Biography
After modeling off and on as a young child, Ackles began to concentrate on an acting career in 1996. He appeared in several guest roles on Mr. Rhodes, Sweet Valley High, and Cybill before joining the cast of the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives as Eric Brady in 1997. He won a 1998 Soap Opera Digest Award for Best Male Newcomer and went on to be nominated three times (in 1998, 1999, and 2000) for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series for his work on Days of Our Lives.Ackles departed Days of Our Lives in 2000 and went on to appear in the mini-series Blonde about the life of Marilyn Monroe. He also auditioned for the role as the young Clark Kent on Smallville, but it was offered to actor Tom Welling instead. After failing to land the part, he appeared in a guest role on the James Cameron television series Dark Angel on Fox during its first season in 2001 as Ben/X5-493, the psychopathic, serial killer "brother" of the main character Max/X5-452 (played by Jessica Alba). His character died in the episode, but Ackles returned to the show as a series regular in the second season as Ben's twin, Alec/X5-494. He remained with the show
until its cancellation in 2002.Ackles worked steadily throughout 2003. He joined the cast of the WB's hit show Dawson's Creek during the final season, playing CJ, Jen Lindley's lover. Afterward, Ackles filmed several episodes of the unaired series Still Life for Fox before it was abruptly dropped. He also had a small role in the 2004 short film The Plight of Clownana. Ackles was the producer's first choice to play Eliza Dushku's love interest on the second season of Tru Calling, but Ackles returned to Vancouver (where Dark Angel was filmed) in 2004 to become a regular on Smallville instead, playing Jason Teague, the romantic interest of Lana Lang, played by Kristin Kreuk. He also had a lead role in the 2005 film Devour, where his father also had a role.Most recently, Ackles joined the cast of the WB horror series Supernatural in 2005, where he co-stars as Dean Winchester. Dean teams with his brother Sam (Jared Padalecki) to road trip across the country investigating the paranormal while searching for their missing father John Winchester (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). The second season was picked up by The CW in 2006 for the 2006-2007 television season. The show was later renewed for a third season. Ackles is set to appear in the 2007 film Ten Inch Hero, in which he will play the role of Priestly.
Ackles appeared onstage 5-10 June 2007 with Lou Diamond Phillips in A Few Good Men at Casa Mañana Theatre in Fort Worth Texas. He played the role of Lt Daniel Kaffee which was portrayed by Tom Cruise in the 1992 film version. This marked the first time Jensen Ackles has performed in a live theatre setting.
Questions with Jensen Ackles
What kind of woman you like?
Me and my buddies say, "Someone who gets it." Gets sarcasm, gets high-brow humor. Ultimately, someone who you can pal around with and also be intimate with. Someone who can laugh at your jokes – it may sound cheesy, but someone who can be your best friend as well as your lover.
What's the sexiest thing a woman can wear?
I'm into a casual-dressing girl: blue jeans and a tank top is super sexy. But the sexiest thing on a girl – when I see it I'm like, oh my God – is these little tight boxers. Don't get me wrong – g-strings are fine – but those cover a little, to where it's just enough.
Do you and costar Jared Padalecki ever go out carousing?
I do my best to corrupt the little guy, but sometimes I've got to respect his relationship (with actress Sandra McCoy).
How about the fan love? Any wild moments?
Sometimes if you're in the wrong place at the wrong time and you walk out of a bar and a guy's girlfriend recognizes you and the guy doesn't like it too much and starts hollering at you – that can get tricky. That happened to Jared and me a couple of months ago. What's your hidden talent?
I have a buddy of mine who's a musician and I play guitar and sing quite a bit with him.
What's the best present you've ever given a woman?
I would say it was a black pearl ring that I designed for her. The pearl I picked up in Tahiti at a market and fished through a bowl full of these pearls until I found my favorite one. The worst gift that I ever gave a girl was a suitcase for Christmas. As in, "I can't think of anything to give you, but here's a new suitcase." Afterward, I was like, "What were you thinking, idiot?"
Quotes
Jensen: I was in preschool and a girl actually kissed me on the cheek. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what it meant, so I instantly grabbed her face and kissed her on the lips. And, then I got suspended.
Jensen: (On being recognized in public) It kind of catches me off guard when people come up to me... because when you're out shooting 15 hours a day for three to four months at a time, you don't see anybody from the outside world. You forget the stuff you're doing is actually being seen by millions of people.
Jensen: (On his most embarassing moment) I was about 13 at the time, doing a photo shoot for a catalogue on the Southern Methodist University campus. The jeans were about three sizes too small, so they cut out the back and opened the leg---it looked fine from the front but the back was missing. Suddenly, the period bell rang, and the students flooded out of every building as I stood there with my rear end hanging out. It was not a fun moment.
Jensen: (on fan encounters) The fans are very cool. And they’re avid fans of the genre, so when they come up to us, it’s not necessarily about us personally - it’s about the work, which is very flattering.
Jensen: (on “Supernatural” co-star Jared Padalecki) When Jared and I met, we kind of instantly became friends. He’s five years younger than me, so it was cool. I knew what it felt like to be an older brother and he knew what it felt like to be a younger brother - we just kind of fell into a nice rhythm.
Jensen: I'm from Texas, and I would love to do an old-fashioned gun-slinging Western.
Jensen: (on carousing With Jared Padalecki) I do my best to corrupt the little guy, but sometimes I've got to respect his relationship (with actress Sandra McCoy).
Jensen: When I was in middle school, some of my so-called friends found a catalogue ad I did for Superman pajamas. They made as many copies as they could and pasted them up all over school.
Jensen: (on gift-giving) The worst gift that I ever gave a girl was a suitcase for Christmas. As in, 'I can't think of anything to give you, but here's a new suitcase.' Afterward, I was like, 'What were you thinking, idiot?'
Jensen: (on girls) I'm into a casual-dressing girl: blue jeans and a tank top is super sexy. But the sexiest thing on a girl--when I see it I'm like, oh my God--is these little tight boxers. Don't get me wrong, g-strings are fine, but those cover a little, to where it's just enough.
Jensen: (on wild fan moments) Sometimes if you're in the wrong place at the wrong time and you walk out of a bar and a guy's girlfriend recognizes you and the guy doesn't like it too much and starts hollering at you - that can get tricky. That happened to Jared [Padalecki] and me a couple of months ago.
Jensen: (on what he likes in a woman) Me and my buddies say, 'Someone who gets it.' Gets sarcasm, gets high-brow humor. Ultimately, someone who you can pal around with and also be intimate with. Someone who can laugh at your jokes--it may sound cheesy, but someone who can be your best friend as well as your lover.
Jensen: (on performing a stunt underwater while supporting the weight of a 10-year old actor) I don't know if you have ever been held underwater against your will, but it's a very unsettling feeling... To hold your breath long enough to get the camera rolling, it was very taxing mentally. I had the life of a 10-year-old on me.
Jensen: (on the bruises and cuts he obtains during the filming of Supernatural) I'll be getting into the shower and all of a sudden it will be like, 'Whoa!' I'll find a new cut or a bump or a bruise... I'll feel a cut on my elbow and think, 'Oh, nice!'
Jensen: (on Supernatural) Our characters never know who or what they will be dealing with on any given case. They live a life of uncertainty and not a little fear.
Jensen: What I enjoy most is travelling to different places and meeting new people. For me, it's all about life experiences and I'm very grateful that acting allows me so many interesting and fulfilling ones.
Jensen: That's a little Screen Gems horror flick that David Winkler, son of famous director Irwin Winkler, directed and basically rewrote while we were shooting it, which is always a tricky situation. I think that if I had known it was going to be a complete rewrite during shooting, it may have been something I would have thought about a little longer.
Jensen: (Jensen's favorite episode of Supernatural so far is "Home") It did a good job of starting to peel back some of the layers of Dean and Sam. It's great to deal with these guys on their journey as heroes, and that's going to be a very moving part of the series.
Source: Fangoria magazine, issue 252
Jensen: I love the smell of shampoo on a girl's hair. You can walk past someone and be like, 'Wow, you took a shower this morning, didn't you? Because you smell lovely!'
Jensen: I'm a mad Gummi fan. I always have Gummis in my trailer. But you can't eat too many because then you get Gummi tummy, and that's no good. I can't believe I'm saying this.
Jensen: I consider myself a non-denominational Christian. I grew up in a Bible church and still hold those beliefs very close to me.
Jensen: (on Supernatural) Other shows scare you with what they don't show. We definitely show it. I never know what I’m going to do each week.
Jensen: (on his show, Supernatural) It's an actual scary movie on every week.
Jensen: When I was a sophomore, a friend asked me to go to a local acting seminar with him. Two guys were very interested in me and wanted me to come out to L.A. I wanted to finish high school before doing anything like that. I figured they'd just forget about me, but they kept after me for two years.
Jensen: I used to be scared of uncertainty; now I get a high out of it.
Jensen: I have a buddy of mine who's a musician and I play guitar and sing quite a bit with him.
Jensen: (On the best gift he gave a woman) I would say it was a black pearl ring that I designed for her. The pearl I picked up in Tahiti at a market and fished through a bowl full of these pearls until I found my favorite one.
Jensen: (regarding Supernatural) I think just working with the show... learning what all this stuff means... like cold spots or certain electromagnetic waves or the crackling noises, the dimming lights and stuff like that that we do on a daily basis. This is stuff that is researched by the writers so now, when you're in a hotel room and it gets really cold and the lights start flickering it's like, "Alrighty! Where's my salt gun when I need it?"
Jensen: Being from Texas, I would say I favor a pair of jeans you can wear some boots with.
