Jensen Ackles claims Jessica Alba made life difficult on set years ago. The 43-year-old actor was asked about his time on Dark Angel, the sci-fi show that helped launch Alba to stardom, on Tuesday's Inside of You With Michael Rosenbaum podcast.
"Was Jessica Alba cool to work with?" Rosenbaum asked.
"No. She was horrible," Ackles bluntly replied, claiming he's "told this to her face."
Alba, 40, starred on Dark Angel during its run from 2000 to 2003. Ackles joined the show as a regular for Season 2.
"I love Jess, which I know kind of contradicts what I just said," the Supernatural star added. "She was under an immense amount of pressure on that show. She was young, she was in a relationship with [co-star Michael Weatherly] and that was rocky and causing some undue stress, I believe, on set."
Ackles said he "was the new kid on the block and I got picked on by the lead." The Boys star described his relationship with Alba as "the worst kind of bickering a brother and sister could do."
The Rust actor added, "She had it out for me... It wasn't that she didn't like me. She just was like, 'Oh, here's the pretty boy that network brought in for some more window dressing because that's what we all need.'"
After wondering "what the f***" he did, Ackles decided to fight "fire with fire."
"So I just was like, 'Oh, looks like we're getting b**** Alba today... everybody hang onto your nuts,'" he recalled, claiming the crew "loved" the banter. As for how Alba felt, Ackles thought she was like, "OK, now I can just be a d*** to him and he'll be a d*** to me and that's how we'll roll."
Ackles said his approach "did build some mutual respect" and that they even hung out in a "platonic"way. He also remembered Alba being there for him during a hard day on set.
"My grandfather died while I was shooting and she literally just walked into my trailer and held me for a half an hour," he shared. "So it was that kind of a relationship. And again, if she walked in we'd be all hugs. But she didn't make it easy on me on set."
The Honest Company mogul hasn't commented on Ackles's claims.