Jensen Ackles
Jensen Ackles | |
|---|---|
 Ackles at the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con International | |
| Born | Jensen Ross Ackles |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1995–present |
Jensen Ross Ackles (born March 1, 1978) is an American actor. He is notable for his television roles as Eric Brady in Days of our Lives which earned him several Daytime Emmy Award nominations, as Alec/X5-494 in Dark Angel, and as Jason Teague in Smallville. He currently plays Dean Winchester on the CW series Supernatural.
Early life
Ackles was born in Dallas, Texas, the son of Donna Joan (née Shaffer) and Alan Roger Ackles, an actor.[1] Ackles has a brother, Joshua, who's three years older, and sister, Mackenzie, who's seven years younger, and is of English, Irish and Scottish ancestry.[2] He had planned to study sports medicine at Texas Tech University and become a physical therapist but instead moved to Los Angeles to start his acting career.[3]
Career
After modeling on and off since the age of 4, 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.[4]
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 of the young Clark Kent on Smallville, but it was offered to actor Tom Welling instead.[5] After failing to land the part, he appeared in a guest role on the James Cameron television series Dark Angel on Fox in 2001 as serial killer Ben/X5-493, the "brother" of 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 sane clone, 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 its 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,[6] Ackles turned down the role, which was then offered to another actor and the character's name was changed to "Jensen" because the producers of Tru Calling liked Ackles' name. Ackles returned to Vancouver (where Dark Angel was filmed) in 2004 to become a regular on Smallville playing the assistant football coach Jason Teague, who was also the newest romantic interest for Lana Lang (played by Kristin Kreuk). He also had a lead role in the 2005 film Devour in which Ackles' father, actor Alan Ackles, also had a role playing the father of Ackles' character, Jake Gray.
Most recently, Ackles joined the cast of the CW horror/drama series Supernatural in 2005, where he stars as Dean Winchester. Dean and his brother Sam (Jared Padalecki) drive throughout the United States hunting paranormal predators, sometimes with their father, (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). The fifth season began broadcast on September 10, 2009.[7]
In the summer of 2007, Ackles took on the role of Priestly in the independent comedy Ten Inch Hero. The film began hitting the film festival circuit in early 2007 and Ackles received high praise for his comedic timing in the role. In February 2009, the film was released on DVD exclusively by Blockbuster Home Video.He also appeared on stage from June 5-10, 2007 with Lou Diamond Phillips in A Few Good Men at Casa Mañana Theatre in Fort Worth, Texas, as Lt. Daniel Kaffee. Ackles received strong praise for his work in this role, which was also his professional theatre debut.
In the summer of 2008, Ackles was cast in the remake of the cult film My Bloody Valentine 3D, which opened nationwide on January 16, 2009.
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 2001 | Blonde | Eddie G | TV film |
| 2004 | The Plight of Clownana | Jensen | |
| 2005 | Devour | Jake Gray | |
| 2007 | Ten Inch Hero | Priestly | |
| 2009 | My Bloody Valentine 3D | Tom Hanniger | |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1996 | Wishbone | Michael Duss | "¡Viva Wishbone!" |
| Sweet Valley High | Brad | "All Along in the Water Tower" | |
| 1996-1997 | Mr. Rhodes | Malcolm | Seven episodes, recurring character |
| 1997 | Cybill | David | "The Wedding" |
| 1997-2000 | Days of our Lives | Eric Brady | Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Male Newcomer Nominated — Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series (1998) Nominated — Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series (1999) Nominated — Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series (2000) |
| 2001-2002 | Dark Angel | Ben/X5-493 and Alec/X5-494 | Nineteen episodes, main character |
| 2002-2003 | Dawson's Creek | C.J. | Twelve episodes, supporting character |
| 2003-2004 | Still Life | Max Morgan | Six episodes |
| 2004-2005 | Smallville | Jason Teague | Twenty-two episodes, main character |
| 2005–present | Supernatural | Dean Winchester | Eighty-two episodes, main character Nominated — Teen Choice Award for Choice Breakout Star - TV |
References
- ^ "Jensen Ackles Biography (1978-)".
- ^ "Hooked on horror".
- ^ "Jensen Ackles: Biography". TV Guide. Retrieved 2009-06-29.
- ^ "Awards for Jensen Ackles". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-01-25.
- ^ Tom Welling, Jensen Ackles (2006-03-26). 25 Things You Didn't Know About Supernatural (Television). TV Guide Network.
- ^ "Jensen Ackles". Series Magazine. October 2004. Retrieved 2007-01-25.[dead link]
- ^ Levin, Gary (2006-08-17). "The new CW will build on old favorites". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-01-25.
External links
