#FlashbackFriday: 7 films and TV shows you forgot Jared Padalecki was in

Supernatural won’t let you forget about Gilmore Girls, but what are the other TV shows and movies Jared Padalecki has starred in?

When you think of Jared Padalecki, there are high chances that you think of Supernatural. He’s played the role of Sam Winchesters for the last 12.5 seasons, growing from the psychic who just wanted a normal life to the kind, considerate and hunk of a hunter. The SPNFamily also knows him for his many charity campaigns under the #AlwaysKeepFighting brand.

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If you knew of Jared before Supernatural, it was likely because of the TV show Gilmore Girls. The second season of SPN mentions Jared’s previous show to make sure people never forget about this. And yes, Sam Winchester certainly looks uncomfortable at the mention of the set. Even if you never saw the series starring Alexis Bledel from The Handmaid’s Tale, you will have likely heard that Jared played a character called Dean. It’s one of those quirky facts that connects his two shows.

But what about all the other shows out there? The father-of-three has 22 acting credits to his name. Many of those acting credits will have been overlooked. Here are the seven films and TV shows that you completely forgot Jared Padalecki was in.

#1. A Little Inside

The first acting credit on the list is A Little Inside. Jared played the role of Matt Nelson in the baseball movie, and there’s an awesome “Sammy” reference.

Benjamin King and Hallie Eisenberg star in the movie as father and daughter Ed and Abby Mills. After Ed’s wife dies, he has to raise his daughter, Abby, alone. However, he’s focusing on his baseball career at the time, showing just how much juggling single fathers have to do; that dreams don’t end when life throws you a curveball.

Ed learns that his dreams can’t be forced onto his daughter. Rather than play baseball, Abby wants to be a ballet dancer. It’s a heartfelt story of a father navigating the waters. Jared ironically plays a mechanic, Matt, (a fun link to Supernatural) and recognizes Ed from his minor league baseball days. It’s Matt who helps to encourage Ed to go through with his dreams again.

The movie was originally a 14-minute short, but was adapted for feature-length. If you just want a heartfelt family movie, Jared’s first one is definitely worth watching. While he doesn’t play a main character, he certainly plays an important one. This is also just a hint of the things that were to come for the actor.

#2. A Ring of Endless Light

Jump forward to 2002 and it’s another movie from Jared Padalecki. A Ring of Endless Light was based on a novel of the same name, telling the story of Vicky Austin (played by Mischa Barton), who finds comfort with dolphins during a time her grandfather is dying of cancer.

Jared plays Zachery Gray in the made-for-TV Disney movie, one of Vicky’s ex-boyfriends. Zachery was suicidal and indirectly caused the death of a man in the movie. He is considered dark and dangerous, showing the side of depression and suicide in a way that most Disney movies would overlook now. His character isn’t one of those that people will like a lot, but they can sympathize and some will even empathize as his backstory is revealed in more detail.

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The movie gave fans of Jared another hint of the things to come for him in the future. He was able to show off his acting range with A Ring of Endless Light in a way that many other actors would dream of doing.

One of the main themes of the movie is death. That’s certainly the case for Zachery Gray, who is teetering on the edge with his depression. The book goes into far more detail for Zachery and his search for the light outside the darkness.

#3. Young MacGyver

Did you know that Jared Padalecki was almost MacGyver? Well, he was almost the real MacGyvers younger cousin. This was supposed to be a TV series, but only the pilot was made and it never had the chance to develop. That’s unlikely to happen now for two reasons: Supernatural and the new MacGyver.

The aim was for Young MacGyver to be a spin-off series from the original, which had Richard Dean Anderson in the lead. The show was going to take place shortly after the original, picking up the same audience. However, a Young Indiana Jones series was attempted instead (and it failed to take off), putting this spin-off idea on the backfoot.

It was Jared Padalecki’s first look into the world of TV shows. This was his chance to get a TV show of his own, and by this point he was a handful of years into his career. That shows that producers had high hopes for the young actor.

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The show was also supposed to star veteran actor Ron Canada and fellow Gilmore Girls cast members Alan Layoza and Tracey McCall. There’s also a fun Supernatural link with apple pie!

Maybe it’s fortunate that the show never took off. It could have been just as successful as its counterpart, meaning Jared wouldn’t have been available to pick up the role of Sam Winchester. Even if the show didn’t continue for too long, it would have likely run into Gilmore Girls and then there wouldn’t have been the chance for Jared to make a name for himself in TV by staying on with the show. I can’t imagine anyone else in the role of Sam, although Jared has said that Sterling K. Brown would make an excellent choice.

#4. Cheaper by the Dozen 

Don’t worry if you didn’t realize that Jared Padalecki was in this movie. He doesn’t get a major role and he’s actually uncreditted for it! However, it offers a fun connection to Supernatural. The movie also starred Tom Welling, who would star as Clark Kent on Smallville, which Jared’s later co-star Jensen Ackles would star in for the fourth season. Strange how there are so many connections between the two stars of our favorite show.

Jared actually plays a bully in the movie. He’s not a likeable character, but his scene is certainly humorous. After all, it’s Clark Kent vs. Sam Winchester, with Lizzie McGuire getting in the middle of it. Oh and there are mentions of a farm for more of a Smallville reference thrown in there.

The actual movie? Well, Cheaper by the Dozen tells the story of two loving parents who have 12 (yes, 12) children and need to manage the world of parenting and their careers. Starring Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt, it’s hilarious and a perfect family movie for the lazy Sunday afternoon. Plus it’s developed into a trilogy, although Jared isn’t in the others. Even though Jared is in just one scene, it’s certainly a movie worth catching.

#5. House of Wax

Shortly after his time on Gilmore Girls and just before his time on Supernatural, Jared did a few movies. One of those was the remake of House of Wax, which starred Elisha Cuthbert, Chad Michael Murray and Paris Hilton (yes, she also appeared in an episode of Supernatural). The movie would help to continue the friendship between Jared and Chad, who had become close friends on Gilmore Girls at the time.

He plays Wade in this movie, the boyfriend of Elisha’s Carly Jones. His and Chad’s characters clearly do not get along that well, as they both have opposite personalities. Chad plays Nick, Carly’s twin brother, who often refers to himself as “the evil twin.” In truth, Nick actually protects his friends, getting himself in more trouble to ensure his best friend Dalton is able to go to college and have a future.

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Wade has some of the funniest of lines. Well, they’re not supposed to be funny but the delivery is hilarious. In fact, Jared has often commented on them. The House of Wax special features includes a commentary with Jared, Chad, and Paris Hilton while watching the movie.

This was a jump into the horror/supernatural world for Jared, something that would make it clear he was right for Supernatural. It surely can’t be something he regrets.

#6. Cry Wolf

Many Supernatural fans have forgotten about this movie, but it at one point was one of Jared Padalecki’s most popular. He starred opposite his fiancée at the time, Sandra McCoy. Sandra would appear in Supernatural Season 3 as the crossroads demon Sam would summon and shoot with the colt when looking for a way to get Dean out of his deal. Sandra’s character would become the first of Jared’s real love interests to be killed on screen at the hand of Sam Winchester.

In Cry Wolf, Jared plays Tom, one of the eight students who likes to play games of lies with his friends. His character also has a relationship with Sandra McCoy’s Mercedes. The eight friends attend a boarding school and when things start to take a dangerous turn, nobody believes them; they don’t even believe each other.

Sandra wasn’t the only actress on the show to move onto Supernatural for a couple of episodes. Lindy Booth, who played Dodger, would appear as Bonnie Fuschau and then later Vesta. Need another reason to watch the movie? Pretty Little Liars’ and Once Upon a Time’s Julian Morris (yes, Dr. Wren Kingston/Prince Phillip) plays Owen.

Honestly, the movie is one of those to put on with friends. It’s a horror movie but not one of the craziest out there. It is certainly full of reasons not to lie to your friends about anything!

#7. Friday the 13^th

This is the least likely that you’ve forgotten, but only because it’s one of the most recent movies Jared Padalecki has done. Sometimes when TV shows take a break, the actors will look for other projects to take on. This doesn’t happen much now because during breaks in filming Jared and Jensen will be at the multiple Creation Conventions, but it used to happen.

In 2009, one of Jared’s projects was released. He did the remake of Friday the 13^th. Don’t worry; he didn’t play Jason Voorhees. Instead, Jared played Clay Miller, the brother of a young girl (Whitney) who has gone missing at Camp Crystal Lake. All of Whitney’s friends were found dead, but Whitney was taken alive by the masked murderer.

As the lead protagonist in the movie, Jared led the movie and helped it reach its conclusion. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t good enough to stand up against the original movies.

Interestingly enough, that same year, Jared’s co-star Jensen would star in another horror movie remake, My Bloody Valentine. Another Supernatural star would later star, Katie Cassidy, in another iconic horror movie remake, A Nightmare on Elm Street. All three remakes were nothing like their originals and there haven’t been sequels based on them.

Next: 7 movies and shows you forgot Jensen Ackles was in

Which of those Jared Padalecki movies and TV shows did you forget about? Are there others that you didn’t remember? Share in the comments below.

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