Considering how long he's been acting, even I sometimes forget that Jensen Ackles' first big TV role was not in the genre shows that he's become known for, but in . Ackles is a hot commodity in Hollywood these days, taking the fame, fandom, and leverage he gained during his time on Supernatural and using them to become a true powerhouse in the industry. Since Supernatural ended in 2020, Jensen Ackles has been savvy about his career choices in front of and behind the camera and his career has transformed.
Jensen Ackles' post-Supernatural movie and TV career has kept him busy. He provided narration for the Supernatural spinoff The Winchesters and has an ongoing role voicing the animated Batman. Ackles is the reigning king of Prime Video, set to lead the action show Countdown, and his character of Soldier Boy a fixture in The Boys universe. He's even become the most anticipated guest star in CBS' hit show Tracker. He's also dabbled behind the camera, directing an episode of Jared Padalecki's Walker and serving as executive producer on several shows. With his career having grown in a very specific way, it makes Jensen Ackles' first major TV role even wilder to think about.
While most people came to know Jensen Ackles from his 15 seasons playing Dean Winchester on Supernatural, if they didn't already know him from Dark Angel and Smallville, fewer people may know he actually got his start on a daytime soap opera. It may come as a surprise to them to learn that .
As is common in soaps, Ackles was actually the sixth actor to play the character, with four other actors portraying the character at younger stages of his life from infancy to adulthood, and a fifth actor providing a one-episode voiceover.
While some soap stars stick with their soaps for years, becoming mainstays of their series, many actors stay for just a few years and then move on. Such was the case for Ackles, who played the character for three years from 1997-2000 before departing after he struck a development deal with ABC. From the start, Ackles popped on screen as one of those rare talents you just know will be a big name some day. Audiences and voters recognized it, with Ackles being nominated for a Daytime Emmy three years in a row in the category of Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series.
While some people may have forgotten that's how Ackles got his start, however, Supernatural sure didn't. The beloved show had plenty of memorable experimental episodes throughout its 327-episode run, with the show breaking genre rules and dabbling in metahumor in a way few other shows have done before or since. One of those standout episodes was
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In the episode, Sam and Dean are zapped into an alternate reality where they are actors named "Jared Padalecki" and "Jensen Ackles" who star in a show about demon-hunting brothers named – you guessed it – Supernatural. Sam and Dean have no idea how to act, but must pretend and muddle their way through alongside their alt-universe co-star character, "Misha Collins." Sam and Dean soon find that supernatural entities don't exist in this universe, and their real lives are merely fodder for a fictional TV show in the alternate universe, making "The French Mistake" full meta in a delightfully demented way.
The Supernatural episode doesn't miss a beat. Throughout the episode, it incorporates details from Ackles' and Padalecki's real lives as part of their fictional actor characters. One Easter egg was placed there specifically as a joke for Ackles: As Sam researches their characters, he finds a Days of Our Lives clip featuring a younger Ackles as Eric Brady. The moment found Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester acting as "Jensen Ackles" watching a real show of Jensen Ackles' turned into a fictional show starring "Jensen Ackles" in an alternate universe. If that sentence just confused you, then "The French Mistake" did its job.
Eternal bro Dean is mortified to see his alt-universe character was on a daytime soap opera, and quickly slams the laptop shut. It's a moment obviously played for laughs, but it becomes all the more humorous when you consider how Jensen Ackles' career has panned out since Days of Our Lives. Ackles has made a name for himself playing rugged tough guys, often with a hefty dose of cheeky swagger and dashes of toxic masculinity. The best Jensen Ackles characters are all ultra-capable, highly skilled fighters in some way:
By contrast, his first big role of Eric Brady was quite different. As a twin, Eric was the quintessential example of a good boy who always followed the rules. Romantic and sensitive, Eric was often the only stable character in a sea of drama. It's a far cry from the characters Ackles has come to be known for, who have never once been rule-followers. They are instead the ones usually causing chaos and would likely be offended if you were to describe them as "sensitive." Rewatching clips of Jensen Ackles in now is pleasantly jarring, and it shows just how far he's come.
