Jared Padalecki stars as Sam Winchester, the sweet, reluctant hero who joins his brother to save the world from demons and the unseen forces of the supernatural.  Previously, he had been best known for his starring role as Dean Forester, the boyfriend of Alexis Bledel's character, Rory, on Gilmore Girls.

Padalecki most recently starred in the 2009 remake of one of the most popular horror films of all time, Friday the 13th.  He also starred as famed artist Thomas Kinkade, alongside Peter O'Toole and Marcia Gay Harden, in the biopic Home for Christmas.  Based on the life of one of America's most collected living artists, the film dramatizes the inspiration behind one of Kinkade's most famous paintings, The Christmas Cottage.

His additional feature credits include the horror film House of Wax, with Chad Michael Murray and Paris Hilton; Cry Wolf, as a precocious boarding school student drawn into a "liar's club" hoax involving a serial killer; Flight of the Phoenix, opposite Dennis Quaid and Giovanni Ribisi; New York Minute, with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen; and Cheaper by the Dozen, starring Steve Martin.

Previously, Padalecki spent two months in Australia filming the lead in the television movie A Ring of Endless Light based on the novel by Madeline L'Engle, and landed the coveted title role in The WB's telefilm Young MacGyver.

In the world of television, he hosted MTV's Room 401.  The series, from executive producers Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg, took viewers on a weekly, mind-blowing journey in which talented, up-and-coming illusionists scared and deceived innocent bystanders.

Born and raised in San Antonio, Padalecki won the 2000 Presidential Scholar Award for the National Foundation for Advancement of the Arts, in a theater competition comprising over 7,000 entrants.

Padelecki currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia.