First able to attain a certain level of fame when he landed a memorable Gilmore Girls role, Jared Padalecki somehow managed to find ever greater success after that. Now best known as one of the stars of Supernatural, the show has attained a large enough following that as of the time of this writing, its 15th and final season is in the middle of airing.
As one of those rare actors who has starred in one beloved project after another, to say that people enjoy Jared Padalecki’s work is a massive understatement. However, just because people really like his work doesn’t mean that they know everything that went into the man becoming a star, to begin with. With that in mind, it is time to get to this list of 15 little known facts about Jared Padalecki’s rise to fame.
Scholastic Standout
By the time Jared Padalecki was in high school, he was already showing signs of the skills that would help him to become a highly successful actor. For example, he was a candidate for the Presidential Scholars Program which is given out to people who have “exceptional talent in the visual, creative, and performing arts”.
Horror Credentials
Currently best known for his role in Supernatural, for many years Jared Padalecki has been playing a character who hunts down paranormal threats as a part of that show. What a lot of fans don’t realize, however, is that Padalecki has serious horror movie credentials outside of that show as he starred in House of Wax, Cry Wolf, and the Friday the 13th remake.
Career Aspirations
Like most actors, Jared Padalecki grew up admiring the work of his forebearers. For example, he has said that he thinks Johnny Depp is “phenomenal” but he “wouldn’t want that career”. Instead, the actor’s career he would most like to model his own after is Tom Hanks because “he kind of represents the everyman”.
Internal Struggles
In recent years, Jared Padalecki revealed that he suffers from depression in an effort to help others who battle with the same or similar issues. Now that we know about Jared’s struggles with depression during his rise to fame in a wildly competitive industry, we respect his efforts even more.
Olsen Interest
As of yet, Jared Padalecki hasn’t found any massive successes on the big screen. However, that doesn’t mean that he hasn’t tried to get a film career going in the past. In fact, while he was still in the middle of his Gilmore Girls run he played a love interest for one of the Olsen Twins in 2004’s New York Minute. Unfortunately, that movie failed at the box office and is mostly forgotten today.
Too Busy
At the end of the day, 2009’s G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra was far from a massive hit but during the preproduction process, there was every reason to believe the movie would be huge. As a result, it must have upset Jared that he had to turn down a starring role in that film due to his Supernatural filming schedule when the film had the potential to turn him into a superstar.
Always Prepare
While there is no doubt that an actor like Jared Padalecki needs to be able to roll with the punches, it should also go without saying that preparing for opportunities is pivotal. Fortunately for Jared, he has been preparing for his current career for most of his life as he began taking acting lessons when he was only 12-years-old.
The House Of Mouse
Since the Disney Channel became a behemoth in the entertainment industry, the network’s shows and movies have made a seemingly endless array of actors famous. Unfortunately for Jared Padalecki, he starred in a Disney Channel original movie called Ring of Endless Light alongside Mischa Barton but it failed to launch his career to another level.
Far From Cut-Throat
As anyone that pays attention to the acting industry should know, the business can be extremely cutthroat at times. However, in the case of Jared Padalecki, instead of making enemies on his rise to the top, he has picked up close friends at every turn. For example, he now is close friends with co-stars like Cheaper by the Dozen’s Tom Welling, House of Wax’s Chad Michael Murray, and Supernatural’s Jensen Ackles.
Early Accolade
For most actors, appearing on an awards show stage means you’ve made it. In the case of Jared Padalecki, his acting career began because he won Fox’s “Claim to Fame” contest at only 19-years-old. Not yet a professional actor at that point, part of his prize was the opportunity to appear at the Teen Choice Awards where he caught the eye of his first agent.
Fork In The Road
As we touched on earlier in this list, Jared Padalecki was an extremely good student during his school years. With that in mind, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that he got accepted to the University of Texas. However, he wound up not going as he landed the job of a lifetime when he was cast as Gilmore Girls’ Dean and chose that role over attending university.
Another Actor
Given the trajectory of Jared Padalecki’s life, it is hard to fathom how different his career might be if he never played Dean from Gilmore Girls. Amazingly enough, he barely got that part as another actor named Nathan Wetherington was cast in the role before him and even filmed an entire episode that never aired.
Wrong Choice
Sometimes as an actor, you have to choose between two roles that could push your career forward. For example, Jared Padalecki originally auditioned for the role of Cheaper by the Dozen’s Charlie Baker but he backed out of the opportunity to star in a pilot for a show called Young MacGyver. Thankfully for Jared, when the pilot wasn’t picked up he was given a smaller, uncredited Cheaper by the Dozen role as a bully.
Almost Suited Up
Over the last several years, Henry Cavill has been turned into an international superstar due to playing Superman on the big screen several times. While Jared Padalecki is known for his TV work, he almost had a similar experience because he was in the running to play Supes in a planned McG movie called Superman: Flyby. In the end, not only did Jared never get to suit up but McG’s movie was canceled altogether.
Pre-Conceived Notions
If you’ve seen Gilmore Girls and Supernatural, you will already know that Jared Padalecki’s characters in the two shows are very different. Still, it blows us away that Jared told TV Guide that Supernatural’s creator Eric Kripke almost assumed he couldn’t play Sam Winchester based on his Gilmore Girls character. After all, a TV creator should understand that good actors can play wildly different roles.
Source: thethings.com