Jared Padalecki’s ‘Gilmore Girls’ Contract Made It Easy for Him to Leave the Show
Several actors were billed as series regulars on Gilmore Girls during its seven-season run. Not every major star was a series regular, though. Fans might have noticed that the show listed a few stars as special guests despite appearing regularly on the show. Jared Padalecki, who portrayed Rory Gilmore’s love interest Dean Forrester, was credited as a guest on Gilmore Girls. The Gilmore Girls intro billed Edward Herrmann the same way. Valerie Campbell, a production team member, recently revealed exactly how Padalecki’s billing allowed him to move onto another show with ease.
Jared Padalecki was billed as a special guest on ‘Gilmore Girls’
In a TikTok video, Valerie Campbell, the key set costumer for Gilmore Girls, explained that the contractual obligations for a special guest are completely different from those of a series regular. Sure, the designation had some drawbacks. For example, special guests are not paid unless they are on set. Still, there were some benefits, too. Campbell explained that actors billed as “special guests” are free to take on other projects. They aren’t contractually locked into one production. Padalecki used the benefit in 2005. While he appeared off and on in five seasons of Gilmore Girls, he eventually left the series to take on the role of Sam Winchester in Supernatural. His billing made the switch simply for the actor.
Campbell quipped that Padalecki’s decision to take on a different role was why he became a “walking red flag” instead of the sweet, dependable love interest he was when fans first met him. We suspected that the show’s writers purposefully ruined Dean’s character. Campbell seems to confirm that suspicion.
Jared Padalecki wasn’t the only actor listed as a special guest
While Padalecki was billed as a special guest largely because the show didn’t plan to use him in every episode, he wasn’t the only actor often seen who was credited that way. Edward Herrmann, the famed actor who took on the role of Richard Gilmore, was also listed as a special guest. Herrmann’s billing may have been at his request.
Campbell explained that Herrmann wanted to spend only some of his time in California when he landed the role in Gilmore Girls. Instead, he wanted to maintain his home base in Connecticut, where he and his family lived. Being billed as a special guest instead of a series regular allowed Herrmann the flexibility he needed to be home, close to his family.
Herrmann’s house in Salisbury, Connecticut, hit the market in December 2023, nearly a decade after his death. Herrmann’s beloved New England town was not unlike the fictional Stars Hollow.
