Supernatural had an incredible run on The WB and CW for 15 seasons, but how old was Jensen Ackles from the start of the series to the end? At 327 episodes, Supernatural is an anomaly in today’s television landscape, outlasting countless other series that premiered around the same time. It maintained a dedicated viewership base for the entirety of its run, a credit to the show’s popularity and the hard work and dedication of the crew and cast.
Now with Supernatural finished and a new spin-off show, The Winchesters, set to release October 11, 2022, viewers of the original series can look forward to more adventures from the best hunting family in the biz. With Dean Winchester’s illustrious family history revealing a long tradition of supernatural encounters dating back to Cain himself, it’s worth thinking about how long the Winchesters have been exorcising demons and making the world a safer place. Fortunately, much of Supernatural takes place relative to the passage of time in real life, making it easy to figure out.
Ackles was born on March 1, 1978, which makes him pretty young when the show premiered in September 2005 at just 27 years old. With Supernatural wrapping its run in November 2020, Ackles closed the show a decade and a half after it started. On the date the series finale aired, he was 42.
How Old Dean Winchester Was In Supernatural Seasons 1 & 15
Interestingly, Ackles on-screen counterpart Dean was born just a few months after him on January 24, 1979. This means that for much of the show, Ackles and Dean were less than one year apart in age. Dean is revealed to be 26 as Supernatural begins, and he reunites with his brother Sam to help him hunt down the demon who killed their mother. Throughout their adventures, the pair actually spend a fair amount of time dead. Dean spends four months in Hell, and a further year in Purgatory, though it’s unclear if his body aged during that time. When only counting years on Earth, Dean is 41 when Supernatural ends, or between 39 and 40 if one discounts the time he was technically dead.
However, the show also reveals that each month in Hell amounts to about 10 years of Earth time. Due to this, it could be argued Dean racked up 40 extra years. Considering he mentally lived out decades in Hell, by Supernatural season 15, Dean could be seen as an old man at age 81.
