Supernatural's Misha Collins Auditioned To Be A Demon
For many years, Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles' Sam and Dean Winchester singlehandedly led "Supernatural" as the monster-killing brother duo everyone wanted in their lives. They had many friends and allies come and go — but the two remained the show's leading stars, and everything else revolved around them.
When Misha Collins' Castiel walked in, the show felt truly complete — the actor's performance as the serious yet charming angel and his ability to put the brothers in their place made "Supernatural" a lot more fun. Castiel went on to become a staple of the show, a breakout character, if you will, and remained loved for over a decade. He frequently came across as a character who lacked foresight; he was often clueless, and he didn't understand sarcasm ... or what Sam and Dean were up to most of the time. Castiel slowly adapted to life on Earth, evolving into an irreplaceable member of the Winchester family. This is why it's fascinating that Collins didn't even specifically audition for it.
Misha Collins didn't audition to play an angel
Castiel stepped into the world of the Winchesters during season 4 — in what is easily one of the show's greatest moments. It was the first time angels were introduced to "Supernatural," and Misha Collins took it upon himself to make the entrance dramatic. There was a slow, badass walk, sparks were flying everywhere, and Castiel walked gracefully, unbothered by the bullets being pelted at him by his soon-to-be best friend. He was also utterly unbothered by the knife planted into his chest. Castiel exudes strength and mystery ... and makes it clear he is to be taken seriously. For casting so fitting, it seems unbelievable that Misha Collins didn't initially audition for the "Supernatural" character, who was the first angel to have been introduced to the show. Collins auditioned for the part of a demon instead.
In a 2008 interview with MovieWeb, Collins detailed how he came across the role of Castiel. Showrunner Eric Kripke was trying to conceal the season's inclusion of angels, so he had Collins audition as a demon to keep the news a secret. The actor read the part and interpreted it to be on the malicious, villainous end, so he performed a "nasty and snarky" audition ... only to be later told that he would play an angel instead.
'He gave me a couple of adjustments'
Here's Collins' full quote from the interview:
"I came across it when my agent sent me an audition for a demon on Supernatural earlier this summer. I had an episode of Supernatural Tivoed and I watched it and I saw a demon and I saw that he was kind of snarky and nasty, as we would expect a demon to be. So, I went in and I auditioned for (creator) Eric Kripke and I gave him a very nasty and snarky performance (Laughs)."
Speaking of Kripke's response, Collins added, that while the showrunner appreciated his efforts, he gave him some "adjustments" to portray the angelic character.
"He said 'Great work, except, we are trying to hide from the fans that we're introducing an angel to the show, so we sent out the audition material as a demon, so it's actually an angel.' So he gave me a couple of adjustments to try to make me a little bit less snarky and more angelic and, evidently he liked me because I got the part."
Misha Collins played Castiel through 12 triumphant seasons and hundreds of adventures with the Winchester brothers. He fought, and he sacrificed, and he died over and over again, giving fans emotional whiplashes, only to return to the one place we always wanted him to be: by Sam and Dean's side.