who played young sam winchester?
Colin Ford
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 The initial draft of the script focused solely on the brothers ' attempts to kill the pagan gods ; when the episode came up short , Edlund suggested the addition of flashbacks to Sam and Dean 's childhood . The narrative device provided two revelations : the origins of Dean 's necklace , and the " beginning of Sam 's estrangement from his father and his indoctrination into the supernatural world " . Kripke noted that the staff loves to delve into the Winchesters ' childhoods , and deemed it " too good an opportunity to pass up " to be able to depict how Sam " lost his innocence " . Child actor Ridge Canipe reprised his role as a young Dean , while Colin Ford made his debut as a young Sam . Ford had not viewed the series prior to his audition , but watched the first season to research his character . 

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 Todd Tesen as Young Thaddeus Ross 

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 Auditions were held for Sam and Diane . Three pairs were tested : William Devane and Lisa Eichhorn , Fred Dryer and Julia Duffy , and Ted Danson and Shelley Long . Before the show premiered Danson appeared in 1979 's The Onion Field ; Long appeared in 1982 's Night Shift , starring Henry Winkler of Happy Days . Fred Dryer later appeared as Dave Richards , a sportscaster friend of Sam 's , in " Sam at Eleven " in 1982 . Sam Malone was originally " a former wide receiver for the New England Patriots " , and Fred Dryer was considered for the role because he was a football player . However , NBC executives liked test scenes with Danson and Long so the creators chose them instead , making Sam a former relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox . Ed O 'Neill also auditioned for the role of Sam Malone . 

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 Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester 

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 Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester 
