25 Days of Dean-mas Day 13: Best Jensen Ackles movies and shows outside of Supernatural

We’ve fallen in love with Jensen Ackles over the years for his portrayal of Dean Winchester. It’s time to look at his best roles outside Supernatural.

Jensen Ackles stole our hearts as Dean Winchester. Without him, it’s hard to imagine Supernatural succeeded as it has. But he was in a number of roles before the series, and some while he filmed the earlier seasons of the show. For Day 13 of the 25 Days of Dean-mas, we’re going to look outside the role at Ackles’ best performances.

There’s no doubt that he has done a lot of great material. Even though not critically loved, the shows and movies have given us the chance to see different sides of the actor. We’ve watched him grow considerably over the years, and seen him play good and bad guys.

Here are my favorite Jensen Ackles performances outside of Supernatural. See if you agree with me.

5. Devour

Devour certainly has a dark element to it. You’re left wondering what’s real and what’s not, which is the whole point of the movie. Directed by David Wrinkler, the 2005 movie sees Ackles play Jake Gray, a college kid who suffers from bizarre hallucinations.

When he starts playing a live-action role play game called “The Pathway,” the friends who introduced him to it are killed. He has to delve into the truth of the game and the creator to figure out what’s going on.

Jensen Ackles has multiple emotions to get through during the movie. There’s the grief of losing his friends, the struggle with the visions, and the animosity with his dad (played by Ackles’ real father!). This is certainly a movie to check out if you love dark twists and weird endings.

4. My Bloody Valentine

When it comes to movies with twists, you can’t beat the 2009 version of My Bloody Valentine. It was done in 3D for the theaters, but you can buy the 2D version. Honestly, I think 2D is always best because the graphics just aren’t good enough for 3D yet.

During My Bloody Valentine, Ackles plays Tom Hanniger, the son of a man who owns the mines in a local town. Tom returns to the town 10 years after an incident that almost killed him. He’s only back due to his father’s death, but he soon learns that what tried to kill him before is still around. Can he escape with his life this time like the last?

While the movie received mixed reviews from critics, this is great for horror fans. While it looks like a standard horror movie, there’s a twist at the end that Jensen Ackles adored. I don’t want to share what it is for those who haven’t watched it yet. Check it out!

3. Smallville

Jensen Ackles got his start on TV. Just before Supernatural, he starred in a season of Smallville. In fact, it was his role as Dean Winchester that led to his role in Smallville being abruptly cut.

Ackles played Jason Teague in Season 4 of the superhero series, a man who quickly fell in love with Lana Lang and ended up being the football coach at Smallville’s high school. Naturally, that led to some problems as he and Lana tried to keep their relationship going. He would become jealous of Clark Kent’s relationship with Lana, which would lead to animosity and problems of its own.

While he was only in for a season, we got to see multiple sides to this character. However, there is a dark twist at the end, as he goes crazy through his jealousy.

2. Dark Angel

The first show I ever saw Jensen Ackles in was Dark Angel. The sci-fi series starred Jessica Alba and Michael Weatherly, but Ackles would star in the second season after a guest role in the first.

This is one of those shows where he proved he could play multiple characters. In the first season, he portrayed the role of one of Max’s friends who had escaped the lab they had been created in. However, he was quickly killed off, but brought back as a second character—a clone of his original character.

Throughout the second season, Alec went through a strong development arc. “The Berrisford Agenda” is one of Ackles’ best episodes of the series and of his career to date.

1. Ten Inch Hero

We’re finishing off with a movie that you need to watch at least once. And when you do watch it the once, it will be on the list of movies to have on repeat. Honestly, there’s little that I watch more than once, but Ten Inch Hero is an annual treat at the very least.

The setting is a sandwich shop, with Ackles playing Priestly, the only guy who works there except the owner. Priestly is the guy who makes the sandwiches, but he’s also there for a lot of comedic relief, in a movie that is filled with comedy. Every scene sees him in T-shirts with funny slogans and his hair is always a different color.

He’s a guy who wants to help his friends, even if it means being beaten up. This is a guy with a lot of heart and soul, something that Ackles portrays so well.

To top this movie off, it’s the one that helped to bring Ackles and his wife, Danneel, together. They had been friends for years before this point, but it was during this movie they decided to start dating. And the love story starts there.

What are your favorite Jensen Ackles movies outside of Supernatural? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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