"Every point in your life, even if it's tough, is something to cherish and to be happy about."
-Jared Padalecki
Jared Padalecki is best recognized from his role as Sam Winchester in the hit CW show, Supernatural. The story of two brothers who fight mythical and legendary monsters while traveling around in their 1967 black Chevrolet Impala, also known proudly by it’s owner Dean as, Baby.
Although this article is going to talk about Padalecki's time on Supernatural, I’m also going to look back on his life and career before Supernatural. Much of what you'll read in this article is from the web and from the book Family Don't End with Blood: Cast and Fans on How Supernatural Changed Lives by Lynn S. Zubernis.
Jared Padalecki was born Jared Tristan Padalecki in San Antonio, Texas, United States on July 19, 1982 to his parents, Gerald and Sharon Padalecki. Padalecki is the middle child to his older brother Jeffrey, and his younger sister Megan. Padalecki's first brush with fandom came well before his days on Supernatural. Like every kid who grew up in the 80s and 90s, like myself, Padalecki was a fan of Star Wars, his favorite character was Boba Fett. I was always partial to the Ewoks, but then, Return of the Jedi was my favorite of the three original films.
At 12 years old, Padalecki began taking acting lessons. This led to him winning The Fox Broadcasting Claim to Fame Contest in 1999. Winning this contest gave him the opportunity to appear on the Teen Choice Awards, where he met an agent. This agent got him a small role in the film, A Little Inside.
In 2000, he was casted, ironically, as a character named Sam in a film called, Silent Witness. In the same year he was cast to play the role of Dean Foster in the TV comedy series, Gilmore Girls.
After working on Gilmore Girls for five seasons, Padalecki auditioned for a new show on the CW, better known as the WB at the time. The audition was to play a student at Stanford University who is called upon by his older brother to help him find their missing father. The character turned out to be Sam Winchester on Supernatural. The first episode of Supernatural aired on September 13, 2005; ironically as I'm writing this it is currently September 13, 2021. It has officially been sixteen years since Supernatural aired its first episode.
Working on Supernatural changed Padalecki's life in more ways than one. In 2008, at the start of season four, he worked with an actress named Genevieve Cortese who played a demon named Ruby. The two began dating and in 2009, in front of their favorite painting at the New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, Padalecki proposed to her. The two were married in 2010 in Sun Valley, Idaho. The couple currently reside in Austin, Texas with their three children.
Padalecki is also, unfortunately prone to injury both on the set and roughhousing with friends. For example, for those of you who have watched the show, you might notice at the beginning of season 2, Sam has his arm in a cast. This is because, in a previous episode, Sam was fighting with a vampire when Padalecki fell and landed, awkwardly on his hand. A line was even written into the episode, where Sam says, "I think she broke my hand."
In season 10, Sam can be seen with his arm in a sling. This was due to some roughhousing between friends when Padalecki and fellow SPN actor Osric Chau decided to have a wrestling match. Padalecki injured his shoulder and had to have surgery.
In 2015, Padalecki launched a charity t-shirt campaign called, Always Keep Fighting to benefit a nonprofit organization called, To Write Love on Her Arms, which supports people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. The first Always Keep Fighting campaign raised $250,000 for To Write Love on Her Arms.
In the same year as his first Always Keep Fighting campaign, Padalecki revealed to Variety that, in 2008, while filming season 3 of Supernatural, he suffered a breakdown in his trailer. A doctor on the set talked to him and informed Padalecki that he suffered from clinical depression.
Padalecki: “And it kind of hit me like a sack of bricks. I mean, I was 25 years old. I had my own TV show. I had dogs that I loved and tons of friends and I was getting adoration from fans and I was happy with my work, but I couldn’t figure out what it was; it doesn’t always make sense is my point. It’s not just people who can’t find a job or can’t fit in in society that struggle with depression sometimes.”
Padalecki gradually began getting better. However, in May 2015, he suffered a setback, canceling appearances at conventions in both Italy and Australia. A couple of days prior to his admission, Padalecki tweeted messages that signified trouble in his life.
"Dear #JIBCON and #AHBL6. I am in desperate and urgent need of my family, I am sorry to tell you but I must head home.
In a separate tweet he continued;
"I need all the love I can get right now. Please give me a few seconds of your time. #AlwaysKeepFighting."
2 months later at the San Diego Comic Con, 7,000 fans in the Supernatural panel held up candles to support Padalecki and his Always Keep Fighting campaign.
During an E! Interview that took place after the panel had ended, Padalecki said,
"I'm holding the candle in my pocket right now. At first I didn't know what it was. I thought people were holding up their phones or something. And then someone handed me a note explaining it and I found out what was really going on. It took everything in my power not to cry."
I personally know how hard it is to live with a condition that it seems like no one else can relate to, and it’s a relief to me that an organization like Always Keep Fighting exists in the world.
Aside from Supernatural, Padalecki’s face is no stranger to film. In 2005, five months before he would make his first appearance as Sam Winchester in Supernatural, Padalecki appeared in the slasher film, House of Wax, a remake of the 1953 film of the same name, starring Vincent Price. In 2008, he performed in the biographic movie, The Christmas Cottage. Dedicated to the well known American artist, Thomas Kinkade. In 2009, Padalecki starred in another horror movie remake when he starred as Clay Miller in the remake to Friday the 13th.
After Supernatural ended in 2020, Padalecki was not out of work for long. In 2021, he swapped his Sam Winchester locks for a cowboy hat when he was casted in the new CW show, Walker. A re-imagining of the Chuck Norris- led, Walker, Texas Ranger.
The show follows Cordell Walker, played by Padalecki, as he grieves the death of his wife, played, I might add by Padalecki's real-life wife, Genevieve.
The show also has its fair share of Supernatural connections. There is Padalecki, who we all know played Sam Winchester, Genevieve Padalecki who played the demon Ruby and Mitch Pileggi who played Samuel Campbell, Sam and Dean's grandfather.
On Aug 12, 2021, Walker aired the last episode of season one. However, the second season will premiere on Oct 28, 2021. This season will be adding yet another Supernatural connection, as Padalecki's Supernatural co-star, Jensen Ackles will be directing an episode in season two.
In 2021, the hashtag #WeLoveYouJaredPadalecki began trending on Twitter.
One user called him the warmest, most sincere and most beautiful human being he had ever witnessed.
Another referred to Padalecki as sunshine incarnate. Another Twitter user even said that Sam Winchester would have felt honored to be played by someone like him. Which I couldn't agree more.
Jared Padalecki is an amazing actor, I'm sure an amazing husband and father and a phenomenal human being and the world is lucky to have someone like him alive in it.
Bibliography:
Zubernis, Lynn S. “Chapter 32.” Family Don't End with Blood: Cast and Fans on How Supernatural Has Changed Lives, Smart Pop, an Imprint of BenBella Books, Inc., Dallas, TX, 2017.
Bacardi, Francesca. “Inside 'Supernatural' Star Jared Padalecki's Life before His Arrest.” Page Six, Page Six, 1 Nov. 2019, https://pagesix.com/2019/10/31/inside-supernatural-star-jared-padaleckis-life-before-his-arrest/.
Суконнова, Анна. “Jared Padalecki.” En.24smi.Org, 17 Aug. 2018, https://en.24smi.org/celebrity/63305-jared-padalecki.html.
Highfill , Samantha. “'Walker' Star Jared Padalecki on How His New Character Differs from Sam on 'Supernatural'.” EW.com, https://ew.com/tv/jared-padalecki-walker-preview-interview/.
Dick, Jeremy. “#WeLoveYouJaredPadalecki Trends as 'Supernatural' Fans Praise the Beloved Actor.” TVweb, TVweb, 13 Apr. 2021, https://tvweb.com/jared-padalecki-trending-fans-celebrate-supernatural-actor/.
Republic World. “Jared Padalecki Trends on Twitter, Fans Refer to Him as 'Sunshine Incarnate'.” Republic World, Republic World, 14 Apr. 2021, https://www.republicworld.com/entertainment-news/web-series/jared-padalecki-trends-on-twitter-fans-refer-to-him-as-sunshine-incarnate.html.