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20 Things You Didn't Know About Jensen Ackles

Jensen Ackles 1

For a lot of people, chances are good that Jensen Ackles is familiar to them because of his role as one of the two main characters on Supernatural. However, it is important to note that he is more than just Dean Winchester, since he has had a number of successful roles in a number of other works, which range from films to other TV shows. Furthermore, it is interesting to note that he has talents beside his acting, as shown by his role as a director as well as his surprising ability when it comes to singing a tune. As a result, those who are interested in him should be glad to know that there is plenty of information out there just waiting to be read by them.

Here are 20 things that you may or may not know about Jensen Ackles:

1. Was Once a Child Model

When he was 4, Ackles started modeling. However, it was a rather intermittent thing, as shown by how he stopped modeling at some point before starting again at the age of 10. It was not until much later that Ackles became interested in acting.  Good thing he picked it up too.

2. Has a Lifelong Love of Sports

Ackles is a huge sports fan, which can be seen in his hobbies. For example, he played not just baseball but also lacrosse when he was in high school, which is interesting because the two sports call for different skill sets because of the differences in their play. Furthermore, it should be noted that he is a big fan of the Dallas Cowboys, which can claim one of the proudest histories in the NFL.

3. Planned to Study Sports Medicine

For that matter, Ackles's love of sports can be seen in how he had been planning to study sports medicine at Texas Tech University, which would have been important for his plans to become a physical therapist. However, he had a change of mind, which is why he headed to the city of Los Angeles in order to start his acting career instead of staying in the state of Texas to follow the plan that he had laid out for himself.

4. Appeared on a Soap Opera

He had a number of small roles on a number of shows, but in time, he landed a permanent role on the soap opera Days of Our Lives. In it, he played Eric Brady, who was the child of one of the soap opera world's super-couples at the time as well as the better-behaved one out of a set of twins. Ackles held the role from 1997 to 2000, which is when he accepted a development deal with ABC. At which point, his character was written out of the soap opera as leaving because of heartbreak.

5. Won Awards For His Soap Opera Appearance

Ackles actually received a fair amount of positive attention from his appearance on Days of Our Lives, which in turn, contributed to his later success in other acting pursuits. This can be seen in the award and other acknowledgements that he won for his role as Eric Brady. For example, he won the Soap Opera Digest Award for Best Male Newcomer in 1998. Furthermore, he was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in Drama Series in 1998, 1999, and 2000.

6. Auditioned for the Role of Superman

At one point, Ackles auditioned for the role of Clark Kent on Smallville, which was a TV show about the famous superhero in his teenage years. He did not receive the role, which went to Tom Welling instead, but he did make an appearance in later seasons as Jason Teague, who was meant to serve as an antagonist to Clark Kent as well as a love interest for Lana Lang, thus creating a love triangle of sorts.

7. Appeared on Dark Angel As Not One But Two Characters

At around the same time, Ackles also auditioned for a role on James Cameron's Dark Angel, which was about the exploits of a genetically-engineered super-soldier on the run from government authorities in a post-apocalyptic world. In it, he played one of the other genetically-engineered super-soldiers who had escaped at the same time as the lead character, thus making his character a siblings of sorts to Jessica Alba's character. Later, he played a clone of the aforementioned character, who was much more stable than his predecessor, until the show's cancellation in 2002.

8. Played Father and Son with His Father

In 2005, Ackles played the lead role on Devour, which was a horror film with supernatural elements that leave the character wondering if he had imagined it all as a way of covering up what he had done. It is interesting to note that Ackles's father, actor Alan Ackles, played Ackles's father on the film. Unfortunately, the film was neither a critical success nor a commercial success, as shown by its ratings by movie-goers as well as the figures in the box office.

9. Had a Professional Theater Debut in 2007

In 2007, Ackles had his professional debut in the world of theater when he appeared in a production of A Few Good Men that ran between June 5 and June 10. For those who are unfamiliar with the work, it tells the story of military lawyers who uncover a high-level conspiracy while defending two U.S. marines who have been charged for murder. Ackles played LTJG Daniel A. Kaffee, which is a role for which he received much praise.

10. Voiced a Superhero in 2010

Most people are familiar with Batman, but fewer people are familiar with all of his supporting cast. In 2010, Ackles served as the voice of Jason Todd in the animated film Batman: Under the Red Hood, who started out as a Robin but became the antihero Red Hood after he had become missing in action after an encounter with the Joker. In it, he and his previous mentor clashed about the best way to fight super-villains, with the Red Hood taking a harder and much harsher line than Batman, who is committed to never killing his enemies.

11. Was Named Using a Family Name

Initially, Ackles's parents had thought about naming him Justin, but refrained because they thought that it sounded too common. After some thought, they decided to name him Jensen, which was the family name of someone that they had come upon while looking through the hymnal at their church. Fortunately for him, his parents were not the only ones who like the name, as shown by the fact that it is the single most popular family name in Denmark as well as at least one director who changed the name of a character to Jensen after meeting him.

12. Used to Wear Contact Lenses

Ackles used to wear contact lenses. However, he had LASIK eye surgery in May of 2009, which corrected the eye problem that necessitated those contact lenses. For people who are unfamiliar with the procedure, the surgeon uses either a blade or a laser to create a flap in the cornea of the eye, folds it back, excises some of the underlying tissue with another laser, and then lay the flap back into place. Although this sounds rather painful and complicated, it actually produces significant benefits in exchange for a small amount of risk, as shown by the fact that 96 percent of patients are said to achieve either 20/20 vision or something better after getting it done on their eyes.

13. Loves Country Music

He has stated that he is a fan of country music, with Garth Brooks being a particular favorite. For that matter, Jensen is capable of singing as well as playing the guitar, which he has shown on a number of occasions to the surprise of those who do not know him very well. In fact, he has even contributed to a couple of songs on a couple of commercial albums, albeit while collaborating with someone else. One is Angeles on Sharing the Covers while collaborating with Steve Carlson, while the other is Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas on Christmas with Friends while collaborating with Jason Manns.

14. Has a Cockapoo

It sounds ridiculous, but the Cockapoo is a real breed of dog. To be precise, it is a crossbreed between the Cocker spaniel and the poodle, which explains the portmanteau nature of their name. Cockapoos are relatively popular dogs because they combine the friendly nature of the Cocker spaniel with the low-shedding nature of the poodle, thus making them particularly well-suited for people who want a loyal companion. Ackles's Cockapoo is named Icarus, which was the name of a boy who flew too close to the sun on manufactured wings in Greek mythology and suffered for it when the heat melted the wax holding them together.

15. His Most Prized Possession Is a Necklace

Ackles has stated that his single most prized possession is a necklace that he made himself. This is understandable when one learns that he made the necklace as a way of honoring one of his friends, who was killed by a drunk driver when they were still in school.

16. His Fellow Students Teased Him for His Modeling

While he was in middle school, some of Ackles's fellow students found one of the ads for which he had modeled. After which, they proceeded to print numerous copies of the ad before proceeding to plaster it through their school. Ackles remembers it being one of the most embarrassing moments in his life, but considering that he was able to buy a car with the money that he had made from his modeling by the age of 16, it is safe to say that he had the last laugh on the matter.

17. Was Considered for the Marvel Cinematic Universe

At one point, Marvel wanted Ackles to play either Captain America or Hawkeye in their Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. However, Ackles felt that it would be a huge commitment of time and effort, meaning that it would conflict with his previous commitments to Supernatural. As a result, he turned down the offer because he has stated on more than one occasion that he is a genuine fan of the TV show, meaning that he wanted to be able to give his all for it instead of having to split his time and attention between different things.

18. His Family Has Appeared on Supernatural

Interestingly, all but one of his family members have made appearances on Supernatural. For example, his father appeared as a detective on Heartache, which was one of the episodes on Season 8 of the show. Similarly, his sister Mackenzie has appeared not once but twice in Seasons 2 and 7. Finally, even his mother has technically appeared on the show as an extra in one of the episodes. That leaves out his brother as well as his spouse plus their daughter, though whether this will change remains to be seen in the future.

19. Has Won Awards for Bromance

Amusingly, Ackles actually won a People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Bromance in 2014 with not just Jared Padalecki but also Misha Collins, who play his brother on the show and an angel who sometimes walk upon the earth respectively. Furthermore, he has won a Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Chemistry in 2015 with Misha Collins. Together, these awards speak volumes about the fandom for Supernatural as well as their continuing appreciation for their favorite characters.

20. Has Hilarious Reactions to Fanfiction

Supernatural has a thriving fandom. In particular, it has a thriving fandom with a strong interest in fanfiction, which is something that has been noted by the show as well as the actors on the show. Considering the nature of fanfiction, it should come as no surprise to learn that they have had some hilarious reactions to the strangest and silliest examples both in-character and out-of-character. Of particular note is the characters' reaction to learning about the existence of fanfiction featuring the two as a couple even though they are brothers, which mirrored Ackles's mix of bemusement and bewilderment in real life.

Garrett Parker

Written by Garrett Parker

Garrett by trade is a personal finance freelance writer and journalist. With over 10 years experience he's covered businesses, CEOs, and investments. However he does like to take on other topics involving some of his personal interests like automobiles, future technologies, and anything else that could change the world.

Read more posts by Garrett Parker

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