Full transcript (any errors are mine):
Jensen Ackles, the class of 2026 commencement speaker, is an award-winning actor and producer widely known for his iconic 15-season portrayal of Dean Winchester on Supernatural, one of the longest-running primetime American science fiction series in television history.
His career spans nearly three decades in television, film, and voice acting, beginning in 1997 with his three-time Emmy-nominated role, and I think I saw some people recognizing Eric Roman Brady on Days of Our Lives, standout roles in Big Sky, Countdown, The Winchesters, the animated feature Batman: The Long Halloween.
Many of you may know him as Soldier Boy, an analog man trapped in a digital world from the Emmy-award-winning series and the number one streaming program in the world currently, The Boys.
Jensen recently wrapped filming for Vought Rising, a prequel to The Boys that will be released in 2027.
Jensen and his wife, Danneel, are entrepreneurial, creative, and philanthropic collaborators, and while his professional accomplishments continue to inspire audiences worldwide, I've come to know him as a devoted husband, father of three young GFA dragons, and an incredibly thoughtful and authentic human being.
True to form, after flying back from work in Europe earlier this week, Jensen wanted to spend some time getting to know this remarkable group of seniors. I think we have a photograph there earning him the rare distinction of honorary senior class status.
Please join me in welcoming Jensen Ackles.
I'm so excited, thank you, I really appreciate it, have fun.
Well Bob, you took about half of my speech away so, but I'll try to do what I can here.
Good evening, good evening faculty, good evening families, good evening friends, but I want to talk to the people that I'm here to talk to, and that is you guys, graduating class of 2026.
Now when they asked me to do this speech, my first thought was, well somebody's made a mistake, which led me to my next thought, which was, okay, I've got decades in the entertainment industry under my belt, I should be able to do this, which led me to my third thought, where's the script, who's writing this, 30 years as an actor, that's where my brain goes, and they said like all good educators would, no Jensen, you're going to have to write it yourself.
So I did not use ChatGPT, probably would have given you something better than you're about to hear.
That said, I stared at a blank page for longer than I would like to admit, I googled how to give a commencement address, first result was speak from the heart, which is genuinely good advice.
It's also the kind of advice that sounds simple, until you're actually having to do it, knowing you'll be doing standing up here in front of several hundred people, who really, let's be honest, just want to get to the after party, but the more I sat with it, the more I realized the fact that this was hard, that I didn't know where to start, well that was it, and that's exactly the territory I want to explore with you today.
I grew up just outside of Dallas, Texas, you can hear it from time to time, and when I started my senior year at my enormous public high school, we had about seven hundred in our graduating class, I had a plan, I was going to finish school strong, I was going to go to college, I was going to study sports medicine, kinesiology, become an athletic trainer for a pro sports team, travel the world, it's a solid plan for a senior, it's a responsible plan, it's a safe plan, see I loved sports, I played a lot of them, as many as I could, football, baseball, basketball, soccer, lacrosse, so safe to say I was a bit of a jock, so if I wasn't going to go pro in any of these, well at least I could be around sports, that was the idea, becoming an actor was not on my to-do list.
I did take drama class here and there, but merely as an art elective, I did like it, but back then there just wasn't enough time to do that and sports, but about halfway through my senior year something happened. My drama teacher who'd kind of been on me for years to be more involved, she asked me if I would be in the spring musical. I don't sing, so I was a little surprised, because the annual production is usually reserved for the more serious high school thespians, besides it conflicted with my varsity baseball schedule, so I politely declined. Well she didn't take no for an answer this time, she went to my coach, and she said she really needs one of his players. A day later coach Young called me into his office. I thought I was in trouble, he looked at me calmly and said son, I understand you might have some other talents. Miss Kaiser tells me you're pretty good at this drama thing, she wants you to be a part of the spring show, then he said listen, you busted your tail for me for three years, you're a good player, but you only get to do high school once, and I think you should get the most out of this high school experience as you possibly can, go do the show. Now that's coming from a Texas high school baseball coach in the late 90s, that did not happen. I was pretty floored when that happened, so after some thought, I decided to go out for the play, now that year we were doing West Side Story, I thought I might get to be a jet, right? No, she gave me Tony, the lead, so there I was opening night, never sang in front of a crowd, and I could just make out the first two rows from the lights bouncing off of the stage, and there sat coach Young, and the rest of my baseball team, now they freaked out when I came out and I was like who knows, could be there something new any day, their eyes were saucers. It was needless to say they did come up after the show and said, yeah that was good man, so I was happy about that.
Now that night there happened to be somebody else sitting in the audience, a talent scout from LA, now he was in town visiting family and friends and thought he'd take in a few local productions, he wasn't there for me, he had no idea I existed, but he saw something that night, something caught his eye, and he came up to me and he recommended I go to Los Angeles, what? So after many lengthy conversations with my parents and with him and with myself, there I was 18 years old, packing up my things and moving to LA, no plan B, just a hunch and a few people who believed in me before I believed in myself, that moment a drama teacher, a baseball coach, a stranger in the audience changed everything, and what happened next is what I want to talk to you about, see here's what people, I'm sorry, here is what the world will show you about successful people, the finished scene, the final cut, the standing ovation, the award, the headline, the moment of arrival, what the world doesn't show you, what nobody bothers to frame and hang on the wall is everything that came before, the auditions that went nowhere, the roles that I didn't get, the try and the fail, the days I drove home stuck in traffic wondering if I'd made a catastrophic mistake, wondering if I should just call home and admit defeat and start over, I took that drive more than I'd like.
My first big job, finally, was on Days of Our Lives, a soap opera, like Bob said, for those of you who are too young to know what that is, just ask your grandmothers. I played Eric Brady, I was 19 years old and I thought, I made it, this is it. I could do the show for the rest of my life and be happy, some people do, the show is still going, I believe, but I was wrong.
I decided to leave the show after three years, thanks to some strong advice from the woman who played my mother, Deidre Hall, and once again I set off into the unknown. It was one of the toughest things I had to do, but it was also one of the best things that had happened to me, because after that I went through years of what I call the draft phase, guest spots, small roles, a series that got cancelled before it even aired, a small budget horror movie, don't recommend. Pilot shows that didn't get picked up, I auditioned for Superman, came close, didn't get it. I went in for other roles I wanted, roles I prepared for, roles I thought I could nail, I didn't get those either. Now this is not a story of failure, this is a story of every working actor who ever became anything, right Ward? So the auditions you don't get are the ones that redirect you to somewhere else.
So in 2005 I got cast on a little pilot show called Supernatural, and we did get picked up, and we went on to shoot 15 seasons, 327 episodes, longest running genre of show in American television history. I learned to direct on that show, and I'll tell you this, for the first time I stepped behind the camera, I was terrified. I knew the script, I knew the characters, I'd been on set for years, still felt like a fraud. Still felt like someone was going to tap me on the shoulder and say you don't actually know what you're doing, do you?
I've learned what that feeling is. It's called being at the edge of your competence, and it is exactly where growth lives. That feeling, that fraud feeling, that what am I doing here feeling? Do I really have what it takes to complete this task? I hope that never goes away, because it can be a powerful motivator, which brings me to one of the main things I love about this school, GFA. The reasons all three of my kids will hopefully one day be sitting under this very tent, listening to some other speaker talk about the lessons that they learned through their journey in life.
The school's motto says something I want to sit with for a moment. It says, GFA engages students as partners in order to prepare them for lives of purpose. Lives of purpose, not lives of comfort, not lives of certainty, not lives where everything goes according to plan.
Purpose is something different. Purpose is what keeps you moving when the plan hits a bump, veers off track, or totally collapses, and I promise you one of those things will happen, if not all three. Maybe not today, maybe not this year, but the plan you have in your head right now, that neat trajectory, from here to there, it will hit something unexpected, and it will need to be rewritten. The question is not whether that happens. The question is, what do you do when it does?
When Supernatural ended after 15 years, I had a choice. I could sit back, I could relax, I could enjoy what I'd built, let Dean Winchester define who Jensen Ackles is, or did I have more purpose? I did. So I went after something different.
I used that trajectory from the show to open up new doors. I signed a development deal with Warner Brothers. I executive produced a series. I went after a big part on a massive show called The Boys, and I want to be honest with you about how that actually looked. I didn't get a phone call. I didn't get an offer to go and play that role. I auditioned. Multiple times. They considered other people. They wanted somebody older, somebody different, somebody with a longer resume.
There were real moments when I thought this isn't going to happen. But I didn't walk away. I gave it my best and I gave it everything I had. I had to earn it. And I kept believing that I had a real shot if I was willing to persist. And wouldn't you know what I got it? I got to play Soldier Boy and the Boys, and like Bob said, I even got my own spinoff airing early next year. But that drive, that desire of purpose changed my path once again.
Then there's the other word in GFA motto, partners. I want to tell you what that word means to me, at least professionally. If I get into the partnership of marriage, that's a whole other speech, but if you're interested, find me.
We can talk about that too. So partners, I spent 15 years on a set with the same person on Supernatural. A guy named Jared Padalecki. It took me most of that time just to figure out how to say his last name. But 15 years, that's longer than kindergarten through 12th grade. Imagine sitting next to the same person that entire time. We played brothers on screen. We became brothers off. There was definitely a partnership. There were many days when we relied on one another to make it through.
Filming can be hard. It's not just red carpets and sunglasses. It's harsh weather. It's long days. It's even longer nights. There's short turnarounds. There's broken bones from stunts. There's being far from home, missing your family, missing your friends. COVID. It was not easy. Safe to say, we went through a lot together. But having that partner, someone to rely on, someone who would rely on you, is sometimes the only thing that got us through.
Now, technically, we had about 200 crew people that were relying on us, so we weren't about to let them down either. But when someone needs you like that, showing up for that person matters more than anything else. You cannot manufacture that. You build it slowly through consistency, through showing up even when you don't feel like it. Because that is what partners do for each other. Find those people. Be those people. And guard those relationships. Show up for them. And let them show up for you.
I've learned this from being on set, navigating this entertainment industry, and I get reminded of it constantly. Whether starting a new project with a new cast, sitting in the makeup trailer, rehearsing lines, rehearsing stunts. But I also get reminded of it at home with my wife and my kids. The bedtimes, breakfasts, quiet drives, when I think about what I actually want for them. It's not fame. It's not success. Not the way the world defines it.
What I want for them and what I hope you'll allow yourselves to have is a life where the work matters to you. Where the people around you are real. And where you're still curious and still humble enough to find those partnerships along the way.
Every single one of you sitting here today, do me a favor. Be willing to begin again. And again. And again. The best thing that happened in my career was not the roles I got. It was also the ones that I didn't. Even if I thought I should have gotten. Because they all took me somewhere I could have never planned for. The detours were not detours. They were the road. Your road starts today. And it will surprise you.
You came into Greens Farms Academy as students. You are leaving as something more as people who have been taught to think, to question, to engage with the world bigger than your own zip code. Don't waste it on a small life. Take the risk. Travel to places you've never been. Try things that scare you. Apply for the thing that you might not get. Choose the friends who challenge you over the ones who agree with you.
And when you fail, win. Not if. You get back up. You take what you've learned. And you go again. Because here's the thing about not knowing where to start. It means you're still in the process. You're still becoming. I'm still becoming.
Every role I take is a new first draft. And I wouldn't trade any of it. Not the cancelled series. Not the horror movie that nobody saw. Not the audition that I lost. Every single one made me ready for what came next. You are ready for what comes next.
So congratulations, seniors. You've earned this day. Every moment of doubt. Every draft that didn't work. Every time you had no idea where to start. It all brought you here. Every day after this is yours to earn. That is not a burden. That is a rare and precious gift.
Go dragons. Go dragons. Go dragons. Go dragons.
