I don't know how to describe it....but Ackles sounds really over-the-top...when I said I had seen him in Supernatural, it was only a little bit of the episode, before I realized it wasn't Charmed, and I thought he was really forcing his voice to sound like it did....if that makes any sense.
Mercier sounds so much more natural, and more cool I think.
Oh, and as far as the smartass kind of thing goes, you are totally right. In fact, that video you linked me too, while I only watched number 20, had a countdown of funny stuff from that show, and I got a glimpse of that. That's the kind of stuff I want from Leon a bit more.
Obviously Leon was overly serious in Degeneration, and while better in DSC, still wasn't the Leon from RE4...maybe he just didn't find the situation appropriate?
Oh i totally get what you mean when you say it was forced...See i've been watching Supernatual from the beggining and when i watch the older episodes as oposed to the newer ones you can tell a huge difference...he actually said something about that in an interview i watched with him...hes definatley gotten better with age...Supernatural just ended its Sixth season yesterday and what you saw was only stuff from the first two seasons...He has gotten a lot more natural sounding i think, becuase i had the same thought you did...