Highlights
- Jared Padalecki and Melissa McCarthy’s careers might have looked different if they hadn’t been cast in Gilmore Girls later on.
- The unaired pilot of Gilmore Girls features different actors playing the roles of Dean Forrester and Sookie St. James.
- Melissa McCarthy’s comedic timing and scenes in Gilmore Girls may have helped her land the role in Mike & Molly.
Thanks to the fact that Gilmore Girls is on Netflix, fans can rewatch the warm and charming TV series anytime they want. When revisiting this popular show, it’s always clear that the talented actors sparkled in all of their scenes together, and everyone was perfectly cast. The tale of a fun, spunky mother and her bookish daughter will never go out of style.
Gilmore Girls altered the career paths of the main stars, and Alexis Bledel was grateful to Lauren Graham for showing her the ropes of acting. Scott Patterson’s life and career also changed as a result of playing diner owner Luke Danes. But as it turns out, Jared Padalecki and Melissa McCarthy didn’t play Dean Forrester or Sookie St. James in the Gilmore Girls unaired pilot. If they hadn’t been cast later on, they wouldn’t have the careers that they have now.
Jared Padalecki And Melissa McCarthy Became Famous For Playing Dean And Sookie In Gilmore Girls
Since Jared Padalecki and Melissa McCarthy aren’t in the Gilmore Girls unaired pilot, their careers would have looked different if they hadn’t been cast in the series later on. According to Bustle, in August 2023, Valerie Campbell, the Gilmore Girls costume designer, posted a video on TikTok about the first Gilmore Girls that didn’t make it to air.
Campbell mentioned that the pilot was shot in Unionville, Ontario but the rest of the show was filmed on the Warner Bros. California lot. Thanks to this TikTok video, fans also realized that the fan-favorite actors were cast later on, which is surprising to hear about.
Today, Jared Padalecki is a popular actor known for his two biggest TV roles: Dean Forrester in Gilmore Girls and Sam Winchester in Supernatural. He was cast in Supernatural five years after the Gilmore Girls pilot aired in 2000, and both shows aired on the WB, which became the CW in 2006.
It’s possible to argue that if Padalecki hadn’t starred in Gilmore Girls, he might not have had the opportunity to audition for another show on the same network. It seems like playing Dean opened doors for him and gave him the name recognition he needed to star in several 2000s horror movies.
Why Melissa McCarthy Struggled While Filming Gilmore Girls
Melissa McCarthy was working under “sweaty” conditions during Gilmore Girls.
Jared Padalecki’s TV And Movie Roles
- Dean Forrester in Gilmore Girls (2000-2005)
- Wade Felton in House of Wax (2005)
- Clay Miller in Friday the 13th (2009)
- Cordell Walker in Walker (2021-now)
Padalecki quit Gilmore Girls so he could play Sam in Supernatural, and it seems likely that everywhere he goes, people kow him as Rory Gilmore’s boyfriend Dean. In 2016, he talked to Entertainment Tonight about Gilmore Girls and said, “For me, I never had closure. One day, I was an actor on Gilmore Girls. The next day, I had a TV show and would never again be on Gilmore Girls. For me, as a person, it was weird because I was like, ‘What about Dean?’”
As for Melissa McCarthy, she didn’t play Sookie St. James in the Gilmore Girls unaired pilot. If McCarthy hadn’t replaced the first actress, McCarthy would also have missed out on the same name recognition that Jared Padalecki got thanks to his Gilmore Girls role. Although she works steadily and stars in many comedic and dramatic films these days, McCarthy’s movies aren’t that successful and often get low ratings and poor reviews. Most people would say that they are fans of hers because of her time as Sookie.
Chad Michael Murray And Alexis Bledel Played Gilmore Girls Love Interests, But Did The Actors Actually Date While Making The Hit Show?
It’s easy to wonder if Chad Michael Murray and Alexis Bledel had serious sparks flying while filming Gilmore Girls…
It’s also possible that McCarthy won her role as Molly Flynn on the long-running sitcom Mike & Molly because she proved she could handle a comedic role thanks to her perfect timing and hilarious scenes on Gilmore Girls.
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Melissa McCarthy’s Notable TV Roles (According to IMDb) |
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Sookie St. James in Gilmore Girls (2000-2007, 2016) |
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Dena in Samantha Who? (2007-2009) |
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Molly Flynn in Mike & Molly (2010-2016) |
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Frances Welty in Nine Perfect Strangers (2022) |
Who Played Dean In The Unaired Gilmore Girls Pilot?
Nathan Wetherington played Dean Forrester in the unaired Gilmore Girls pilot. He was an unknown actor at the time. According to his IMDb page, he did get some acting roles later on and played Mike Ardoin in two episodes of True Detective season 3.
Do The Cast Of ‘Gilmore Girls’ Get Paid Residuals?
Gilmore Girls first aired in 2000, but the show remains just as popular thanks to streaming services.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Wetherington talked about playing Dean and said, “Gilmore Girls was my first experience on set, ever, professionally. We shot that scene, like, 45 times so they could get the books to fall the right way. It took all day.”
Both pilots have the same scene when Dean and Rory meet and chat about Moby Dick. However, as many fans have noted when discussing the unaired pilot on Reddit, Wetherington’s Dean didn’t have the same energy as Jared Padalecki’s. There just didn’t seem to be any sparks between the actors.
Who Played Sookie In The Unaired Gilmore Girls Pilot?
Alex Borstein played Sookie St. James in the Gilmore Girls pilot that didn’t end up airing. Gilmore Girls fans know her as Midge Maisel’s talent agent Susie Myerson in Gilmore Girls creator and showrunner Amy Sherman-Palladino’s TV series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
Both versions of the Gilmore Girls pilot feature the same scene of Sookie making a mess in the kitchen at the Independence Inn. Fans can find the scene on YouTube and compare both versions. While Borstein is talented, she played Sookie in a much harsher manner. Melissa McCarthy’s version is much quirkier. Borstein played three small roles on Gilmore Girls: Doris, Miss Celine, and Drella.
Borstein was replaced by McCarthy because Amy Sherman-Palladino wanted McCarthy in the role. E! News reported that at the ATX TV Festival, Sherman-Palladino said:
“To get Melissa, I had to fight. They weren’t sure. It wasn’t that people didn’t like her, but she was a different energy. She was a different kind of chick. And the part was just written for a woman, There was no body type, there was nothing specific about it. I was like, ‘I need someone funny who could really act.’”
Source: NewsFinale
