gold on June 19, 2025. Photo Credit: Carla Van Wagoner/Future Image/Cover Images

Countdown, a fresh Prime Video crime drama, hits screens Wednesday, June 25. The series follows Ackles as LAPD detective Mark Meachum joining forces with Special Agent Nathan Blythe, played by Dane, to head up a task force after a Homeland Security officerโ€™s murder.

The showโ€™s mastermind, Derek Haas, was equally blown away by Dane.

Los Angeles premiere of Amazon Prime Video's 'Countdown'
Jessica Camacho, Eric Dane, Jensen Ackles, Vernon Sanders, Violett Beane, Derek Haas, Elliot Knight, Uli Latukefu at the Los Angeles premiere of Amazon Prime Videoโ€™s โ€˜Countdownโ€™ at Harmony Gold on June 19, 2025. Photo Credit: Carla Van Wagoner/Future Image/Cover Images

โ€œIf you spend five minutes with that guy, he is a leader. Heโ€™s very intelligent,โ€ Haas told PEOPLE.

โ€œHe also, when he walks into a room, every head turns his way. And when he speaks, you close your mouth and you listen.โ€

Haas explained how Daneโ€™s natural presence shaped the character.

Los Angeles premiere of Amazon Prime Video's 'Countdown'
Jensen Ackles at the Los Angeles premiere of Amazon Prime Videoโ€™s โ€˜Countdownโ€™ at Harmony Gold on June 19, 2025. Photo Credit: Ryan Hartford/INSTARimages.com

โ€œThatโ€™s really what I was going for with Nathan Blythe โ€ฆ 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.โ€