Jared Tristan Padalecki (born July 19, 1982) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the lead role of Sam Winchester in the dark fantasy series Supernatural (2005–2020) after raising to fame in the early 2000s thanks to his appearances on the comedy drama series Gilmore Girls (2000–2005) as well as the films Flight of the Phoenix (2004), House of Wax (2005) and Friday the 13th (2009).