Last month’s Creation Supernatural convention in New Jersey was extra fun – one, because I could drive to it; two, because my friend Mary actually did the driving (fangirl roadtrip!); and three, because I missed the cast of my favorite show. Especially Jared Padalecki, who didn’t make the Creation cons in January. It had been way too long!
In between selling books and chatting with friends in the vendor room, I caught some panels with the rest of the best cast ever.
Ruth Connell said she knew she could play Rowena when she saw the line “it breaks my heart to see what a colossal pussy you’ve become” (later changed a bit).
She told some stories of her childhood, including loving the Kelpies, saying that her grandfather was a ‘horse whisperer’.
Perhaps the most heartwarming moment of Ruth’s panel was when she shared that Rob and Ruth’s young daughter Margaret is learning to swim, using Felicia Day’s daughter’s water wings. #SPNFamily
Ruth, like so many guest actors on Supernatural, feels that her life was changed by being on the Show. She writes about that in her beautiful chapter in the book Family Don’t End With Blood (and you can almost hear her accent in it).
Ruth: That’s what Supernatural is for me, that your dreams can come true.
Ruth also had some exciting news – she’s preparing to produce a film after securing the book rights! Congrats, Ruth!
Friday night Mary and I had an absolutely amazing dinner at a restaurant across the street which had a lovely outdoor porch. I have to say, the driving is so insane in this part of Jersey that it took us like ten minutes to finally navigate our way there when we could literally SEE the restaurant from the con hotel!
However? Worth it.
Saturday I caught Misha Collin’s panel as always, though I missed the beginning when everyone sang happy birthday to him. Happy birthday, Misha!
His very first convention was in New Jersey, and he reminisced about how nervous he was during his panel. (We were at that convention too and were the only familiar faces there for him, having just met and interviewed him on the set in Vancouver – on his first night at the con, he sat between me and Kathy on a couch in the hotel bar, a little overwhelmed by the whole thing. You can read that entire story in the book ‘Fangasm: Supernatural Fangirls!’ with more Misha chaos.)
I chatted with him later about it, both of us marveling that it was so long ago!
He said he spent his actual birthday as an ordinary day – “I wrote and relaxed – and did not get drunk!” (And no, he did not find the toenail in the cake that his partner Emily and the kids baked for him, if you saw the hilarious video he posted)
We’re always on the lookout for more SPN – Misha said he’s been promising a Supernatural puppet show for 15 years and promises it’s still coming…
Someone asked about the different iterations of Castiel over the years.
Misha: I never really got the character of crazy Cas, so I was glad when he died, but it was always delightful for me to play other iterations of Cas.
His response to the dreaded Supernatural trivia question: Ask the audience!
Another one: How did the angels manage to keep their angel blades up their sleeves?
Misha: Now that’s a good question!
Also Misha on Castiel: My voice as Cas was a terrible tragic mistake (his father in law had seen him on Charmed and said do something about your squeaky throat!)
Another mistake?
Misha: Supernatural failed to have Cas in just the trenchcoat… flasher Cas…
He also told a story I’ve heard before but never fails to make me laugh, about the time he was so thrilled to go out to the Lucas ranch and audition for young Anakin in Star Wars, with the caveat that he wasn’t allowed to tell anyone – and then told exactly the wrong person!
What other Supernatural character would he like to play?
Misha: Dean would be a cool character to play – but Jensen had to work a lot…
Misha also told the other hilarious story of the time that GISH was going on and people had to make a portrait of Jensen Ackles in Skittles.
Jensen walked into an electronics store to buy a charger and encountered a portrait of himself – in Skittles.
He also advised a fan to keep collecting dryer lint (something that was often used in GISH to make art, believe it or not!)
Misha is nothing if not resourceful. When he was asked by a fan why they never got their prize, he promptly autographed his coffee cup.
Then Richard Speight, Jr. appeared with some Nilla Wafers from backstage for him to give away as a prize too.
Bet the prize winners weren’t expecting those!
I only caught some of Adrianne Palicki’s panel, but she seems lovely. Nice to have “Jessica” at a con after all this time!
Adrianne said she was glad she got to return to the show.
Adrianne: I didn’t get to expand on the character in the pilot, so it was great to come back and do that.
She also said she was a self professed comic book nerd, and her brother is a comics writer!
What does she think would have happened to Sam if Jess hadn’t died?
Adrianne: I don’t think he would have become a hunter. In the same way that the Mom character really influenced Dean, I don’t think Sam would have gone on that journey had it not happened to Jessica. So I don’t even know if there would be a show. It had to happen for him to feel so heartbroken and compelled to find this thing as the impetus to continue. I’m bummed she didn’t come back at the end, but I understand. I think they’d be married, have two kids…
SamJess fans were happy!
One of my favorite people in the universe, Shoshannah Stern, was also at this con – it was so wonderful to see her again! Shoshannah wrote such a powerful chapter in the book There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done about her experience playing Eileen, and has been such a creative force in the industry, we are lucky to have her.
Shoshannah: Yes it’s important to have more deaf actors, but it’s important for every profession.
Who was her favorite character other than Eileen?
Shoshannah: Are you sure I can’t pick myself?? Okay, it’s Rowena.
She also gave us some bts scoop, saying that she really wanted Castiel to sign on the show, because he knows all the languages. (Totally makes sense actually).
Doing conventions is important to her, because it IS important.
Shoshannah: Every time I come to a con, it helps show in real life how access works.
She also loved doing her own stunts on Supernatural.
Shoshannah: I loved doing the stunts and I love that on Supernatural we got to do that. It’s important for the world to see that deaf people CAN.
Who else would she audition for? Sam.
Shoshannah: Whenever Robbie was writing Eileen, she was like a female mirror image to Sam, so a lot of things those two characters do have in common. I am shorter, but… so yes, a very short Sam.
She’s working on not one but two documentaries right now – can’t wait to see them!
I also caught some of the panel for another of my favorite people, Alex Calvert. Who was his favorite villain on the show?
Alex: Lucifer. You never knew what he was going to do.
Someone included Rowena in the list of anti heroes, but Alex wasn’t so sure.
Alex: Was Rowena really an anti hero? She became really close to the boys. Maybe because of her love of Sam?
The SamJess fans and the Samwena fans were well fed this con!
On Sam and Dean being dads to Jack:
Alex: In the episode where Jack was dying and Dean was going through his wish list with him, after they’re done fishing they’re like let’s go get a burger and a beer. I would have loved to have shot that scene but that is implied. Maybe Dean was like, okay if you’re gonna lie about your age, you’ve gotta do it smoothly. Yeah, it was great, but we needed a scene of Jack getting underage drunk.
On a Supernatural reboot:
Alex: They reboot everything, right? Don’t you feel like we deserve like six more episodes? And by deserve, I mean like, that would be nice.
Yes it would!!!
On the show, Alex said he kept trying to give Jack weapons and Robyn from Props kept saying Nope!
While it looked cool on the show, when a character got their wings, it wasn’t quite the same on set.
Alex: It’s weird because on the show, you get your wings and you’re just holding your arms out and nothing’s there.
Saturday night was of course Saturday Night Special time. Louden Swain was in excellent form and announced that they’re in the process of recording a new album!
In fact, they premiered a new song called “Call Me By The Name”, which Rob wrote about recently receiving a diagnosis that pus a name to some of the things he’s been dealing with. It was awesome.
We got a lovely guest appearance from Kim Rhodes, whose renditions of some Swain songs are now so iconic that they are the ones I hear when I think of the song.
We also got Mark Sheppard on drums, something I always love because he is SO into it.
(Also, Mark and Kim gorgeous tattoo appreciation post!)
We also were treated to some Billy Moran solo album.
Rockstar Briana Buckmaster also made an appearance and rocked the ballroom.
Rob got me all emotional singing the song he performed on the Show I miss so much, ‘Fare Thee Well’.
Have I mentioned I miss my Show?
Kazoos came out for ‘Medicated’, including Mark.
He switched out his customary kazoo for a giant one partway through – and was rather proud that he had the biggest kazoo…
Rob: I’ve never seen one that big before!
Mark:
And then it was Sunday – J2 Day!!!
It was SO good to have Jared and Jensen together onstage again. I swear it healed something in my soul.
Here they are doing state capitals as only they can….
Jensen: Old Mexico.
Jared: New Jersey.
Jensen: Old Jersey! Jared: exactly!
Jensen: The bit writes itself. What is the capital of New Hampshire. Is it Montpelier?
Audience: Concord
Jared: Crawford?
Jensen: Concord (with a New England accent)
Jared: Is anyone here from New Hampshire? So New Hampshire really is a place that exists?
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/2091544940652155350?s=20
The chaos continued (in the best way possible). Jared and Jensen’s version of pranking each other:
Jared: So then the laxatives can work so I was able to get regular in my trailer, and our trailers were right next to each other. So I do what any loving friend would do, I take a picture and send it to him.
Jensen: A regular Jared is a dangerous Jared.
Jared: Literally I’m in my trailer, he’s in his trailer like 3 feet away, and I hear “WTF?” Not a prank, but I got a good laugh.
Jensen: I think I followed that up with ‘what have you eaten?’
Jared: In those days, literally everything. Exactly, like true brothers.
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/2091545594955248107?s=20
They also got serious a few times. Jared said he enjoys playing a villain, because everyone is the hero of their own story.
Jensen: Also the actors playing villains are the nicest people.
Favorite seasons of Supernatural? Jared said Season 4 (my favorite too!)
Jared: So many parts of so many seasons, all of them really were outstanding. My honest answer is Season 4. I love the role, the part of Sam I got to play, and obviously I met my wife.
(Audience cheers for Gen!)
Jared: For me, Season 4 is when I first felt secure in the job – not the role,I already felt comfortable with Sam, but the job. I thought okay, I think this thing might have legs. Especially on the heels of Season 3 and the writers’ strike in 2007/8, Season four I think we might stick around for a little bit, I can pay my bills, take this hot chick out on a date…
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/2091548408611774492?s=20
Jensen said his favorite Season was the first one.
Jensen: I’m gonna go with Season 1, largely because I remember it the most. Everything after is a blur, Season 2 through 15 was just one big season. But specifically One because it was like the honeymoon phase. It was all new, it was fresh, we were trying to find our footing, we were building this thing and had no idea what the future held. We were kinda like locked in and focused on making the best show we could. The network was on the bubble of completely going away which it effectively did after Season One and we were on a whole new network. So all the periphery stuff of that season and the intensity of the work and trying to lay the foundation of what would become 15 years, holds a special place for me.
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/2091551973979935072?s=20
I may have needed tissues after that….
Jensen said that ‘Wherever I May Roam’ by Metallica represents Sam and Dean to him. Makes total sense!
He also said that the producers and writers met with him and Jared about ‘The French Mistake’ because they’d be playing themselves – but really they only ever played Sam and Dean!
Favorite Supernatural moment?
Jensen: I can think of one, a moment when we realized that we were a part of something special. It was the year that the Supernatural panel at San Diego Comic Con moved to Hall H, the big giant hall, and I just remember walking out and taking that in and being like…
Jared: fucking awesome!
Jensen: Like, Oh Wow. Skip to the last time we did it, and I remember we walked out, same Hall, same massive crowd, 7000 people in the room, and I remember I grabbed you (to Jared) and we just looked out and kinda soaked it in and it was really meaningful. Because when you’re on set, you don’t see that. We have a camera and a crew, so we don’t get that audience feedback, we’re just there doing the work on set keeping our heads down day after day after day. So when we were able to step on that stage and see the response to what we’ve just kinda been doing in the shadows, I’ll never forget that.
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/2091552833669624152?s=20
More tissues…
Jared: He and I have kinda talked about this, but a lot of the stuff I now think of as my favorite memories, I didn’t know at the time. It was sorta like Life was happening nad you were just present, not thinking oh this is gonna be awesome or oh I’m gonna enjoy this, but then a week later you’re like, that was badass! Scoobynatural at Graumann’s Chinese Theater. He and I as actors, we’re not method by any means, but we try to be present between action and cut. So a lot of those, fortunately or unfortunately, I don’t recall. Being here today is wild, we haven’t filmed it in six years almost exactly. I think possibly six years ago today we were shooting the barn scene, so a lot of that, it feels wild and to ask who’s first time, it’s wild and it’s pretty special. A lot of time when we were playing Sam and Dean we were just trying to be as best as we could be Sam and Dean.
Annnnnnnnnnnnnnd more tissues….
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/2091553406892577170?s=20
Jensen got a question that brought out his protective side (about Baby) and Jared jumped in to be protective too.
I didn’t get to see Matt Cohen or Richard Speight, Jr. do panels, but here they are looking handsome in between.
I did catch some of Mark Sheppard. The first part of the panel saw him not answering a single question with anything other than yes or no and somehow being thoroughly entertaining anyway.
Mark talked about how special Supernatural was, as everyone who ever worked there has said.
Mark: I was going through a tough time when I started Supernatural, and one day I was doing a bit better – and the crew noticed. The people you work with make a real difference.
His character got to do … well, a lot.
Mark: They had Crowley talk to a hamster, rob a vending machine, turn into a woman – not much he didn’t do!
We were also treated to his signature panel catch phrase.
Mark: The great thing about fan fiction? You get to write your own!
He is SO right.
Mark: This is a family of your choosing.
He’s so right about that too. Mark’s chapter in Family Don’t End With Blood is all about how special the SPNFamily really is.
The last panel of the day was the main panel with Jared and Jensen, and once again I was so happy to have them onstage together and to witness their leap onstage!
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/2091631070076874860?s=20
They did get a few questions about Supernatural canon, which resulted in these reactions:
This picture is just quintessential Jared and Jensen chaos – they’re trading dad jokes.
What show would they like to create?
Jared: Like The Departed or Donny Brasco, and I think it would be really fun to work with this dude and he’s lying to me and I’m lying to him, and the audience knows but we don’t know, something along those lines would be a lot of fun and a lot of fun to do with this dude who we got to spend a lot of time together on this show. I trust him on and off camera and I would love to do that, either animated or live action. Ackles?
Jensen: I have an answer for you. I would like to voice the American version of Bluey. I wanna be Bandit and I wanna make it more realistic
Jared: It’s about a blue dog!
Jensen: I want Bluey and Bingo to come in and ask me to play and be like, shut up, kids!
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/2091635276426760655?s=20
Jensen to Jared: And you can play Bingo!
What would they change about the Supernatural pilot if they redid it or this whole experience? Not a moment.
Jared: Timing is really important and I think I hit Supernatural and my life kinda ran in parallel to Sam Winchester’s and I think Jensen’s did as well. So would we do something differently? Not on purpose, but it would be different because I’m a different person.
Jensen: I would’ve fought for executive producing credit… Maybe invested in some high yield stocks. No, I honestly, I wouldn’t change a thing. I think we were both young and hungry and this beautiful experience happened and I do feel like we got to be present in it like 90% of the time.
Jared: And often forced to be present because we were working our asses off, 80 hour weeks on average, sometimes more. We were just there, we didn’t have the mental bandwidth to cause a ruckus or cause a scene so we just experienced it.
Jensen: But the entire collective 15 years gave us something that we are still getting to sit here and talk to you about.
Me: Tissues again…
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/2091638589826441634?s=20
Who was the better hunter?
Jared: Sam and Dean were yin and yang, they couldn’t do what they did without each other.
Jensen: Dean was the hammer, Sam was the scalpel.
I do not remember what was happening here but Jared was overheating and Jensen was blushing and it’s chaotically adorable.
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/2091640241023033655?s=20
Jared and Jensen about the early days of Supernatural: We weren’t expecting a fan base.
Norton wasn’t there so at one point Jensen graciously gave Jared a rim shot, much to his delight.
This turned out to be a weirdly controversial question and answer for some inexplicable reason, but it actually made sense to me if you watch Supernatural not just in a surface way. Jared and Jensen both agreed that if Sam and Dean owned a restaurant, Sam would cook (and keep the place neat and tidy), and Dean would be in charge of the jukebox.
Jared and Jensen spent some time talking about their own fannishness as enthusiastic football fans – fandom is fandom, so they really do get it.
It wouldn’t be a Supernatural convention if someone didn’t inexplicably ask about redoing the finale (that they have said they love about a million times).
Jensen said he would redo it, not to change it, but to re-experience it, the most emotional episode of all for him.
Jensen: I would redo the finale.
Jared: What?? Why?!
Jensen (putting his hand reassuringly on Jared’s knee) Not redo it, re-experience it. Because that was probably the most emotionally pivotal experience I’ve ever had on a set.
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/2091644529140998343?s=20
And then it was time for the last question fan, who had a great sense of humor and trolled the boys, who enjoyed every minute of it.
What an amazing panel!
Jared and Jensen shared the traditional fistbump to celebrate.
They thanked the fans, hands over hearts.
And that was it for another wonderful NJ con. Mary and I packed up and headed out for the drive home just as the sun was setting, stopping along the way for some road food at a Wawa (where else?) and feeling kinda like Winchesters.
If you’d like to read the books with chapters from the actors and the fans all about how we have all been changed by this amazing show, check out the links on the home page here for all our books, or find Family Don’t End With Blood and There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done at the link below. Jared and Jensen have chapters in both, with over a dozen other actors also in each book. Warning: Some of the essays WILL make you cry (in a good way)!
Lynn
