„We Were Such Idiots to Not See It”. Supernatural Creators Almost Made a Horrible Mistake with Jensen Ackles's Casting
The creators of Supernatural came close to making a big mistake when casting the lead roles in the TV series. Jensen Ackles could have appeared as someone completely different or may not have been part of the production at all.
Supernatural was loved by some, while others were amazed that the series lived to fifteen seasons. That's a really long run, during which the Winchester brothers, played by Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki, were at the center of the TV show at all times. After so many years, it's hard to imagine that they could be played by someone else, but according to information shared by Eric Kripke, the series' creator, it could end up that way.
Supernatural's showrunner explained during an interview with Variety that they had a little casting turmoil, because at one point they had two Sams and not a single Dean. And they had just chosen Ackles and Padalecki for the role of Sam, so it could have ended up with one of them getting the role of the younger Winchester brother, and the other being left with nothing.
When we were casting, you see a lot of people. We hadn’t found our Sam and Dean. David Nutter suggested Jensen because we knew him from Smallville. We met with him to play Sam, and we fell in love with [him]. And then Jared came in, and he was a really great Sam too. Looking back, we were such idiots to not see it… We had two great Sams and no Dean and you think it would be obvious to put one into the other role, but it was not obvious. So we [went] to Peter Roth and we said, “We’re not sure what to do,” and Peter was like, “why don’t you make Jensen Dean?” We all looked at each other like, “we’re idiots, of course.” It’s so difficult to find one actor who is charismatic enough to be a breakout character and to support a show. So to find two of them, where there’s only two leads… I didn’t realize what a miracle it was at the time. It’s a miracle.
Jensen Ackles proved to be the perfect choice for the role of Dean. He excelled in this difficult to cast role, creating an unforgettable performance that fans around the world have come to love him for, and he was perfect in the role of the older brother. And it's hard to believe that the creators of Supernatural didn't immediately think of casting him in this role as soon as their casting problems arose. It's also hard to imagine him in the role of Sam now.
And Padalecki remains the perfect Sam, without whom Ackles' Dean would not have worked. It is primarily this duo that has made the TV series so successful.
