Jared Padalecki Reveals Worst Day on Set of ‘Gilmore Girls’
The beloved show, Gilmore Girls, ran for seven seasons beginning in 2000. The show, which was created by The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel creator Amy Sherman-Palladino, brought to life the characters of young, single mother Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham), her 16-year-old daughter Rory (Alexis Bledel), and the people that populated their small-town life in the fictional hamlet of Stars Hollow, Connecticut.
Gilmore Girls ended in 2007 but was so popular it saw a revival in 2016 with Netflix’s Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life which offered fans four more installments from Lorelai and Rory’s story.
Jared Padalecki’s role on Gilmore Girls
One of the most important characters in Rory’s story was her first boyfriend, Dean Forester, played by Jared Padalecki. Dean was the quintessential “good guy” who respected Rory and treated her well and even built her a car. When Rory broke up with Dean for “bad boy” Jess (Milo Ventimiglia), fans became divided on the issue, forming Team Dean and Team Jess (Team Logan came later in the series but added to the dispute of who Rory’s best boyfriend was in the series).
Dean Forester was a reoccurring role that was first seen in the pilot episode of the series, continued through Gilmore Girls seasons 1-5, and was also part of the Gilmore Girls revival. Though Dean and Rory weren’t meant to be, the pair carried a deep love and respect for each other through the entire series.
The Worst day of Gilmore Girls for Jared Padalecki
Padalecki recently told the Chicago Tribune about his worst day filming Gilmore Girls. As Padalecki recalls,
“I didn’t shoot every day on Gilmore Girls, and on this particular week, I wasn’t needed on set until Friday. So on Monday night … I’m an actor enjoying my life; I have three days off and I’m 19 or 20 at the time and I’m single — so I had a bunch of guy friends over and we played Grand Theft Auto until late into the night.”
Little did the star know that fellow actor Lauren Graham would call in sick the following day, with Padalecki’s scenes rearranged to film early.
“My plan for the next day was to play with my dog in the morning, go get a workout in and then work on my upcoming scene that we were shooting on Friday. So I stayed up until, I dunno, about three or four in the morning.”
Shortly thereafter, Padalecki received several phone calls calling him to set, which he slept through. After calling his manager and his agent, production finally called Padalecki’s friend who journeyed back to Padalecki’s apartment and climbed the exterior of the building to gain entry through the balcony screen door.
A short time later, Padalecki arrived on set to film the scene where Dean Forester and Lindsay get married. Remembering the events of the day, Padalecki says,
“ … it was basically the feeling of that nightmare where you’re naked at school. Except unlike being naked at school, this was naked at school and there are cameras everywhere and it will be on film for all time.”
Where to watch Jared Padalecki now
After an incredibly successful 15-season run on Supernatural, Jared Padalecki recently joined the Walker, Texas Ranger reboot for the CW titled Walker. As reported by the Chicago Tribune, Walker is filmed near Padalecki’s home in Austin, TX where the star lives with his wife and children. Padalecki will also be executive producing the upcoming Walker prequel series set in the 1880s that will further investigate the Walker family’s history.
