Jared Padalecki on How Real-Life Events Inspired "Walker," His New Series on The CW

Eager to work Padalecki was the one who brought the idea to series showrunner Anna Fricke quotIt all came about because Jared for some reason wanted to go back to workquot she laughed during a recent virtual press event to promote the series quotI39m not quite sure why but I39m very grateful We sat down and talked about the character who is a departure from the original and our own version We had this great initial conversation about the kind of stories we wanted to tell and the kind of character we saw Cordell Walker as I think we hit it off and that39s sort of how it all happenedquotquotI did grow up in San Antonio TX and Walker was certainly on the TV more times than I can countquot recalled Padalecki quotI don39t know if I would win a trivia game about the original Walker Texas Ranger but I grew up watching the show Certainly after shooting Supernatural for 15 amp189 years it was a change I have to give a shout out to Anna and our writers the character they wrote for this version of Walker is so crystal clear and different from Sam Winchester on Supernatural so it was a seamless change from 15 years as Sam to the next 15 years as Cordell we39re pretty excited about itquotOne thing Padalecki and his diverse cast one that includes wife Genevieve Lindsey Morgan Mitch Pileggi Coby Bell and Molly Hagan have had to adjust to is working in a COVID19 safe workspace Yet despite its challenges they have all managed to bond quotThe world we find ourselves in is very different so it39s been tryingquot said Padalecki who is also a series producer quotWe see each other wearing masks we39re six feet apart and we39re not really supposed to talk to our fellow crew That39s been the most difficult part just not being able to so seamlessly build a family but in three short months we39ve built quite a familyquotI think our text thread which is probably not suitable for work would prove thatquot he added quotI do tell Anna all the time 39I don39t know how they do this producing thing39 It39s a fulltime job much less than trying to be cameraready but it39s been a great time We39re all passionate about the show and the stories we39re telling so that passion and love for the work certainly gives me energyquotAfter calling Vancouver home for most of the past 15 years Padalecki is thrilled to be able to plant roots in Austin Texas where he lives and where the show is filmed According to Genevieve being a part of the show and having her husband home with their kids is a godsend quotI think it39s been wonderful for our marriage because I39m out of the housequot she shared quotI39m not running the house and heamp8217s not commuting out of the country Now he actually gets to see how we live and he39s actually up with the kids in the morning and usually putting them to bed which is pretty normal but pretty special in our housequotquotIt39s a little differentquot Padalecki laughed quotWhen I was home during the quarantine during Supernaturalamp8217s hiatus she39s like 39Can39t you go back to work somewhere Don39t you have somewhere to be And stop giving the kids candy at 800 am39quotThough not political in tone Padalecki admits it was the actions of the Trump administration enforcing the zero tolerance policy at the Mexican border something he thought of as unfair treatment that informed his version of Cordell WalkerquotA few years back when there were a lot of human beings coming from South of the American border our society seemed to want to maybe put some people in cages and separate familiesquot he recalled quotI read a story about a law enforcement agent who simply couldn39t put a threeyearold in a cage and take them away from their parents I have a threeyearold and I couldn39t bring myself to do thatquotThat empathy and emotion struck me being caught between the inevitable rock and a hard place where you39re bound by duty but still have a moral code and you see people as human beings not as perpetrators or heroesquot he added quotI thought how interesting it would be to see that story told where somebody who is a proud government worker for law enforcement thinks to themselves 39There might be a better way Some of these laws are old and they39re not nuanced39 Where somebody is bound by their duty and by a sense of safety and helping themselves helping others but is also a family man or family woman who has friends and family from all walks of lifequotWe talked about wanting to pose questions as opposed to sort of proselytized our beliefs and just force answers down our viewers39 throatsquot he added in closing quotWe talked about developing a story where we could dance around those topics and subjects and try and make people think 39What would I do if I were in the same position39 That39s how it started Then Anna worked her magic and genius and now we39re making a TV showquotWalker premieres Thursday January 21 at 8 pm on The CWClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe 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Jared Padalecki on How Real-Life Events Inspired "Walker," His New Series on The CW

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