Static Media
There are many ways to talk about Jared Padalecki’s career. You could gauge his work by the length of his iconically-floppy hairdo, which sometimes got too long, worked pretty well for him in the aughts, and has somehow circled back around to being in style again. You could talk about him as the King of The CW, a network that has leaned on him as a star for more than two decades, going all the way back to when it was called “The WB.” You could note that he hasn’t done much on film, probably as a result of his never-ending television schedule, but you could also note that in the 2000s, he ruled a number of fun horror movies anyway.
On the other hand, you could talk about Jared Padalecki the way he does: as a man just trying to provide for his family. “I’ve been absent a lot. When I’d get home to Austin, my kids [didn’t] understand that I’m not just skipping out,” he told Variety. “I’m working really hard — 18-hour days — to try and pay the mortgage and buy their food and pay for their school and their uniforms and their toys.”
That’s a bittersweet thing to reckon with for an actor who’s spent the better part of his life thus far entertaining millions of people. As Padalecki looks forward to joining yet the graphic superhero series “The Boys” at Prime Video, we’re taking a look back at what he’s done so far.
These are Jared Padalecki’s best movies and TV shows, ranked.
10. Cheaper By The Dozen (2003)
20th Century Fox
By the time Jared Padalecki was cast in the 2003 remake of “Cheaper By The Dozen,” he had already been playing Dean on “Gilmore Girls” for several years. That’s why it’s surprising to look back and realize his “Cheaper By The Dozen” character doesn’t even have a name. The film’s stacked cast was a real who’s-who of early-aughts celebs, including “That ’70s Show” regular Ashton Kutcher, “Lizzie McGuire” lead Hilary Duff, “Smallville” superhero Tom Welling, and Disney Channel (and Missy Elliott) regular Alyson Stoner; Padalecki probably could’ve fit right in as one of the main cast members.
Instead, “Cheaper By The Dozen” isn’t a particularly great showcase for Padalecki’s talents. Many of his early roles cast him as a swoon-worthy, emotionally-earnest romantic lead, but several played on the fact that he had quite a smug smile and a punchable bro-face. Here, he plays a random school bully who mocks Welling’s character Charlie for being a hick. He only pops up a few times throughout the film, including filling his rival’s gym locker with corn. (Kids hadn’t really learned how to cyberbully each other by 2003, so they had to make do with what they had.) In his biggest scene, he insults Charlie’s car. The jocks almost come to blows, which might’ve given Padalecki something interesting to do, but instead, Duff’s character diffuses the scene and Padalecki’s bully just disappears. All in all, it’s a disappointing entry in his filmography, but it’s still worth mentioning.
9. Flight of the Phoenix (2004)
20th Century Fox
Between “Flightplan,” “Red Eye,” “Snakes on a Plane,” “Passengers,” and more, it’s clear we were fascinated by scary things happening on planes in the 2000s. It’s almost as if something plane-related happened in the news early that decade that we tried to process through film. In fact, the year 2004 brought us two big entries in the plane-crash genre: the beloved TV series “Lost,” of course, but also “Flight of the Phoenix.” The Dennis Quad-led remake of the 1965 classic is about a plane full of oil rig workers who crash-land in the desert, fighting against each other and the elements as they attempt to repair their plane.
Like “Cheaper By The Dozen,” this is an ensemble piece, and Jared Padalecki competes for screen time with heavy-hitters like Giovanni Ribisi, Miranda Otto, and Tyrese Gibson. Padalecki loses handily, as his character barely makes it to the half-hour mark before perishing in the howling sand.
Still, he leaves a memorable mark on the film. Before the plane takes off, Padalecki’s character Davis puts on his lucky red baseball cap. The other characters accuse him of jinxing the flight, but he protests, “I haven’t crashed yet!” When the plane does go down, the other passengers blame him for cursing them. The thought eats away at him, ultimately leading to his death. There’s not much of a character to work with, but Padalecki does his best, and the sight of his body in the sand is one of the lackluster film’s most memorable visuals.
8. A Ring of Endless Light (2002)
The Disney Channel
In “A Ring of Endless Light,” a Disney Channel Original Movie from 2002, Jared Padalecki plays Zachery. The film centers on Vicky (Mischa Barton), a teenage girl who spends the summers on an island with her grandfather. Zachery is a troubled, yet hunky local boy who pursues Vicky, but she’s busy falling in love with a guy named Adam (Ryan Merriman) and also realizing that she can telepathically communicate with dolphins. (Trust us: it worked better in the original Madeleine L’Engle novel.)
“A Ring of Endless Light” stands out because it casts Padalecki in a role that combines the two main modes he worked in early in his career. He’s a romantic interest, to be sure, but he’s also a bit of a jerk, and it’s fun to watch Padalecki toe that line. See, for example, the scene where Zachery leaves his father’s yacht — where he’s been “working all day with his dad’s business pals” — to go help a dolphin that’s been trapped in a fishing net. His dad yells at him to get back on the boat, and Padalecki pauses. “Not today, Dad,” he says, puffing up his chest with pride. “I’ve got something actually important to do.” It’s exactly the kind of cheeseball secondary-leading-man moment the movie requires, and while it’s easy to roll your eyes at it, Padalecki pulls it off.
7. New York Minute (2004)
Warner Bros. Pictures
In 2004, right around when Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel) finally dumped Dean for good in favor of Jesse (Milo Ventimiglia), Jared Padalecki was paired with yet another icon of millennial girlhood in “New York Minute.” Make that icons, plural, since we’re talking about grown up “Full House” stars, the Olsen Twins.
“New York Minute” was one of only two “Olsen Twins” movies to get a theatrical release, the other being 1995’s “It Takes Two.” This time, the twins are teens, and they’re living in the Big Apple. Ashley Olsen plays Jane, the studious one, while Mary-Kate plays Roxy, an aspiring musician. Padalecki is Trey Lipton, the son of a senator; he’s a nice rich boy who gets swept up in the girls’ madcap adventures around the city. There’s a subplot about school truancy, a bit about a mysterious chip-reading device, a big speech someone has to give, and, of course, a makeover.
In other words, the movie isn’t great, but it’s a solid outing for Padalecki. He’s more Dean from “Gilmore Girls” than Unnamed Bully from “Cheaper By The Dozen,” asked mostly to show off his romantic chops. Yet again, it’s a role that doesn’t ask all that much from him, but he makes for a solid romantic lead for teenagers to crush on. And hey, the world needs those!
6. Cry_Wolf (2005)
Rogue Pictures
2005 was a banner year for Jared Padalecki. Finally, he was more or less done with “Gilmore Girls,” but that’s also the year “Supernatural” premiered (more on that below, as you might imagine). That same year also kicked off Padalecki’s side-career in horror movies. He starred in three slashers in the 2000s, putting that punchable-bro persona to good use as a Scream King you’re not too sad to see in danger.
“Cry_Wolf” is a campus horror movie. Padalecki plays Tom, annoying boarding school roommate to new kid Owen (Julian Morris). Thanks to their forced proximity, Owen is drawn into a sadistic game happening on school grounds. It’s something akin to “Murder” or “Mafia,” but in this case, someone is “The Wolf,” and they’re picking off Owen and Tom’s classmates.
Though this movie isn’t necessarily great, it’s a fun-enough time capsule of mid-2000s horror. A lot of tension in the film comes from ominous AIM messages, and it’s enjoyable to look back and see how we tried to wring suspense out of emerging technology, even if unsuccessfully. Also, both of Padalecki’s other horror movies are remakes — the decade was drowning in them — so “Cry_Wolf” at least gets points for coming up with its own story, derivative though it may be. Furthermore, the film features Jon Bon Jovi as a menacing teacher, so if you’ve ever wanted to see Sam Winchester match wits with the guy behind “Livin’ On A Prayer,” then this is the movie for you.
5. Walker (2021-2024)
The CW
Jared Padalecki left “Gilmore Girls” and went right into “Supernatural,” which ended in 2020. Starting in 2021, he anchored The CW’s reboot of the classic Chuck Norris show “Walker, Texas Ranger,” this time called simply “Walker.” The show lasted for four seasons before being canceled in 2024, meaning Padalecki has been a consistent presence on one network for more than two decades. That’s an impressive feat that few actors can boast.
“Walker” is the shortest-lasting of his three CW shows, and it’s the weakest. Nevertheless, there’s a lot to like. True procedurals are in short supply these days, and there’s something to be said about a solid show you can come back to each week — for lots of episodes each season — simply because you find the leads charming. Padalecki is definitely charming here, as he juts out his jaw, employs a light Southern drawl, and wins over good guys and bad guys alike through sheer force of will.
The original “Walker, Texas Ranger” had more of a case-of-the-week approach to solving crimes, but the reboot mixes those in with larger season-long arcs. Walker investigates the murder of his wife, the suspicious deaths of old military buddies, a shadowy organization called Jackal, and more, but perhaps the show could’ve benefited from a smaller focus. Still, these arcs bring the danger close to home for the character, and that means Padalecki gets material with some real emotional heft. More than two decades into his career, he shoulders it ably.
4. Gilmore Girls (2000-2016)
The CW
No matter which one of Rory Gilmore’s boyfriends you root for overall, there’s no denying that Dean — as her first — made an indelible mark on the series. Rory’s such a goody-two-shoes academic that it’s a smart character note to have her absolutely floundering when it comes to men, and Jared Padalecki’s performance as Dean is simultaneously adorable and infuriating. He’s exactly the kind of guy that a girl like Rory would fall for, and it’s easy to see why The CW fell in love with him as an actor at the same time.
At first, Dean’s a good guy, and it’s cute to watch Rory’s crush on the grocery store guy go from sweet to steamy. Later, though, Dean becomes a catalyst for all of Rory’s worst impulses, even though she leaves him for “bad boy” Jesse. The season 3 episode “They Shoot Gilmores, Don’t They?” is one of the show’s very best, finally resolving the simmering love triangle when Dean loses out on Rory’s heart. A season later, however, even though he’s now married, Rory and Dean wind up sleeping together. It’s a surprising turn for Rory, but thanks to Padalecki’s performance, we can see why she falls back into his arms. He’s familiar but exciting, safe yet thrilling, and everything a first boyfriend should be. As a first major role for an actor, it’s a very solid foundation on which to build a career.
3. Friday the 13th (2009)
Paramount Pictures
The 2009 “Friday the 13th” remake bites off a whole lot of material, adapting multiple iconic parts of the original franchise all at once. The opening act of the movie introduces and then summarily dispatches a whole host of 2000s-hot campers, cycling through characters like the very first film’s Pamela Voorhees very quickly. Jason wears a burlap sack over his head at first, as he did in “Friday the 13th Part 2,” and eventually, he finally finds that iconic hockey mask. Along the way, many of the “Friday the 13th” franchise’s best kills are recreated.
We don’t meet Jared Padalecki’s character Clay until half an hour into the film, which means he at least survives longer than he did in “Flight of the Phoenix.” He turns out to be the central character of this new adaptation, and he’s more than up to the task. At this point, Padalecki had been facing off against supernatural baddies on “Supernatural” for several years, meaning we easily believe him as a goodhearted, yet hunky camper trying to protect his friends from the machete-wielding maniac on their tail.
Not to spoil a 15-year old film too much, but the history of horror is littered with iconic Final Girls. It’s rare that we see a Final Guy make it all the way to the end of a movie, and “Friday the 13th” benefits a lot from having one as likable as Padalecki.
2. House of Wax (2005)
Warner Bros. Pictures
Many of those 2000s horror remakes were pretty bad, sapping their inspirations of any ingenuity or style in favor of a sweaty Platinum Dunes sheen. Jared Padalecki lucked out, because the two he starred in are two of the decade’s best remakes, giving us new versions of horror movies most ripe for reappraisal by modern audiences.
The 2005 version of “House of Wax” was heavily mocked on release, suffering from an advertising campaign that promised viewers would “See Paris Die!” (Paris Hilton, that is). Looking back, however, it’s easy to appreciate this movie as a lean, mean update of the original. When it comes to horror, mean is good! We don’t often have the courage to be mean these days, which is part of why the “Terrifier” films stand out! Plus, this movie was directed by Jaume Collet-Sera, the man behind “The Shallows” and several of Liam Neeson’s best post-“Taken” outings, and he knows his way around an action setpiece.
In this one, Padalecki plays Wade. He’s the boyfriend of Carly (Elisha Cuthbert), a girl on a road trip with friends. Unfortunately, their car breaks down. When Carly and Wade go looking for help, they find an old wax museum where the wax figures look shockingly lifelike. Before long, they find out why, when Wade has boiling-hot wax poured all over his head.
It’s a grotesque, memorable setpiece in a movie full of them, and it’s easily Padalecki’s best film work, earning its spot on this list.
1. Supernatural (2005-2020)
The CW
Of course Jared Padalecki’s best work is “Supernatural.” He has a devoted fanbase for life thanks to his role as Sam Winchester, the demon-hunting brother to Jensen Ackles’ Dean. In the show’s early seasons, the brothers came up against ghosts, witches, and ghouls, but as the series went on and things got significantly more complex, they fully fought God.
Through it all, the on-screen relationship between Padalecki and Ackles powered everything. Even during the show’s later years and through the worst seasons of “Supernatural,” when it could sometimes feel like the series was spinning its wheels, fans still tuned in to watch these two actors bicker lovingly and brawl against bad guys. Sam starts out as the nicer brother while Dean’s a wild child, giving the actors plenty of contrasting traits to play with, and they very quickly developed a rhythm and rapport that carried the show through even its most eyeroll-worthy moments.
Ackles moved on to “The Boys” and Padalecki went to “Walker,” but they both still reunite regularly on the convention circuit, meeting fans who spent a decade and a half tuning in to their performances. To that end, for a refresher on Padalecki’s lovable characterization of Sam, check out the season 3 episode “Bad Day at Black Rock.” Sam’s cursed with bad luck, and Padalecki’s hunky-puppydog charm is in full effect. You don’t know whether you want to shake him out of it, or hug him. Either way, you’re happy to watch this wayward son carry on.
