Supernatural: 10 Things To Know About Jensen Ackles & Jared Padalecki's Friendship

Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki played brothers for 15 seasons on Supernatural, and after so many years, it is no surprise that the two actors grew as close as brothers in real life. The show sees Ackles star as Dean Winchester, a demon hunter who brings his younger brother Sam back into the family business after their dad disappears. Throughout the 15 seasons, Sam and Dean fought together and against each other, and their relationship carried the show to its highest highs. In the end, it was their brotherly relationship that remained the most important storyline in the series.

Their chemistry is no surprise, as Ackles and Padalecki have openly expressed their close friendship. They’ve spoken many times about feeling like real-life brothers, and that’s the vibe they give off when appearing together at fan conventions. Even years after the show’s finale, the pair seem as close as ever, with them working together on Padalecki’s former show Walker and their families spending time together as if the actors are brothers and not just colleagues playing powerful brothers on Supernatural.

10 They Had An Interesting Introduction To Each Other

Jensen Ackles And Jared Padalecki Met Auditioning For Supernatural

Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki talked a few times about how they met, and it wasn’t conventional. During a Supernatural convention in New Jersey, Jared explained this first meeting. When they showed up to audition for Supernatural, nobody else was there, and it was a moment that made them wonder if they were in the wrong place. The two had a lot in common, from sports to music tastes, and quickly became friends as they got to know each other better while waiting.

In a wild turn of events, they were the only two actors who showed up to read for the executives. That ensured they got the roles that would change their lives and the entire landscape of supernatural television. It’s hard to imagine what would have happened if some other set of actors had shown up to read for the parts instead or if anyone had actually tried to compete for the roles other than Ackles and Padalecki.

9 They Used To Live Together

Jensen & Jared Were Roommates Until They Lived With Their Wives

After meeting for the first time and realizing their similarities, Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki ended up moving in together. They were roommates until they found their life partners in Danneel Harris and Genevieve Cortese, at which point they had to go their separate ways (via YouTube). Padalecki said that the two worked together on 14-hour shooting days and then went home and were together after that. It worked out because he said they were both “chill” and avoided the drama, so they didn’t take their work home with them.

Despite separating their living spaces after getting married, the two still spent more time together than with their families for the next decade due to long workdays and the fact they were away from home in Vancouver. While they only lived together for a short time, it was enough to help solidify their friendship.

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8 They Had A Bad Fight Early On In The Show

Jensen Ackles Said It Almost Ended Their Friendship

On the show itself, Sam and Dean Winchester had a lot of on-screen fights. However, during Supernatural‘s 300-episode celebration, Ackles shared that he and Jared only ever had one serious fight off-screen, and it was early in season 1. While the two didn’t share what the fight was about, they did reveal its importance in helping establish the relationship they went on to have since that day.

In an interview (via Bustle), Ackles explained that they didn’t get along all the time in that first season of the show. They ended up getting into a shoving fight, and stormed off on each other. He said it almost ended his friendship with Padalecki before it got started.

“Shortly after, we came back together and sat down and said, ‘Well, if this is going to work, that can’t ever happen again.’ We built on that and we formulated a new trust and realized that we’re better as a unit than as enemies. We’ve made it 14 years and counting like that. Three hundred episodes, there you go.”

7 Jensen’s Favorite On-Set Memory Is Watching Jared Fall In Love

Jared Padalecki Married Co-Star Genevieve Cortese

Jared Padalecki met his future wife in season 4 of Supernatural, and Jensen Ackles got to watch their relationship develop. As Ackles tells it (via YouTube), Padalecki was obsessed with Genevieve Cortese when she joined the cast as Ruby, following her around and “worshipping the ground she walked on.” It was an exciting relationship for fans to watch develop since Sam was a hunter and Ruby was one of the show’s most dangerous demons.

While Sam and Dean had some terrible romances on Supernatural, Padalecki’s attention must have done the trick, as he and Cortese got married two years later. It says a lot that, after 15 years, Ackles still swears that watching Padalecki and Cortese fall in love was his favorite moment on set. Supernatural even mentioned the marriage when Sam and Dead ended up in an alternate Earth where they were fictional characters played by Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki. In that world, Padalecki and Cortese are also married and very much full of themselves.

6 They Were Groomsmen In Each Other’s Weddings

Jensen Married Danneel Harris

Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki both got married in 2010, marrying Danneel Harris and Genevieve Cortese respectively. While plenty of their co-stars were invited to the weddings, both had the other as a member of the wedding party (via Pop Sugar). Generally, people choose their groomsmen based on wanting the other person to be a part of one of the most special days of their lives. The fact they all live close to each other in Texas helps.

This speaks for the truly life-long relationship that the two men have forged and the relationships their wives later developed, which was contrasted through the partnership of angel Jo (Harris) and demon Ruby (Cortese) on the show. The guys even kept working with their wives after Supernatural, with Cortese playing Padalecki character Walker’s late wife and Harris co-producing The Winchesters with Ackles.

5 They Have Matching Tattoos

Jensen & Jared Got Tattoos With Jeffrey Dean Morgan

When Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki attended on-screen dad Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s wedding, they all decided to get matching tattoos to honor their time together on Supernatural. All three chose to get a crown tattooed on their right arm, and they called themselves thereafter “The Three Kings” (via Instagram). While the crown had specific meanings for each of them, they claim it holds multiple meanings, with its shape resembling a “W” in honor of their time as Winchesters as yet another memory for the two friends from their time together on the show.

Ackles remembers the moment they got the tattoos. He said that he joked he would get the crown because he was the “king of Madi Gras.” That is when Morgan said he was already planning to get the crown tattoo. “He’s like, ‘Dude, just get it too,” Ackles said (via Entertainment Tonight). “Around that time, Jared walks up. He’s like, ‘You guys getting one?’ I was like, ‘Yeah we might do the crown.’ He’s like, ‘Well me too, I’m in!‘”

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4 They Played A Lot Of Pranks On Set

Misha Collins Was Their Main Target

Viewers who have been to or watched convention panels with the Supernatural cast have undoubtedly heard about the pranks that happened on set. According to Jared, he and Jensen agreed early on to prank together, instead of against each other, for the “sanity and well-being of the show and its crew” (via YouTube). But that doesn’t mean they didn’t prank just anybody.

Padalecki and Ackles are famous for pranking Misha Collins, as well as a variety of guest stars and recurring characters over their 15 years. Ackles and Padalecki certainly did more than their fair share when it comes to pranks. When Alexander Calvert joined the cast as Jack, he took Misha’s place. “We had a scene [recently] — Misha was on set and Alex was on set — and Misha was so thrilled to not be the whipping boy,” Padalecki said (via Bustle). “He’s kind of just like sitting there smiling [and clapping]. He’ll miss it soon [though] — Stockholm Syndrome.”

3 They Teamed Up With Misha Collins To Make One Of The Best Halloween Pictures Ever

The Supernatural Stars Dressed Up Like Each Other

It is always interesting to see celebrities who cosplay, and it is fun to see stars dress up just like normal fans. In 2014, the Supernatural fandom watched Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, and Misha Collins dress as each other for Halloween. While Ackles and Collins do a great job mimicking their co-stars, the star of the show is undoubtedly Padalecki, who got down on his knees to play Castiel.

While none of the actors are short, seeing 6’4″ Padalecki over-exaggeratingly shrink so far to mimic 5’11” Collins made for some big laughs. The guys had some fun with it too on Twitter (now X) when Jensen Ackles posted the photo and then Jared Padalecki followed up by posting it himself. This led to Misha Collins saying their “Halloween costumes were private! Why are you posting this pic?!” (via X).

2 They Worked Together On Walker

Jensen Ackles Directed An Episode Of Walker

It was exciting to hear that Jensen Ackles was headed to Walker, Jared Padalecki’s television show that he started after he left his role as Sam on Supernatural. However, this was not a case of the two sharing the screen again. Jensen Ackles directed the 14th episode of season 2, “No Such Thing as Fair Play.” Despite working as the director, Ackles had to throw himself into a scene as a small Easter egg as he had a small cameo in Walker.

After Ackles got back onto TV again, first as a narrator on The Winchesters and then as Solider Boy in The Boys, it was nice to see the small reunion on Padalecki’s show. Sadly, Padalecki was never part of The Winchesters, which Ackles narrated and produced. This omission might be the biggest disappointment of the entire season that show aired on The CW.

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1 Their Kids Think Of Them As Family

The Kids Consider Them Uncles

Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles’s transition from bachelor to family life didn’t mean they drifted apart. Instead, the families merged, with the children acting as though the two men truly were brothers. According to Padalecki and Ackles at a 2015 panel (via YouTube), Jensen is known as “Unka Jensen” to Jared’s children, and Genevive Padalecki is known as “Aunt Mama” to Jensen’s children. Jared agrees that that latter nickname is “pretty awesome.”

This connection helps since they all live in Texas, and they still spend a lot of time together when they aren’t working. Even with the two no longer sharing the screen on TV shows, they remain the closest of friends, and their families see each other as relatives. It appears the bond between the families continues, allowing the children of the Supernatural stars to stay connected throughout their lives.

Supernatural

Created by Eric Kripke, Supernatural is a fantasy/drama series that premiered in 2005. The series follows the adventures of Dean and Sam Winchester – two men wronged by supernatural beings as children who now spend their days investigating and hunting demons, ghosts, and monsters across the United States. 

Cast

Jensen Ackles , Misha Collins , Jim Beaver , Jared Padalecki , Katie Cassidy , Lauren Cohan , Mark A. Sheppard , Mark Pellegrino , Alexander Calvert

Release Date

September 13, 2005

Seasons

15

Showrunner

Eric Kripke