Our friend Deborah was lucky enough to attend Jared’s meet and greet at DallasCon, and shared a few of her recollections. We’ll be at Jared’s meet and greet at Toronto Con in a few weeks ourselves, and this just made us look forward to it even more.
We chatted with Jared a bit at Dallas too, and were touched that he wanted to introduce us to his mom, since we’re both in education. We could totally see Jared being an English professor if he hadn’t become an actor. Of course, it might be hard to pay attention if your prof looked like Jared….
Jared’s parents sat in on his meet and greet too, watching from the back as Jared chatted with fans. He shared an amusing story about being on a flight recently. He was sitting with Mark Pellegrino, and Jensen, Danneel and JJ were sitting in front of them. Everyone was very respectful, but he said it was funny watching people’s reactions as they walked by and realized how many members of the SPNFamily were on the plane – people would be hitting their friend and whispering “Omg, look at that!”
Fans: Well YEAH!
A fan asked if Jared had made any decisions in Season 1 that he’d had to carry over into Season 9, and if he regretted any. He didn’t say he regretted anything, but he did say that he was told while shooting the pilot that they wanted the character of Sam to be intelligent. Jared himself is a smart guy from a family of academics, so in the first couple episodes he really tried to get that across. We personally think that Sam has proven his smarts time and time again over the last eight years – and that Dean is equally smart, even if he doesn’t always believe it. (And even though Sam keeps reminding him…)
At one point, the discussion turned to food. (Why are we not surprised?) Jared’s brother used to live in Dallas, so he recommended some good places to eat, especially for barbeque.
Deborah: (deliberately being a smartass) Any vegetarian restaurants?
Jared: (deadpans) Get out of the room.
Deborah: (still being a smartass) But are there?
Jared: (recommends a place that makes great chicken)
Deborah: That’s still meat.
Fans: LOL
Some of the meet and greet was quite touching. A fan brought a blanket that she had spent three months crocheting for Jared, and joked that if he didn’t want it, he could just touch it and then she would keep it forever. Which we understand completely. Jared’s dad came up to admire it, and of course Jared did want to keep it.
One of the most emotional moments of Jared’s meet and greet came after a fan talked about how incredible the Season 8 finale was, and said that the Show – and Jared – should get an Emmy.
Entire room: *nodding enthusiastically*
Jared said that for him, talking to fans is what it’s all about.
He doesn’t need an Emmy to know how people feel about the Show, doesn’t need that judgment by his peers.
Fan: House gets Emmy’s, but that show being on the air doesn’t save lives.
It’s true. A fan at the breakfast panel that morning had gotten up to tell Jared and Jensen that she’d been suffering from severe depression, and Supernatural literally saved her life. It was obvious, watching Jared and Jensen’s reactions to what she was saying, that they were very touched.
At the meet and greet, another fan mentioned someone she knew who had a neurological condition in which her dreams were more vivid than her real life. She’s an SPN fan, and dreamt about hunting with Sam and Dean and Bobby, and that has kept her from being suicidal despite the illness. Another fan had stopped taking prescribed medication for depression, but went back to taking it so she would be coherent enough to watch Supernatural. If that isn’t the best kind of testimonial to the power of a Show to have an influence, then we don’t know what is.
When we were researching Fangasm and Fandom At The Crossroads, we heard so many moving stories of how Supernatural has changed fans’ lives, and sometimes – literally — made life worth living. And of course we have our own stories too, which is why we wrote the books — to tell our stories and theirs.
But we still think Supernatural deserves that Emmy. What do you think, SPNFamily?
One of the things that makes SPN so unique (and awesome) is the way the actors have so much FUN. Photographic evidence from Jared and Jensen’s panel:
Stay tuned for more from DallasCon! You can read more about the stories of SPN fans and the cast and crew who make the show in Fangasm, available now on Amazon and in Fandom at the Crossroads: Celebration, Shame and Fan/Producer Relationships , also on Amazon.
Thanks again ladies for another great insight to how much Jared & Jensen appreciate their interactions with the fans. I am another one who takes strength from watching the show in order to deal with the medical and emotional struggles that dominate my daily life. Through the show I am able to express my emotions in a healthy manner (especially crying) rather than have them repressed under the antidepressant cocktail I take and the “need” to appear normal for my family & friends.
I received notice that my copy of Fangasm has finally shipped from Amazon, so I am anxiously awaiting its arrival so I can quickly devour it. See you at BurCon!
Thanks for the great article! I was the one who gave him the quilt, you cant believe how much that experience meant to me! I tweeted you the photo we took before I gave it to him mom. Here is what happened at the Op:
Fast Foward to Photo Op – you normally only get 15 seconds at Ops and are not allowed to give them gifts. When I got up there he smiled and said There’s my quilt! He gave me as much time as I needed to get the pose I wanted and said he wanted to make sure I had a good pic before he took the quilt. I explained what I wanted and we took this pic. I told him he just made me the Queen of the Sam Girls cause he let me put my HAND IN HIS HAIR!. We had a running discussion on who could do it first. He said well you won that one babe! After the photo I stepped over and put the quilt in the case and handed it to his mom. She asked me where I was from and told me again how she loved the quilt.
Dana – I can’t find on Facebook where we discussed this. Do you remember which page you posted it on?
It was on our J2 Family Fandom Discussion page
Love you, Dana! This will always be one of my favorite stories of Jared and his fan’s love for each other!
Does Jared wear those hats just to tantalize fans who want to see his hair?
He actually said at the panel that he wears them to cover his bad hair days. Could he ever have a bad hair day?
NO
Entertaining and insightful to read, as always. Thanks for sharing this.
I’m also chronically ill, and I can’t tell you the importance of having something so captivating it transports you outside your body and allows you to escape from the pain and misery of sickness for a while. My nephew also is chronically ill, and I would record Supernatural and bring them to the hospital and we would watch them together. It gave him something to look forward to at the end of a long day of being poked and prodded. He started loving horror films at a young age, and would always ask me when I was going over “Do you have any more of the two brothers who hunt ghosts?” 🙂 (Thankfully he spends very little time in the hospital now since he received his bone marrow transplant.)
Glad to hear that others recognize how gifted Jared is as an actor. His performance in Sacrifice was just amazing. His performance on the show overall has been quite impressive, but to see him play off of the likes of Mark Sheppard and being able to hold his own in those scenes pretty much says it all. The fact that Mark himself sang Jared’s praises after filming those scenes with him says a lot about Jared’s abilities, as well. The fact that he’s so humble about it is just the icing on the cake.
Hear, hear!
these two are adorable,love their chemistry onscreen and off screen,no one can say that they are not brothers.:),truly awesome actors,dashing men and great personalities and with time their skills(in spn) have become much more improved,now they are completely into their characters and we are assuming them more DEAN and SAM than jensen and jared,which made supernatural even more interesting to watch and even more intensified to see.we love them in SEASON 8 as all the previous seasons and hoping to see more WINCHESTERS in season 9,please i have this request to eric that don’t end spn ever.means ever……………,thanks fangasm to let us know all about dallas con.:)
Hello, I’m new to your Fangasm Site, and I’m reading it from the otherside of the atlantic from Europe / Germany therefore please excuse the wording or spelling 😉
I enjoy Supernatural cause it deals with our daily communication skills in interaction with our family, friends and enviornment. The beauty of the show is that they are not afraid to show that actions always have consequences, and that consequences even if you try to ignore them, will always strike back in one way or an other or the main family & trust theme. Something I miss in our “real” world.
As a historian, I can “intelectually” relax while watching Supernatural, cause the writters at this show are not only focused on “family-issues” but also on modern social issues in a highly entertaining way, it has a light shakespearian touch, there not afraid turning the light on delicate social topics like political correctness, GMO food, gender politics, corporation politics etc.
Now after watching the series for now 8 years I turned into a total “fangirl”. My academic colleagues don’t know about my secretly keept passion with the show and I admit also with the two adorable and humble actors Jared & Jenson. Something seldom found in our shiny artificial world.
I personally don’t have any medical issues, but when I feel mellow, stressed or just need a tiny vacation I put on the SPN DVD and gain strenght just by watching two brothers fighting against all odds useing their free will to choose life and family love.
And thanks for the Convetion reportings, it is so inspiring to watch the actors Jared & Jenson how they interact with their fans, I wish I could have been there it must have been as Dean would say “awesome”.^^
I agree with Sehrishahmed3 “please i have this request to eric that don’t end spn ever.means ever…”
And I also totaly agree with DJ, after watching Sacrifice, I was so stunned, that I had to remember myself to breathe. Watching Jared playing Sam in interaction with Crowley / Mark was absolutly breath taking. I’m still astounished to see so much emotion put in this small two syllabled word -SO?-
Best wishes and love to all SPN fans!
Greetings from Berlin
Karin
I’m new to this site, but I’ve read up about it a few times before. I just want to say how supernatural is a HUGE part of my life and it’s a huge escape when I’m not severely depressed (sadly a victim). This show makes me FANGIRL so hard (sorry for autocorrect) that my emotions are expressed perfectly ^-^! I hope SPN goes on forever honestly… If anyone knows how to contact Eric, let me know because I have some amazing ideas!!!!