6 Things you didn't know about Dean Winchester a.k.a Jensen Ackles

Photo Credit: Supernatural/The CW Image Acquired from CW TV PR

Jensen Ackles has been playing Dean for a pretty long time now. With that comes some interesting facts. How many do you already know?

I think all Supernatural fans can agree that Jensen Ackles (and most importantly Dean Winchester) is a pretty cool guy. We love all the quirks that come with his love for Baby, his love for pie, and even his odd obsession with “Busty Asian Beauties.”

Off screen, it’s even better. The long term friendship that has formed between him and Jared Padalecki, the urgency to grow a beard at the end of filming, how he and his wife met and more have fans smiling, cheering, and wishing they could be a part of his life.

There are a lot of facts about Dean Winchester/Ackles already known. Here are six that unless you’re a massive fan of Supernatural (like us at SPN Hunters) you’re not going to know in full. If you know them all, there’s nothing you don’t know about the Brothers Winchester.

1: Dean’s date of birth

Dean Winchester was born on January 24, 1979. Ackles was born on March 1, 1978. The actor is just a year older than his character. Very few casting directors find someone so close to the age of their character. After all, Candice King was 25 playing an 18-year-old vampire in The Vampire Diaries and Melissa Joan Hart was in her late 20s/early 30s while playing a high school witch in Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Was it just a coincidence or what the character’s age set after casting?

That, however, isn’t the weirdest thing about Dean’s birthdate. Jeffery Dean Morgan, a.k.a John Winchester/Dad, is only twelve years older than Ackles in real life. So technically we could argue that John had Dean at the pretty young age of only twelve. Some people will find that idea pretty creepy however some lads might be thinking; “High five that lad”. Of course, John Winchester in the series is actually much older! He served as a Marine in Vietnam before having his children.

Another interesting fact linking to Dean’s birthday is that he shares it with another character in the show. Sam’s girlfriend, Jess, from the pilot episode was also born on January 24, but a different year.

2: Jensen almost wasn’t Dean

We could have had a very different Sam and Dean. Ackles actually auditioned for the role of Sam initially and it looked like he was good for the role until Jared Padalecki showed up. The producers had to call Ackles to find out if he would take on the role of Dean Winchester, supposedly persuading him with comparisons to Star Wars‘ Han Solo.

Ackles was more than happy for the other role. He actually wanted the role of Dean instead, finding him the funnier and cooler brother. The only reason he auditioned for Sam is because there were no auditions for Dean at the time.

3: ‘Supernatural’ v ‘Smallville’

Just before Ackles came to Supernatural, he was already appearing in Smallville. He had to leave the show in order to take up the role of Dean. His character Jason Teague started off interesting and a potential ally but soon turned into a foe of Clark Kent. He was killed off by the end of just one season, leading to Smallville fans questioning initially whether there was any bad blood. Of course, it just turned out to be a business decision.

Supernatural and Smallville were filmed in plots next door to each other (in fact the current DC shows take up some of the original Smallville plots) and were on the same network (the WB when it still existed). They both moved to The CW at the same time. Supernatural had a lot to live up to when Smallville ended with 218 episodes after 10 seasons.

When Supernatural was renewed for its 11th season, it took over Smallville‘s reign for longest-running scripted CW show. It is now the second longest sci-fi show to exist, with BBC’s Doctor Who taking the top spot.

4: The ever-changing Dean

With any good show, characters undergo development. This makes it much more interesting for the viewer and stops the show becoming boring. Dean Winchester’s character has considerably changed since the original pilot script. In fact, even from the original pitch where Sam and Dean were supposed to be journalists on the road together.

Over the years, Dean’s hair has lost its spikiness and various bits of clothing and jewelry have gone missing. But in the original script the character was supposed to be covered in tattoos and smoke. The decision for him not to smoke was due to the show being a family show and something for viewers to look up to. The tattoos? Well that was just for cost sake. It would have been a lot of time in makeup to consistently put the tattoos on. Chances are Ackles wouldn’t have gone as far as permanently tattoo himself!

An even bigger change however has been Dean’s view on Angels. You could be forgiven for forgetting that Dean firmly believed that Angels did not actually exist.

5: Jensen Ackles as an Avenger

So we are not exactly 100% sure this is true, but it’s a interesting potential fact. It’s even more interesting knowing that Ackles was on Smallville and originally auditioned for the role of Clark Kent. Rumor has it that Ackles almost became an Avenger.

https://twitter.com/beagonfei/status/855796067996241921

He reportedly auditioned for the role of Steve Rogers in Captain America, only to lose the role to Chris Evans. However, Marvel was impressed with his acting and reportedly offered him the role of Hawkeye instead. Ackles thought it over, but decided to stick with the Supernatural franchise instead.

Personally, I think he declined because it would mean using a Bow and Arrow. Grenade launchers are more his style.

There are also rumors that he auditioned for the role of Star Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy. Would the music choice have changed to something more suitable for Dean Winchester? I’d watch Ackles do a dance off.

6: More than an actor

Ackles has not only just starred in Supernatural, he has actually directed some of the episodes as well. Many fans will already know this but do you know the exact episodes without Googling? Oh and he’s still had major roles onscreen in the episodes, meaning he’s had to direct himself!

In total he has directed five episodes of the entire series so far, with his first being in Season 6, “Weekend at Bobby’s.”

The other four have been varying seasons;

“The Girl Next Door,” Season 7
“Heartache,” Season 8
“Soul Survivor,” Season 10
“The Bad Seed,” Season 11

There is always the possibility of more to come especially with the show not looking to end anytime soon.

Next: 7 things you didn't know about 'Supernatural'

So how many of these did you already know? Are there any facts you knew, but we didn’t talk about? Share them in the comments below.

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6 Things you didn’t know about Dean Winchester a.k.a Jensen Ackles

By Alexandria Ingham | Aug 6, 2017