A look back at the onscreen brothers and offscreen friends’ close bond
By Andrea Wurzburger
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Back in 2005, Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles were just getting started as Sam and Dean Winchester! Here they are kicking things off at an industry event.
The pair played brothers onscreen for 15 seasons, but it’s clear that their friendship extends offscreen as well.
Supernatural. JACK ROWAND/THE CW
The pair played brothers onscreen for 15 seasons, but it’s clear that their friendship extends offscreen as well.
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In 2007, Padalecki told TV Guide that the reason the actors work so well together is because they’re “really good buddies.” He said, “…That’s been probably the best thing about Supernatural. In the last three years of my life, I’ve spent more time with Jensen Ackles than with any other human being and vice versa. Luckily, we get along really well and we are very similar guys. We’re both from Texas, we both love our families, the same kind of music, and the Dallas Cowboys. It’s been a huge blessing to work with somebody who is easygoing on set and who I’m friends with.”
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Typical older brother behavior: Ackles blocked Padalecki’s shot of the crowd at Comic-Con in 2012.
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Ackles told E! of their on- and offscreen friendship, “We certainly couldn’t pick who we got cast next to, and sometimes, you can’t pick who becomes your friend, it just kind of happens. And we got very fortunate in the fact that we not only got picked to be coworkers, but whatever it is, the universe kind of picked us to be buddies as well, and I think that’s really given us a leg up on any issues that we would have run across being costars.”
And that’s a good thing, because, after 15 seasons, Supernatural was The CW’s longest-running scripted original show.
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They’ve always got each other’s backs. Padalecki told E! that their friendship has only gotten stronger: “I think Ackles and I found a really cool, unique situation where we truly enjoy each other and we enjoy each other’s families, and have each other’s backs, and after 14 years spending more time with each other than you spend with your wives, your kids, your brothers, your sisters, your mothers, your fathers, you kinda go one way or the other, and we went to the place where we got closer. So we’re just pretty lucky.”
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I mean, you don’t sit through fifteen years of Comic-Con panels together and not grow stronger, right?
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“We’re best friends, period. He’s my best friend for life. I don’t think it’s that remarkable, but it’s definitely special,” Ackles has said of the pair’s bond.
PHOTO: JENSEN ACKLES/INSTAGRAM
Ackles wished Padalecki a happy 38th birthday on July 19, 2020, teasing him in a tribute with one of their last photos together on set with costars Alexander Calvert and Misha Collins.
“Unfortunately, this is the last pic I have of all of us on set together. Our faces say it all. The uncertainty, the emotion, the fear of not knowing how it will all go or more importantly, how @jaredpadalecki will handle a birthday without us,” he wrote at the time, reassuring his buddy everything would be okay.
“You’ll be just fine, buck-o. We’ll be back in that beautiful car to celebrate soon enough. (Hopefully). Happy Birthday, brother. See ya soon,” Ackles said, adding the hashtag #spnfamily.
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When San Diego Comic-Con was canceled for the first time in its 50-year history in 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns, Ackles waxed poetic about the special place the convention holds in his heart.
“It’s always been a highlight of the year for me. To say it’s odd not to be in that whirlwind of a weekend is a giant understatement,” he wrote on Instagram that July, sharing a throwback photo with his costars at the event in 2019.
“Even though the festivities have sadly been put on hold this year…it still feels strange knowing we wouldn’t be taking that stage in Hall H anyway,” he added of Supernatural wrapping a few months later.
PHOTO: JARED PADALECKI/INSTAGRAM
The actors teamed up to support costar Samantha Smith, who played their on-screen mother Mary Winchester, amid her breast cancer diagnosis in August 2020.
“Standing with our girl @samsmithgrams,” Padalecki posted at the time, encouraging followers to purchase the “Rise” tees in the fight against breast cancer.
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In June, Padelcki let fans know there was no bad blood between him and Ackles after he said he wasn’t given a heads up about a Supernatural prequel his costar was developing.
“@JensenAckles and I had a great talk, as we do often, and things are good,” Padalecki tweeted. “The show is early in the process with miles to go.”
“We’ve travelled a lot of roads together, and sometimes those damn roads have bumps. Bumps don’t stop us,” he added. “Once brothers, always brothers.”
Retweeting the message, Ackles added: “Love you @jarpad… Miss these talks. I forgot how much face time we always used to get. And I miss that too. I know you’re busy…as am I, but you’re still my brother. I miss you, pal.”
PHOTO: JARED PADALECKI/INSTAGRAM
Supernatural forever! Padalecki spoke from the heart in remembering the one-year anniversary of when the CW hit wrapped, sharing a selfie with Ackles from the very last day of filming last year.
“I will never be able to put into words what my time with #SamWinchester gave me. More importantly, I’ll never be able to put into words what the relationships that were built STILL mean to me,” he captioned the snap.