12 years ago, a dangerous cult based on demonology, witchcraft, classic cars was formed. And what’s more fun than demons, angels and some hunters that enjoy what they do? Finding out some fun facts about the Supernatural show & cast.
30. What’s in a Name
While the exact details on how the creators came upon the last name Winchester remain unclear, the last name of Supernatural’s first family coincidentally is shared by a famous California mansion.
As the story goes, there is a mansion in California which was built by Sarah Winchester, the wife of a gun magnate. The Winchester mansion was reported to have been under constant construction and renovation for 38 years with sources citing paranormal reasons for the continuous additions.
As the legend goes, Mrs. Winchester was constantly renovating the mansion as the result of a medium revealing to her that if she were to ever stop building she would be murdered by the spirits of those that died at the hands of Winchester rifles.
Some of the mansion’s random features include bizarre dead ends within the home and stairs that lead to nowhere – both which were reported to help confuse spirits.
29. Misha Collins: Software Guru
When Misha Collins broke into the Supernatural world back in Season Four fans quickly rallied around his character and many fans wondered where Collins had been hiding before his breakthrough role. As it turns out, Collins wasn’t hiding anywhere, but rather he was working in a very different industry.
Before landing the role of Castiel on Supernatural, Collins ran his very own software company. As his acting career picked up Collins realized that it was his acting roles, not his software sales, keeping the business afloat and he ultimately decided to close the business down to pursue acting full-time.
28. Rock, Paper, Scissors King
In the early stages of the series, Sam and Dean often referred to the age-old tradition of Rock, Paper, Scissors to solve their dilemmas. Interestingly enough, whenever the brothers broke out into a spur-of-the-moment game, luck never seemed to be on Dean’s side.
The reason: like so many Rock, Paper, Scissors players, Dean always selected the same item when playing a game. So which item is Dean’s choice? Turns out Dean always chooses Scissors!
27. Charmed Casting Moves
Back in the day before The WB officially became The CW, Supernatural briefly shared the airwaves with a little show named Charmed. However, upon a quick look through both series’ IMdB pages, you might notice that the two series shared more than just the same original network.
Back before they joined the Supernatural family, actors Sebastian Roché (Balthazar), Mark Sheppard (Crowley) and Misha Collins (Castiel) all appeared in minor roles on the hit supernatural drama Charmed.
Both Roché and Sheppard appeared on the series as demonic characters, while Collins guest stared as an innocent who Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) saves from a dangerous group of demons – looks like poor Misha has been battling demons for a lot longer than we thought!
26. The Federal Bureau of Justice, United States Department of Investigation.
Have you ever taken a good, long look at Sam and Dean’s faux F.B.I. badges? If you have, chances are you quickly noticed that their batches never say Federal Bureau of Investigation on them.
The reason? It is illegal to create a fake F.B.I. badge, even when said badge will only be used as a prop on a television set. So just who have the Winchester brothers been “working” for all these years? Instead of using the official F.B.I. name, each of Sam and Dean’s badges read: The Federal Bureau of Justice, United States Department of Investigation.
25. Never Question Your Success
Let’s be honest. Looking back to Supernatural’s premiere in September 2005, would you ever have guessed that the series would still be going strong all these years later? If you said no, don’t feel bad because apparently not many of the series’ cast members ever dreamed the series would live on this long.
In the past, Misha Collins has revealed that at the series’ 100th episode celebration, an un-named individual stated something along the lines of “Maybe we’ll see you at the 200th” to which everyone in attendance chuckled at in disbelief. Not only did the series manage to hit the 200 episode mark in October 2014, but everyone’s favorite drama continues to show no signs of slowing down anytime soon!
24. Ask and You Shall Receive
It’s no secret that Supernatural has a strong female following, and needless to say its legions of female fans are some of the most vocal fans in the world.
Back in the day, these legions of fans rallied and used their power to urge Supernatural creator Eric Kripke to cut back on Sam and Dean’s wardrobe budget – in other words they wanted more shirtless scenes. Ever a man of the fans, Kripke decided to give the fans what they wanted.
In an interview given way back in the day, Kripke revealed that he specifically created Season One’s Skin (Episode Six) as a way to incorporate a shirtless scene for Dean. Later in the season, he would add a shirtless scene for Sam into Episode 17’s Hell House as another effort to give the fans what they wanted.
23. Do You Want to Play a Demon?
If you were to Google “roles that went to other actors” you would get an endless list of articles going on about famous roles that almost went to another actor – after all it’s no secret that casting directors/producers can’t always secure their No. 1 selection.
As a result, these “back-up/Plan-B” actors that actually win the roles go on to win fans over. So when you hear that another actor/actress was the first choice for the role, you can’t fathom anyone other than the character’s portrayer playing them. So here’s a fun “one that got away” casting blip.
Remember good ole’ Ruby? Turns out Katie Cassidy wasn’t the first choice for the role. The role of Ruby was actually written specifically for Kristen Bell – that’s right Princess Anna was almost one of Supernatural’s most memorable demons of all-time. Bell was offered the role, she passed, and the part ultimately went to Cassidy.
22. I Don’t Know About You, But I’m Feeling 22
Okay, now that you’ve rolled your eyes by my choice for this slide’s title, let’s get back on task.
Remember back in the golden days when the Winchesters’ biggest threat was the infamous Yellow Eyed Demon? Good, because Mr. Yellow Eyes happens to be the focus of our No. 22 fact.
As die-hard fans may know, director Eric Kripke opted to re-introduce the Yellow Eyed Demon into Sam’s life 22 years to the day that he first disappeared because of the secret numerology behind the number 22. As it turns out, 22 is known as the number associated with realizing goals beyond personal ambition – thus the return of old Yellow Eyes.
21. Rolling with the Punches
If you’re like me you probably had a hard time believing Sam’s ridiculous story at the beginning of Season 10 explaining why his shoulder was in a sling – come on you honestly think we believe that one little demon battle inflicted this injury?
Turns out Sam’s injury was actually inflicted by his portrayer – Jared Padalecki.
Prior to the start of production on Season 10, Padalecki dislocated his shoulder over the summer while goofing around with Supernatural alum Osric Chau (Kevin Tran) in a green room at a summer convention. Due to time restrictions, the writers were forced to write the injury into series and the rest is history.
20. A Little Disney Magic
Everyone loves a little Disney magic! Everyone except for the good people behind Supernatural that is.
If you’ve been paying close attention, you may have noticed that whenever the Winchester brothers take on a siren they all share a common similarity: they are always named after a Disney heroine.
For example, way back in the Season Four episode Sex and Violence, Sam and Dean investigate a string of deaths which end up being linked back to a siren named Belle (which happens to be the princess at the center of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast). Across the various seasons, Sam and Dean have also encountered sirens with the name Ariel (The Little Mermaid), Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), and Jasmine (Aladdin). It would appear the Supernatural writers are not the biggest fans of Disney princesses!
19. Get Well Soon
Back in Season 8, fans will recall Sam underwent a string of grueling tasks as part of the Demon Trials storyline. During this time, Sam was seem as sickly and beaten down for the majority of the season – and understandably so considering everything Sam went through during the trials.
What most fans don’t know is that Jared Padalecki’s performance during the season was so convincing some fans of the series actually began questioning Padalecki’s own health. Concerned fans were convinced that he was actually sick and the Demon Trials were used as a way to explain the actor’s illness – news flash, they weren’t.
18. Oh, Baby
If you were to ask Supernatural fans to name the make and model of Dean’s beloved “Baby,” they would quickly blurt the answer out and roll their eyes at you for asking such a trivial question. After all, every Supernatural fan knows Dean drives a 67′ Chevy Impala!
However, if the production team had gone with their original plan, that answer would be very different.
In the early stages of production, Dean’s beloved vehicle was originally supposed to be a 65′ Mustang. In the end, the Impala won out as it was said to look rougher than the 65′ Mustang and it could also fit a body in its trunk – something that’s come in very handy over the years.
Speaking of Baby…
17. Baby, Baby, Baby, Oh
While fans can easily spew off the make and model of Dean’s beloved 67′ Chevy Impala, chances are they don’t know much about the car itself or should I say cars?
In an interview with My Star Collection Car, Supernatural‘s Picture Car Coordinator Jeff Budnick revealed that the series uses eight Impalas in total, each with their own use.
“We have 8 in total, 5 that run and all have been used at one time We have cars that are built for different applications such as a “burn out” car, “slide car”, dark tint glass etc. They are a very dependable car considering the demands the film industry requires.”
Interesting right?
16. May the Force Be with You
Before setting his sights on the Supernatural universe, Misha Collins was looking to break into one of the biggest movie franchises of all time.
Back in the day, Collins booked an interview with George Lucas to discuss a possible role as Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode II. That’s right, Anakin Skywalker could have potentially been played by everyone’s favorite angel! So just went wrong?
While at Skywalker Ranch, Collins decided to venture out to explore the surrounding area. He discovered a river and while taking in the scenery, he got pretty dirty. Long-story short, when he went back for his interview with Lucas, he wasn’t the most respectable looking candidate and needless to say the interview didn’t go well…
15. A Family Affair
It’s no secret that the Supernatural cast and crew are a close-knit group, but in 2007 creator and executive producer Eric Kripke’s work and family life blended into one with a “creepy” occurrence. On May 2, 2007 Kripke and his wife welcomed their son on the very same day that one Sam Winchester was born (May 2, 1983). Talk about a strange coincidence!
14. Demons & Hunters & Rock & Roll
In order to help the hundreds of individuals they assist every year, Sam and Dean often go undercover, posing as agents from various agencies. What us non-rock and roll lovers don’t always realize is that the Winchester brothers often go undercover with aliases that are a direct homage to various rock stars/duos.
Among the numerous list of tributes scattered throughout the series’ seasons: Angus and Young (AC/DC’s Angus Young), Plant and Page (Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant and Jimmy Page), and Tyler and Perry (Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry).
13. Life or Death Dilemma
Sam has definitely come a long way over the course of the series’ first ten seasons, especially considering that he never wanted to join Dean down the road in life they eventually took.
As fans will recall, it was the death of Sam’s former love Jessica that sent Sam down the path to becoming a hunter. However, killing Jessica wasn’t always in the cards. While the series’ writers tossed around quite a few possibilities in the early stages, including turning Jessica evil, the team ultimately agreed that there was no option more motivating than death.
Speaking of Sam’s various relationship woes…
12. Here Comes the Bride
Over the course of Supernatural’s first ten seasons, Sam and Dean have had their share of dysfunctional relationships. Which brings us to the next fun fact on our list.
Back in the early days of the series, Sam was extremely close to everyone’s favorite demon/turned Winchester ally Ruby. In fact the relationship the writers developed between the two was so close/strong that the writers had planned for Ruby and Sam to wed at the end of Season 4. However, when actors Jared Padalecki (Sam) and Genevieve Cortese (Ruby) announced their engagement to the cast and crew, the series’ writers thought it would come off poorly to have their characters get married as well – thus the storyline was squashed.
Three seasons later, the writers ran into yet another issue with having to scratch a storyline in hopes of not coming off tacky. In Season Seven the writers were hoping to re-introduce Ruby into the fold through a storyline that would see Ruby re-incarnated and impregnated by Sam – however, the happy couple’s real-life pregnancy ruined that plot line as well.
11. Deja Vu
Like many series, Supernatural has filmed in numerous locations over the years and on a few rare occasions the same location has been used as the back-drop to multiple settings in multiple episodes.
The best example of location recycling is the series’ use of the Riverview Hospital, which was used as the main set in Season 1’s Asylum. Throughout the series’ early season the mental health facility was also used in various other episodes as an apartment building, a prison and a regular hospital.
10. Record Breaking Drama
When The CW announced that it had renewed Supernatural for an eleventh season, fans celebrated the good news with a sigh of relief. However, with the series’ eleventh season pick-up, the series’ writers and cast were given an even bigger reason to celebrate.
With its eleventh season, Supernatural will become the longest-running, consecutive Sci-Fi series to-date – a record currently held by The WB/CW’s superhero drama Smallville (217 episodes).
9. Direct Line to Dean
If you’re one of the series’ longtime fans, chances are back in the early seasons of the series you were one of the many fans to dial up the number Dean often gave out as his cell number.
In the series’ early days, fans that called the number given by Dean (1-866-907-3235) would receive the following message read by Dean himself, Jensen Ackles:
“This is Dean Winchester. If this is an emergency, leave a message. If you are calling about 11-2-83, page me with your coordinates.”
November 2, 1983 is of course the date in which the Winchester brothers’ mom died. As time went by the message was changed to fit in with the series’ current storylines with callers instead hearing Dean relay the following message:
“Dad? We really need to hear from you. Leave me a message, text me, check your jwinchester1246 email. Anything. We have new info.”
Unfortunately the number no longer delivers fans any type of Supernatural inspired message as it seems to now be used as a fax number.
8. Jensen Ackles, Marvel Superhero?
Yeah, you read that heading correctly. Back when Marvel began expanding its universe, Jensen Ackles was rumored to be a top candidate for the role of Steve Rodgers aka Captain America in the company’s Captain America: The First Avenger.
While Ackles has since denied the initial reports, numerous sources have reported various angles of the story with many noting that Marvel liked him so much they at one point approached him with the role of Hawkeye. Most recently, several Marvel themed news outlets reported that Ackles screen tested for the role of Star Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy.
Speaking of superheroes…
7. It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s the Winchesters?
In addition to Jensen Ackles rumored meetings with Marvel, Ackles and his on-screen brother Jared Padalecki both share a connection with DC’s Clark Kent/Superman.
Back in the day, Ackles auditioned for the role of Clark Kent on The WB’s Smallville – while he did not get the role he did join the series for one season as Jason Teague – while Padalecki was reported to be one of the few actors on a shortlist to play the Man of Steel in Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns.
6. Mind Your Manners
Everyone knows that Sam and Dean’s favorite uncle’s name is Bobby Singer. What they don’t know is that Bobby Singer was almost named Bobby Manners – as a tribute to Supernatural directors/producers Robert Singer and Kim Manners.
So what caused the name change? Turns out there is an actual Bobby Manners out there, which in turn led to the name change.
Bonus Fun Fact: Did you know Bobby was only supposed to appear in one episode of the series? As it turns out, the character was so well liked that he ended up sticking around for more than 50 episodes.
5. Calling Mr. Collins
Like Bobby before him, Castiel was only supposed to appear in a guest starring role on the series but due to the fans’ outpour of love for the character and his portrayer, Misha Collins, the writers decided to make him a series regular. Looking back, Collins has joked on several occasions that he wished he hadn’t have used the lower “gravely” sounding voice for the role had he known that his character would stick around for all these seasons.
Bonus Fun Fact: When Collins auditioned for the role, he read for the role of a demon as the actually role as an angel was top secret.
4. Role Reversal
Have you ever wondered what it would be like if Jensen Ackles has been cast as Sam and Jared Padalecki had been cast as Dean? Okay, so maybe this was a far-fetched intro into our next fun fact, but hey don’t blame a guy for trying. Anyway…
The truth is that Ackles initially auditioned for the role of Sam Winchester, not Dean! As it turns out, it wasn’t until Padalecki auditioned for the role of Sam that the producers asked Ackles to come in to read for Dean.
Jensen accepted the role and the rest is history.
3. Daddy Dearest
As every fan knows, it was Sam and Dean’s mother’s death that ignited their quest for answers and desire to follow in dear ol’ dad’s footsteps as a hunter. However, Eric Kripke wasn’t always set on ending the pilot episode the way he chose to.
In the original draft of the Supernatural pilot, Kripke’s plan was for the brothers to find their dad dead on the ceiling – not their mom! O. M. G!
Can you imagine how different the series would have been if it was John Winchester that died at the conclusion of the series’ pilot? While there is truly no way to tell just how different the series would have been if the brothers’ dad died in the pilot rather than their mom, it would have completely changed the whole dynamic of the series!
2. Can Anybody Find Me Somebody to Love?
Have you ever wondered why Sam and Dean seem to struggle so much in the romance department or why the series’ female character never tend to last long on the series? Turns out, you only have yourself to blame!
When asked why females never seem to last very long in the Supernatural universe at a local convention, Jensen Ackles was upfront with the fans in attendance explaining that the series’ female fans simply don’t like to see them with other women.
“So you asked for it, you got it. We’re alone and only have each other.”
See, this is why Sam and Dean can’t have nice flings!
1. Unnatural Beginning
What better way to end our journey than with a fact that would have completely altered the series.
I want you to think of a world in which the central characters of Supernatural were not hunters, where Supernatural was never the title of a beloved series, and, gasp!, where Sam and Dean Winchester never existed! That’s exactly what we almost were given had Eric Kripke moved forward with his initial plans for that would become Supernatural.
As it turns out, Kripke’s original concept was a series which centered around a pair of reporters who travel across the country investigating urban legends for a newspaper column. In fact, the series wouldn’t have even been named Supernatural – early drafts were written under the title Unnatural.
Luckily for all us Supernatural fans, Kripke scratched his initial idea for the series we know and love!
via HiddenRemote