Jensen Ackles
- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Jensen Ross Ackles, better known as simply Jensen Ackles, was born on
March 1, 1978, in Dallas, Texas, to Donna Joan (Shaffer) and actor
Alan Ackles. He has English, German, and
Scottish ancestry. Jensen grew up in Richardson, Texas, together with
his older brother, Joshua, and a younger sister, Mackenzie. Jensen
graduated from Dartmouth Elementary School in 1990, he graduated from
Apollo Junior High School in 1993, and LV Berkner High School in 1996.
Jensen is a sports junkie. He loves football, lacrosse, baseball and
basketball. He even played on the baseball and lacrosse teams in high
school. The 6' 1" actor first started modeling when he was just 2 years
old. When he turned 4, he started appearing in TV commercials for
Nabisco, RadioShack and Wal-Mart. He caught the acting bug because he
was mostly influenced by his father, who was an actor in Dallas. He
used to watch his father study scripts, and that taught him a few
things about the industry. During his later years in high school, he
started taking theater classes, where he claimed he was the only "jock"
in that department. When he was just a sophomore, a friend of Jensen
had asked him to attend a local acting seminar. Two guys, Craig Wargo,
and an agent, 'Michael Einfeld', were interested in Jensen's talent and
wanted him to go to Los Angeles with them.
Jensen had to say no to the offer and admitted at one point, he thought
they would forget about him but, eventually, when he went to Los
Angeles, he still managed to get help from them. Prior to that, Jensen
actually planned to study sports medicine at Texas Tech University and
become a physical therapist, before he decided to move to Los Angeles
to give acting a try. In 1996, he managed to secure guest roles on
several TV shows, which included
Wishbone (1995),
Mr. Rhodes (1996)
and
Sweet Valley High (1994).
Jensen's big break came when he was cast in the NBC soap opera,
Days of Our Lives (1965),
as Eric Brady in 1997. He won a Soap Opera Digest Award for Best Male
Newcomer in 1998, and was 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 (1965).
After spending about three years on a soap set, he left
Days of Our Lives (1965)
and went on to appear in the mini-series
Blonde (2001), which was about the
life of Marilyn Monroe, playing Eddie G.
He also auditioned for the role of Clark Kent on
Smallville (2001), but lost the
part to Tom Welling, instead.
Not giving up hope, he went for a few auditions and managed to secure a
guest role on the popular
James Cameron TV series,
Dark Angel (2000), as serial
killer Ben/X5-493, the brother of main character Max/X5-452, who was
played by Jessica Alba. His character died
in the episode, but Jensen eventually returned to the show as a regular
in the second season as Ben's clone, Alec/X5-494 and continued on until
the show's cancellation in 2002. In 2003, he joined the cast of
Dawson's Creek (1998), playing
the role of C.J., Jen Lindley's lover. He also filmed episodes of the
TV series, Still Life (2003),
playing the role of Max Morgan, not knowing that the series was
actually dropped. He also had a small role in the short film,
The Plight of Clownana (2004),
playing the role of Jensen. That same year, he was offered the part of
Eliza Dushku's love interest on the second
season of Tru Calling (2003).
Jensen, however, turned down the role which was later offered to
another actor,
Eric Christian Olsen. He was
subsequently cast on
Smallville (2001), as Assistant
football coach Jason Teague, the new love interest of Lana Lang. In
2005, Jensen managed to earn a lead role in the movie,
Devour (2005), playing the role of
Jake Gray. Jensen also earned the opportunity to work his father, actor
Alan Ackles, who happened to play his
character's father, Paul Kilton. The movie, however, received mixed
reviews from the public.
That same year, Jensen joined the cast of the CW series,
Supernatural (2005), where he
plays the role of Dean Winchester. Dean and his brother Sam, who is
played by Jared Padalecki, are brothers
who drive throughout the United States hunting paranormal predators,
sometimes with their father, John Winchester, played by
Jeffrey Dean Morgan. It was reported
that the creator of the show, Eric Kripke,
mentioned that the show will last for a maximum of five seasons. In
2006, Jensen took on a role in the Independently filmed comedy/drama
movie, Ten Inch Hero (2007), which
explores the theme of honesty and the flaw of judging by appearances.
In 2007 the film began a limited run at number of film festivals
including the Newport Beach Film Festival, Phoenix Film Festival and
the Santa Cruz Film Festival but never made it into major mainstream
theatrical release. In the Spring of 2008 Ten Inch Hero was released
onto DVD exclusively through Blockbuster. Jensen however, received high
praise for his work as Priestly, who one of the movie's more quirky
characters.
From June 5-10 in 2007 Jensen had his professional stage debut as Lt.
Daniel Kaffee in "A Few Good Men" at Casa Manana Theatre in Fort Worth,
Texas, working along side
Lou Diamond Phillips. This proved
to be another successful acting venture for Jensen, as critics were
impressed with his work in this role. During his free time, Jensen
enjoys golfing, horseback riding, scuba diving and photography. He is
also a big fan of country music. His favorite musician is
Garth Brooks. He even sang back-up
vocals on good friend
Steve Carlson's albums "Spot in
the Corner" and "Rollin' On." In the summer of 2008 Jensen traveled to
Kittaning, PA to film the horror/thriller movie,
My Bloody Valentine (2009),
which was filmed in the cutting edge Real D technology, Jensen played
the lead role of Tom Hanniger and starred alongside
Jaime King and
Kerr Smith.
Jensen splits his time between Vancouver, British Columbia where he films Supernatural (2005) and his home in Austin, Texas.
March 1, 1978, in Dallas, Texas, to Donna Joan (Shaffer) and actor
Alan Ackles. He has English, German, and
Scottish ancestry. Jensen grew up in Richardson, Texas, together with
his older brother, Joshua, and a younger sister, Mackenzie. Jensen
graduated from Dartmouth Elementary School in 1990, he graduated from
Apollo Junior High School in 1993, and LV Berkner High School in 1996.
Jensen is a sports junkie. He loves football, lacrosse, baseball and
basketball. He even played on the baseball and lacrosse teams in high
school. The 6' 1" actor first started modeling when he was just 2 years
old. When he turned 4, he started appearing in TV commercials for
Nabisco, RadioShack and Wal-Mart. He caught the acting bug because he
was mostly influenced by his father, who was an actor in Dallas. He
used to watch his father study scripts, and that taught him a few
things about the industry. During his later years in high school, he
started taking theater classes, where he claimed he was the only "jock"
in that department. When he was just a sophomore, a friend of Jensen
had asked him to attend a local acting seminar. Two guys, Craig Wargo,
and an agent, 'Michael Einfeld', were interested in Jensen's talent and
wanted him to go to Los Angeles with them.
Jensen had to say no to the offer and admitted at one point, he thought
they would forget about him but, eventually, when he went to Los
Angeles, he still managed to get help from them. Prior to that, Jensen
actually planned to study sports medicine at Texas Tech University and
become a physical therapist, before he decided to move to Los Angeles
to give acting a try. In 1996, he managed to secure guest roles on
several TV shows, which included
Wishbone (1995),
Mr. Rhodes (1996)
and
Sweet Valley High (1994).
Jensen's big break came when he was cast in the NBC soap opera,
Days of Our Lives (1965),
as Eric Brady in 1997. He won a Soap Opera Digest Award for Best Male
Newcomer in 1998, and was 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 (1965).
After spending about three years on a soap set, he left
Days of Our Lives (1965)
and went on to appear in the mini-series
Blonde (2001), which was about the
life of Marilyn Monroe, playing Eddie G.
He also auditioned for the role of Clark Kent on
Smallville (2001), but lost the
part to Tom Welling, instead.
Not giving up hope, he went for a few auditions and managed to secure a
guest role on the popular
James Cameron TV series,
Dark Angel (2000), as serial
killer Ben/X5-493, the brother of main character Max/X5-452, who was
played by Jessica Alba. His character died
in the episode, but Jensen eventually returned to the show as a regular
in the second season as Ben's clone, Alec/X5-494 and continued on until
the show's cancellation in 2002. In 2003, he joined the cast of
Dawson's Creek (1998), playing
the role of C.J., Jen Lindley's lover. He also filmed episodes of the
TV series, Still Life (2003),
playing the role of Max Morgan, not knowing that the series was
actually dropped. He also had a small role in the short film,
The Plight of Clownana (2004),
playing the role of Jensen. That same year, he was offered the part of
Eliza Dushku's love interest on the second
season of Tru Calling (2003).
Jensen, however, turned down the role which was later offered to
another actor,
Eric Christian Olsen. He was
subsequently cast on
Smallville (2001), as Assistant
football coach Jason Teague, the new love interest of Lana Lang. In
2005, Jensen managed to earn a lead role in the movie,
Devour (2005), playing the role of
Jake Gray. Jensen also earned the opportunity to work his father, actor
Alan Ackles, who happened to play his
character's father, Paul Kilton. The movie, however, received mixed
reviews from the public.
That same year, Jensen joined the cast of the CW series,
Supernatural (2005), where he
plays the role of Dean Winchester. Dean and his brother Sam, who is
played by Jared Padalecki, are brothers
who drive throughout the United States hunting paranormal predators,
sometimes with their father, John Winchester, played by
Jeffrey Dean Morgan. It was reported
that the creator of the show, Eric Kripke,
mentioned that the show will last for a maximum of five seasons. In
2006, Jensen took on a role in the Independently filmed comedy/drama
movie, Ten Inch Hero (2007), which
explores the theme of honesty and the flaw of judging by appearances.
In 2007 the film began a limited run at number of film festivals
including the Newport Beach Film Festival, Phoenix Film Festival and
the Santa Cruz Film Festival but never made it into major mainstream
theatrical release. In the Spring of 2008 Ten Inch Hero was released
onto DVD exclusively through Blockbuster. Jensen however, received high
praise for his work as Priestly, who one of the movie's more quirky
characters.
From June 5-10 in 2007 Jensen had his professional stage debut as Lt.
Daniel Kaffee in "A Few Good Men" at Casa Manana Theatre in Fort Worth,
Texas, working along side
Lou Diamond Phillips. This proved
to be another successful acting venture for Jensen, as critics were
impressed with his work in this role. During his free time, Jensen
enjoys golfing, horseback riding, scuba diving and photography. He is
also a big fan of country music. His favorite musician is
Garth Brooks. He even sang back-up
vocals on good friend
Steve Carlson's albums "Spot in
the Corner" and "Rollin' On." In the summer of 2008 Jensen traveled to
Kittaning, PA to film the horror/thriller movie,
My Bloody Valentine (2009),
which was filmed in the cutting edge Real D technology, Jensen played
the lead role of Tom Hanniger and starred alongside
Jaime King and
Kerr Smith.
Jensen splits his time between Vancouver, British Columbia where he films Supernatural (2005) and his home in Austin, Texas.