A former child model, this actor burst onto the Hollywood scene at 19 on the daytime soap Days of Our Lives. After four years he made the leap to prime time with recurring bad-boy roles on Dawson's Creek and Smallville. A natural teen heartthrob, Ackles was romantically linked with a number of young stars, including LeAnn Rimes and Jessica Simpson, although the relationships were never confirmed. In 2005 the budding hunk landed his own show, Supernatural, costarring fellow Texas native Jared Padalecki.